Associate Degree in Nursing

If you've considered furthering your nursing education through the pursuit of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), you've likely wondered about the potential benefits of holding a BSN. While there are many routes that lead to a solid nursing education, the most direct and beneficial route involves becoming a bachelor's-prepared nurse. In fact, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Initiative on the Future of Nursing feels so strongly about the pursuit of a BSN that it hopes to increase the number of nurses with bachelor's degrees to 80 percent by 2020.

The College Network offers an online LPN to BS in Nursing program as well as several online RN to BS in Nursing programs. Below is a list of three major advantages of completing these programs and earning a bachelor's degree in nursing.

1. More Experience — Nurses who complete a bachelor's degree program have more experience in real-world hospital situations than those with a lesser degree. Most BSN programs require a significant number of clinical hours, which helps students feel more comfortable in the nurse role.
    
2. Broader Knowledge — Nursing bachelor's degree programs dive further into each nursing course and require completion of more courses than associate's degree and diploma programs. This gives students a broader knowledge base and enhances their problem solving and critical thinking skills.
    
3. Expanded Opportunities — With the changing nature of healthcare, hospitals are increasingly looking to staff their nursing units with nurses who have earned at least a BSN. Bachelor's-prepared nurses have a leg up on those who have only an associate's degree, and that helps them stand out when seeking initial employment as well as promotions. Additionally, some positions in the nursing industry (e.g., educator, researcher, and administrator) can only be filled by those with a bachelor's or higher degree.

If you're ready to advance your career with a BSN, contact The College Network today at 1-877-TCN-DEGREE (877-826-3347)!

May 15th is Police Officer's Memorial Day (part of National Police Week). Due to the high demand in nursing, many of TCN's efforts are focused on helping nurses achieve the next step in their education.  But we can offer so much more!  TCN has a wide spectrum of continuing education programs, including the Public Safety sector.  

Bellevue University offers two options for a Bachelor's in the Public Safety arena: Criminal Justice Administration and Security Management.  Bellevue offeres undergraduate degree programs in a cohort approach in an online learning format.  

Criminal Justice is designed for people working in or associated with the criminal justice system; Security Management looks at private and industrial security settings.

Read more about these programs on The College Network's website here.  

Read more about National Police Week here.

In honor of National Nurses Week (celebrated every year from May 6 through May 12), I'd like to highlight some of the top reasons why The College Network (TCN) is dedicated to helping nurses continually improve their healthcare knowledge and gain advanced credentials throughout their careers. At TCN, we understand and appreciate nurses because they maintain selfless attitudes and they embrace their admirable roles in the following areas:

 NURTURANCE

When most people think of nurses, words like nurture, heal, and compassion likely come to mind. Nurses are dedicated to providing optimal care and putting patients at ease. They wear many hats, including those of caregiver, friend, teacher and therapist.

 TRUST

According to Gallop's annual "Honesty and Ethics" survey, nursing is considered the most trustworthy profession in the United States. The 2012 survey marks the 11th straight year that nurses have topped the list, ranking 10 percentage points above pharmacists and 15 percentage points above medical doctors. According to the survey, 85 percent of those polled ranked the trustworthiness of nurses as high or very high.

 LEADERSHIP

Although people may think of doctors as the leaders in a hospital, nurses are the true leaders of patient care. Nurses make sure patients understand instructions and procedures as well as ensure the safe implementation of interventions. Nurses also delegate various patient care activities to other members of the healthcare team. Additionally, nurses are the chief advocates for patient care needs, and they play a major role in improving patient outcomes.

 INFLUENCE

According to the American Nurses Association, "both the Affordable Care Act and the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Future of Nursing report place nurses at the center of healthcare transformation in the United States." The knowledge and skills that nurses possess make them influential characters when it comes to changing healthcare policies, and they are increasingly being put in positions to make significant contributions to the improvement of the healthcare system.

 SERVICE

When asked why they wanted to become nurses in the first place, many (if not all) nurses will say they wanted to help people and make a difference in others' lives. Serving others and positively impacting the lives of patients and their family members is a large part of being a nurse. And it's also what makes nursing such a rewarding profession.

