Nursing education is available almost anywhere in the world that has modern medical care, and we can help you find a nursing program near you. Several types of nursing programs are available:

• Hospital based diploma programs: At one time, all “nursing schools” were affiliated with hospitals; although many fewer health facilities offer nursing education now, some still do. Students usually study at the facility under people who actually work there, graduating in two to three years with a diploma. Dan Cook, staff nurse at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA (which also operates a nursing school), graduated from the Ohio Valley General Hospital School of Nursing in Kennedy Township, PA; he recommends that students strongly consider going to a hospital based school. “They’re much less expensive, for one thing. Plus, in a hospital program, you start getting clinical experience from day one. In a four year college program, you get more book learning, but you might not get actual experience with patients until your junior or senior year. Suppose a student finds out, when they actually start working with patients that they’re not cut out to be a nurse? If you’ve gone to a four year school, that’s a lot of time and money spent on training you might never use.”

• Degree and diploma programs at community colleges: Large numbers of American community colleges offer nursing diplomas and Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs. ADN students typically graduate in two to two and a half years. Some community colleges offer “accelerated” Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs that can be completed in as little as three years.

• Undergraduate programs at traditional colleges and universities: Many colleges and universities offer Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs as well as RN-to-BSN programs for registered nurses who only have diplomas or associate degrees. Students who study for a BSN “from scratch” can graduate with one in three to four years. RN-to-BSN students can graduate in a year to two years if they can go to school full time, but will probably take much longer if they have to attend classes around their work schedule. That’s the main reason that Sandra Gray, a registered staff nurse with the Visiting Nurse Association of Western PA, recommends that prospective nurses go for their BSN right away: “Go for a degree program if you want the maximum possible opportunity when you graduate—if you want to be a school nurse or a teaching nurse, for example. If you get a diploma or associate degree, you’ll have to take additional courses while you work at some other job, a few credits at a time for several years, until you have what you need for something better.”

• Graduate programs at colleges, universities, and hospitals: Quite a few colleges and universities, and some hospitals, offer Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs, RN-to-MSN programs, graduate specialty diplomas, or even PhD doctorates for students that want to pursue advanced nursing work or research. Institutions that offer graduate studies in nursing include Lewis University in Romeoville, IL; Excelsior College in Albany, NY; the University of Leeds in Leeds, UK; and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woodville, Australia. If you start with a BSN, graduate diplomas can be earned in a year or two; an MSN will require two years; a PhD will require four years and a dissertation.

• It is increasingly possible to replace classroom based courses (but not clinical experience) with online education. If you want to take classes online, be careful to take them from a reputable, accredited school whose credits will be transferable elsewhere and will be recognized as legitimate by other schools and employers. For example, the University of Phoenix offers online nursing course work.

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