RN Nurse Schools

Overall job opportunities are expected to be excellent for registered nurses. Employers in some areas of the country and certain job markets report difficulty in attracting and keeping an adequate number of RN’s, mainly because of an aging workforce and a lack of younger workers to fill the positions.

Evan though overall employment opportunities for all nursing specialties are expected to be excellent, they can vary by employment settings. Despite the slower employment growth in hospitals, job opportunities should be great because of the relatively high turnover of hospital nurses. RN’s working in hospitals frequently work overtime and night and weekend shifts and also treat seriously ill and injured patients, all of which can lead to burnout and stress. Hospital departments in which these working conditions happen more often- critical care units, emergency departments, and operating rooms- generally have more job openings than other departments. To attract and keep qualified nurses, hospitals may offer signing bonuses, family friendly work schedules, or subsidize training. A growing number of hospitals are also experimenting with online bidding to fill open shifts, in which nurses can volunteer to fill open shifts at premium wages. This can decrease the amount of overtime that nurses work.

Although faster employment growth is projected in physicians’ offices and outpatient care centers, RN’s may face greater competition for these positions because they offer regular working hours and more comfortable working environments. There also may be some competition for jobs in employment services, despite a high rate of employment growth, because of the industry’s relatively high wages and the flexibility of the work in this industry.

Generally, RN’s with at least a Bachelor’s degree will have better job prospects than those without a Bachelor’s degree. In addition, all four advanced practice specialties-clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives and nurse anesthetists-will be in high demand.

There are three major educational paths to registered nursing-a Bachelor’s of Science degree in nursing (BSN), an Associate degree in nursing (ASN), and a diploma.BSN programs , offered by colleges and universities, take about 4 years to complete. In 2006, 709 nursing programs offered degrees at the bachelor’s level. ADN programs, offered by community and junior colleges, take about 2-3 years to complete. About 850 RN programs offered associate degrees. Diploma programs, administered in hospitals, last about 3 years. Only about 70 programs off diplomas.

Many RNs with an ADN or diploma later enter bachelor’s programs to prepare for a broader scope of nursing practice. Often they take an entry level position and then take advantage of tuition reimbursement benefits to work toward a BSN by completing an RN-to-BSN program. In 2006, there were 629 RN-to-BSN programs in the United States. Accelerated master’s degree in nursing (MSN) programs are also available by combining 1 year of an accelerated BSN program with 2 years of graduate study. In 2006, there were 149 RN-to-MSN programs.