 EDUCATION

Nurses deserve a tremendous amount of respect for their dedication to staying relevant in the healthcare industry by continually seeking more knowledge and pursuing advanced degrees. According to the American Nurses Association's "Nursing by the numbers" fact sheet, 50 percent of registered nurses (RNs) have a bachelor's degree or higher, and 13.2 percent of RNs have a master's degree or a doctoral degree. 

If you are interested in seeking an advanced position within the great field of nursing (or in entering the profession for the first time), The College Network wants to help! Visit our nursing degrees page for more information.

Thank you, nurses, for all that you do!

Did you read today’s article in the Times-Herald on the increasing nursing shortage in the state of Georgia?

In this article, Dr. Grams, the Dean of the University of West Georgia, is predicting that there will be a shortage of nurses in Georgia that equals 20 percent by 2015, and that number could be as high as 260,000 nurses by the year 2025.

The shortages in nursing are due in part to our aging population, not enough quality nursing instructors and the limited amount of space to accommodate nursing applicant. Dr. Grams explained that her campus offers “a very competitive admissions program” and out of 350 RN applicants, most of them have to be turned away because her facility can only sit about 120.

Since 1992 The College Network has been offering great alternatives for working adults to earn their advanced nursing degrees online. We allow nurses to get started immediately with general education and elective courses. Nursing programs offered vary by state but include: LPN to RN (associate degree), LPN to BS in Nursing, RN to BS in Nursing, RN to MS in Nursing, and BSN to MS in Nursing.

If you or someone you know could benefit from an advanced nursing degree and have been considering alternatives, I would strongly encourage you to visit www.collegenetwork.com or contact Reggie Theodore, Atlanta area Program Advisor for The College Network, by calling  646-271-9617.

To read the article in its entirety, click on the link below:

http://www.times-herald.com/Local/20-percent-nursing-shortage-expected-by-2015-35675

In a recent post, I presented a list of the advanced nursing degrees you can earn with help from The College Network. But what are your options once you earn one of those degrees? You may be surprised to learn how many different directions your nursing degree can take you.

DiscoverNursing.com, the online leg of Johnson & Johnson's Campaign for Nursing's Future, offers a searchable list of 104 nursing specialties that might spark your interest. The list includes the name of each specialty, the broad category (or categories) under which each specialty falls, the education required to pursue each specialty and the main characteristics of each specialty. You can view the entire list, or you can explore the list by category or characteristic.

The specialties are grouped into the following nine broad categories:

1. Advanced practice
2. Clinical
3. Community
4. Emergency
5. Family
6. Management
7. Psychological
8. Surgical
9. Women's health

They are also grouped by the following nine characteristics:

1. Multifaceted
2. Patient-facing
3. Independent
4. Managerial
5. Structured
6. Research-oriented
7. Fast-paced
8. Behind-the-scenes
9. Multilingual

Johnson & Johnson's list of nursing specialties is a beneficial tool that can help you explore several healthcare areas that you may never have considered otherwise. For example, you can be a nursing writer, author or historian or a telephone triage nurse if you have an Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). You can be a flight/transport nurse or a home health care nurse if you have an RN diploma (ASN or BSN).  And you can be a health policy nurse or a nurse educator if you have a BSN and an MSN or a PhD.

Don't limit yourself! Let The College Network help you earn your degree, and you'll be on your way to one of 104 nursing specialties!

As an LPN, you don't have to choose between your career and furthering your education. We make it possible to work and earn your degree at the same time. You can begin today and move at your own pace, setting your study schedule around the things that are important to you.

You may have even encountered the long waiting lists that many people find themselves on before they can enter nursing school. The College Network has designed an online learning environment exclusively for LPN’s, and you can begin working toward your advanced nursing degree as soon as you're ready - there is no wait list.

Hospitals in Georgia have also started requiring that their registered nurses hold a BSN--especially those hospitals who are attempting to earn Magnet status. Holding your RN license used to be the accepted standard, but in keeping with the call for a more educated workforce, hospitals now are giving more consideration to those nurses with their bachelor's degree.

