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Esme
Student
Kerrville, Texas
6
Questions
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How long would I need to go to school in order to become a nurse?
I like to help people. #nurse
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Mary Jane Shroyer
Director of Health Professions Career Community
114
Answers
Grinnell, Iowa
Updated
Mary Jane’s Answer
This is challenging to answer because nursing has so many ways to enter the profession! In order to become a nurse, you need to 1) complete a nursing degree and 2) sit for the national NCLEX licensing exam. After passing the NCLEX, you are a Registered Nurse (RN).
The shortest route to become an RN is to complete an Associate degree in nursing (ADN), a 2-year program at a community college. You could instead choose to complete a 4-year Bachelor's degree (BSN). Both allow you to sit for the NCLEX and become an RN.
If you wish to specialize in a certain area (like women's health care or anesthesia) or if you'd like to work independently as a nurse practitioner, you will need a Master's-level degree (MSN) or advanced practice degree (APRN). These degrees can take a total of six to eight years after high school. Many nurses start off as an ADN or BSN, work for a time, and then go back to school to complete an MSN or an APRN degree, although we are seeing more students work toward their APRN continuously from high school graduation.
You might wonder why someone would choose to study for 6 or 8 years to become a nurse if they can complete a degree in 2 years. The BSN and MSN degrees typically receive higher salaries and have more opportunities for leadership and promotion. Early in their careers, some students want to get started working as a nurse as quickly as possible, so an ADN is a great option for them. However, nationally, we are seeing a push for nurses to complete BSN and MSN degrees. Many hospitals have programs where they will offer some financial assistance to ADN-RNs to complete their BSN or MSN degrees.
So the short answer is, you can become a nurse in as little as 2 years, but many nurses decide to work toward additional degrees throughout their careers in order to advance professionally or gain training in a specific area of nursing practice.
Check out this chart for all the different types of nursing degrees: https://www.nursingcas.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/NUR-NursingDegrees.pdf
The shortest route to become an RN is to complete an Associate degree in nursing (ADN), a 2-year program at a community college. You could instead choose to complete a 4-year Bachelor's degree (BSN). Both allow you to sit for the NCLEX and become an RN.
If you wish to specialize in a certain area (like women's health care or anesthesia) or if you'd like to work independently as a nurse practitioner, you will need a Master's-level degree (MSN) or advanced practice degree (APRN). These degrees can take a total of six to eight years after high school. Many nurses start off as an ADN or BSN, work for a time, and then go back to school to complete an MSN or an APRN degree, although we are seeing more students work toward their APRN continuously from high school graduation.
You might wonder why someone would choose to study for 6 or 8 years to become a nurse if they can complete a degree in 2 years. The BSN and MSN degrees typically receive higher salaries and have more opportunities for leadership and promotion. Early in their careers, some students want to get started working as a nurse as quickly as possible, so an ADN is a great option for them. However, nationally, we are seeing a push for nurses to complete BSN and MSN degrees. Many hospitals have programs where they will offer some financial assistance to ADN-RNs to complete their BSN or MSN degrees.
So the short answer is, you can become a nurse in as little as 2 years, but many nurses decide to work toward additional degrees throughout their careers in order to advance professionally or gain training in a specific area of nursing practice.
Mary Jane recommends the following next steps:
Jami Huber
nurse
51
Answers
Lindenhurst, Illinois
Updated
Jami’s Answer
An associate degree nurse can become a nurse in 2 years- plus prerequisites. A bachelor's degree nurse takes roughly four years plus prerequisites.