Information

By 2012 the U.S. Department of Labor projects there will be a need for more than 1,000,000 new and replacement Registered Nurses in the US. As a result many nursing schools around the country are trying to find ways in which they can increase school capacity and reach more new students. One such way is fast track nursing schools which provide nursing programs for non-nursing graduates. These nursing schools offer both a Baccalaureate and Master's Degree programs which build on you prior learning experiences. Thus they provide a way for those individuals who have an undergraduate degrees in other fields of expertise to transfer into nursing programs.

Such accelerated programs offer the student the simplest route to a license as a Registered Nurse (RN) for those who have completed a Bachelor's degree in a non nursing discipline. Such programs take between 11 to 18 months to finish and include prerequisites, While a fast track master's degree program will usually take the students around 3 years to finish.

At present such accelerated nursing programs are available in 43 states across the US and also in the District of Columbia. By the middle of 2006 there were almost 200 accelerated baccalaureate programs and 46 accelerated master's degree programs at nursing schools all across the US. And as of July 2006 there around 40 accelerated baccalaureate programs in the planning stage as well as 17 accelerated master's programs.

So what exactly is accelerated nursing education?

These unique programs accomplish the required training in a short time as they build on previous learning experiences. The instruction provided on these programs is intense as the courses are offered to students full time with no breaks between sessions. However the students on these programs will receive the same number of hours as those who are using traditional nursing programs.

Admission standards for these programs are high and they will typically require the student to have a minimum of 3.0 GPA, and the student usually will also have to go through a thorough screening process before they are accepted. But those who eventually are accepted for these programs are encouraged NOT to also try and hold down a full time job, as the pressures that are associated with this intense training will make it hard for them to complete the all degree requirements.

The nursing schools which provide these accelerated nursing programs are specifically geared to those individuals who have already shown their ability to succeed at a college. Many students who have already finished either a bachelor's degree, or are graduate degree students tend to be attracted to these fast track programs as they are the logical next step in their higher education training and a successful nursing career.