Hospitals in Georgia struggle to find bachelor's-prepared nurses and because of this, have developed policies to address the issue.  These hospitals will hire nurses with an Associate of Science in Nursing degree, but will require those nurses to obtain their bachelor's degree within a certain number of years.

At The College Network, we have options for you if you are either an LPN or an RN who would like obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.

We partner with Indiana State University to offer the only online LPN to BSN program in the country.  This three-phase program allows you to work through your general education and prerequisite courses with The College Network and then enroll with Indiana State University for your nursing transition courses and final nursing courses with concurrent clinical hours. Courses are delivered online, and you can get started today.

The College Network has helped over 200,000 nurses begin working toward an advanced education! We can help you too! Getting started is simple. Just call me, Jerry Kelly at 404-217-6638 or go to www.collegenetwork.com/kelly to learn more about how you can reach your dream of earning your advanced nursing degree in the state of Georgia.

For us who nurse, our nursing is a thing which, unless we are making progress every year, every month, every week, take my word for it, we are going back.
~ Florence Nightingale

Well known as the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale advocated for continued advances in healthcare and nursing throughout her life. And although she died over a century ago, her famous words about forward movement in the nursing field still ring true. In order to keep up with the ever-changing healthcare industry, nurses must continue to grow in their profession through the pursuit of advanced education. 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Initiative on the Future of Nursing highlights eight recommendations for nurses, and three of those recommendations push nurses to attain higher levels of education. The following educational recommendations aim to prepare nurses for improved patient care and continued advancements in the nursing field:

• Increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent by 2020.
• Double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020.
• Ensure that nurses engage in lifelong learning.

If you're ready to improve the future of nursing by moving forward in your career, The College Network can help you take the next step. We offer the following online associate's, bachelor's and master's nursing degree programs:

• LPN/LVN to RN (associate's degree)
• Paramedic to RN (associate's degree)
• LPN to BS in Nursing
• RN to BS in Nursing
• RN to MS in Nursing
• MS in Nursing

Make Florence Nightingale proud, and decide to advance your nursing education this week, month and year! For more information about the online nursing degree programs available through The College Network, visit our nursing degrees page.

If you are an LPN/LVN, you’ve probably considered going back to school to earn your degree and RN license. With the demand for qualified RNs on the rise, it’s a great time to start working toward a higher nursing credential.

Earning your associate’s degree in nursing isn’t the only way to get your RN license—in fact, there are lots of benefits to earning your bachelor’s degree instead.

The 80 by ‘20 Push

By now, you’ve probably heard about the Institute of Medicine’s 2011 recommendation—it states that 80% of all RNs should hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) by the year 2020. But why is the industry pushing for higher nurse education? The simple fact is, due to the demanding nature of the patient landscape, the role of the RN is changing. RNs are required to take on more responsibilities than before, working directly with physicians to diagnose patients and manage teams of LPNs.

To be successful in these new working conditions, it is beneficial to have a bachelor’s-level nursing education. In fact, many healthcare facilities are raising their minimum education requirements for RNs as a result of this industry-wide push.

Aside from mastering the necessary clinical skills, BSN students gain an in-depth understanding of leadership skills and managerial strategies, preparing them to lead and manage teams of nurses and move up within their organization over time. Most nurse managers are required to hold at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

As RNs retire at a rapid rate, the number of open positions for BSN-RNs is on the rise. Over 55 percent of today’s RNs and nurse leaders plan to retire by 2020, creating more leadership opportunities for BSN-prepared RNs.

Go From LPN to BSN with One Online Program

As an LPN, your bachelor’s degree in nursing is well within your reach.  Although there are many degree programs that can bridge the gap between LPN and BSN, there is only one LPN to BS in Nursing program that can be completed entirely through distance learning. The LPN to BS in Nursing program from Indiana State University allows to complete your course work online, meaning you can continue to work in your current job while completing your degree. Upon graduation, you’ll receive your bachelor’s degree in nursing and will be ready to make an impact as a BSN-prepared RN.

To learn more about the LPN to BS in Nursing program from Indiana State University, watch the video below.

