Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Categories Within Nurse Practitioner Programs

Aside from the nursing degree involving hard work, one should also have a great budget for it. So, it is just right to have various options before going into a degree program. For nurses, numerous nurse practitioner programs are available, both online and on-campus and all these programs belong to certain categories.

Pursuing a master’s after a bachelor’s is a great idea to become a nurse practitioner. A time of two years is the span of the degree. Here, even if you don’t pass the nurse practitioner licensing test you would still be able to get your degree.

There is what we call a Master of Science in Nursing or MSN and this is being taken by educators and nurse managers as an entry-level degree and by registered nurses as a higher-level graduate degree. The MSN degree is usually a prerequisite for a doctorate nursing education. MSN would have one study a certain nursing sphere such as geriatrics, OB-GYNE, neonatal and pediatrics, just to name a few.

A great way to be a nurse practitioner without undergoing a bachelor’s diploma in nursing is that one should go into an RN to MSN program. If one really wants to be in the nursing area then this is the best option for them. The RN to MSN program enables you to have a master’s degree from the college where you had your undergraduate degree.

In taking two programs at once, the school may be able to remove some unnecessary work that nurses usually do when changing from a BSN to MSN program. You will also save a year from the degree duration if you take this program. For a maximum of three years you would undergo the RN to MSN nurse practitioner programs.

You are able to go directly to an MSN degree without having to get a bachelor’s degree if you already have an associate’s degree or a registered nurse diploma. In the completion of the program, it is possible that a nursing college would offer students a BS and an MSN at the same time, but in other programs an MSN is only given. The best part of this program is that you can earn the degree in just a shorter time period.

If you desire career change, you can take the direct entry MSN program to become a nurse practitioner. This program is for bachelor’s degree holders but not nursing. All students with a liberal arts degree typically qualify for this program, but you will spend over two years to complete the master’s degree.

Three years minimum and four years maximum is the time taken by the direct entry MSN program. In the degree that you already took up you encountered some electives like math or communications, but in this degree, you won’t have to take this. Keep in mind that for you to have an RN certification you must take up nursing fundamentals.

With the fundamental layout, you will find it very similar with Accelerated BSN program. You will have to do a strict program of hypothesis and clinical practice. The basic classes you will have will depend on the degree you already have.

Of course, a number of considerations should be thought of when classifying nurse practitioner programs. You can get an online nurse practitioner program these days, instead of having only the campus one as a choice. By scanning through all the programs, you may be able to find the one that fits you best.

When you are looking for relevant information about nurse practitioner schools and also about online nurse practitioner programs, do fail to hit the links and you shall be helped.