Key Takeaways:
- Online nursing degrees are increasingly accepted, eroding past stigmas associated with distance education in healthcare.
- Hiring managers widely recognize online nursing degrees, with 83% considering them credible for meeting job criteria.
- Accreditation is crucial; degrees from accredited programs are respected and keep candidates competitive in job markets.
Distance education has come a long way in the last decade, but many prospective nursing students are curious as to whether or not it is a good idea to earn an online nursing degree.
There are several different factors that you will need to consider whenever you are choosing a degree program, and one of the important factors is how the degree is perceived by potential employers. After all, you are attending school in hopes of garnering attention from the health organizations that you have always dreamed of working for.
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The most important factor for employers is what license a nurse holds. Check out our article on the topic if you want to know more about RN, LPN, and LVN nursing licenses.
If you are tempted to study online for your nursing degree, read on and find out what recruiters have to say. If you’re interested, check our our article on the fastest online MSN programs.
What Types of Nursing Degrees Can You Earn Online?
Nursing requires a lot of practical skills that you need to learn in a hands-on setting, but that does not mean that all of the content you cover needs to be delivered in a classroom. If you are wondering how a nurse who needs such technical skill can study, the answer is by accessing the theory and the basic curriculum courses online.
You can study for a nursing degree online and earn your Associate’s, Bachelor’s or even your Master’s. While there are clinical requirements before you will be issued a diploma, you can do these in a healthcare facility near your home at a time that works best for you.
Some programs even have an accelerated structure so that you can go from a Licensed Practical Nurse to an RN in less time.
How Will Nursing Recruiters Look at an Online Degree?
Now that you know that you can earn an Associate’s, Bachelor’s or Master’s degree online, the next step is to learn if there are stigmas behind distance education in the nursing field. In some fields, online and traditional degrees hold the same amount of weight.
While there was once a stigma because of the existence of diploma mill colleges, online degrees are becoming more mainstream. This has led to wide acceptance of all online degrees by both licensing bodies and by employers.
What do the Hiring Managers Have to Say?
Since your fate is in the hands of the hiring manager when you apply for a position, it is important to learn what they have to say about online degrees. Based on a survey conducted by CNN, 83 percent of hiring executives believe online nursing degrees are credible and can be used to meet the hiring criteria just like a traditional degree would.
Accreditation is What Matters
There are major advantages to studying for an online degree, but you have to be sure to choose the right program. To ensure that recruiters keep your resume on the top of the pile, you need to search for accredited programs. As long as the program is accredited by a body like the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, you can be assured that the curriculum meets a high standard.
If you are looking for the flexibility that online programs have to offer, start to compare nursing programs with some of the best colleges in the field. Once you have compared the schools, tuition fees, faculty and the program layout, you can then decide which online nursing degree is best for you to get where you want to be professionally.
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