If you’d like more information on the LPN to BS in Nursing program, feel free to call us at 800-395-1014 to speak with a Program Advisor. You can also request more information by clicking here. 

Since the 2011 release of The Future of Nursing report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), healthcare researchers have continued to justify the push for more baccalaureate-level registered nurses. One of the most powerful testaments to the power of baccalaureate education lies in the fact that facilities with more BSN-RNs have better patient outcomes.

The most recent evidence of improved patient results comes from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who reviewed outcomes from 134 Pennsylvania hospitals. The resulting study showed that a 10-point increase in the percentage of bachelor’s-level RNs was directly linked with an average reduction of 2.12 deaths for every 1,000 patients.

The report is the University of Pennsylvania’s most recent piece of evidence in an ongoing effort to emphasize the link between baccalaureate-level education and improved care. In 2008, the University partnered with the Journal of the American Medical Association to release a similar study, which revealed that a 10 percent increase in the number of BSN-RNs on staff led to a 5 percent decrease in the risk of patient deaths.

In order for healthcare facilities to improve their bachelor’s degree-level nurse ratios, more nursing students will need to start choosing baccalaureate degrees over associate degree programs.  In 2011, 60 percent of candidates who passed the NCLEX-RN^® exam held an associate’s degree, while only 40 percent held a baccalaureate degree. In today’s workforce, only 45 percent of U.S. nurses hold a bachelor’s degree. The number of nursing students entering BSN programs will need to increase significantly if the industry hopes to meet the IOM’s recommendation, which states that 80 percent of RNs should hold a bachelor’s degree by 2020. 

If you are interested in earning your bachelor's degree in nursing, now is the time. The College Network offers a variety of options for LPNs and RNs who are interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree. To learn more, you can view a full list of our degree programs for nurses or request more information. Or, call us at 800-395-1014 to speak with a program advisor. 

Most of us have considered going back to school at one point or another. I want go back to school to get my master's degree. I, like you, research programs to see what will work best for my lifestyle. I will need to continue to work my full time job and run my household, while I obtain my degree. The reasons that we decide to go back to school as an adult are much the same--no matter what degree that we pursue. 

So, let's talk about my top 5 reasons.

1. Career Advancement--Earning your associate's or bachelor's degree will open up more career opportunities for you. If you earn your Associate Degree in Nursing online, you can move forward in your career to become an RN. If you earn your Bachelor's degree in Fire Science, you can advance into higher ranks and move into a leadership role. But whatever degree you pursue, earning it will lead to more options for your career. 

2. Earning Potential--By advancing your education and earning your degree, you increase your earning potential. The easiest example of this is the difference in pay between an LPN and an RN. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the average salary for an LPN at $40,380 and the average salary for an RN at $64,690. That is a remarkable difference!

3.Expanding Your Horizons--Learning opens us up to all kinds of experiences. I think we can rediscover our love of learning and how much we enjoy the challenge of finding answers. It can spark a lifelong love of new adventures.

4. Achieving Your Dream--By earning your degree, you will accomplish a milestone in your life. It is one that will take hard work and dedication. There might be times along the way when you feel like giving up--but you can push through to keep going. Thinking about how your life will change can help to motivate you to stay on track.

5. Inspiring Others--Most people don't realize that by reaching their goal, they inspire others to take a chance and follow their dream too. You will impact those around you with your success and will be a role model for those that are contemplating taking the next step in their career.  

I'm sure after reading these reasons, you might even have more reasons to add to your list. If you're ready to discover more about earning your degree online through The College Network and one of our partner universities, call us today at 800-395-1014. Or you can request more information here. 

As you work through your online degree program, do you share your success with friends and colleagues?  Do you announce on your Facebook or Twitter account that you have passed an exam?  If you do, you probably have people who congratulate you on your success and ask you about your degree program. 

Since you are inspiring others with your success, are you also helping them to advance their education?  The College Network's EARN program is for people like you who want to achieve their dream of an associate's or bachelor's degree and also help others. If you are a nurse who works in a hospital or long term care facility, I'm sure there are other nurses who would benefit from an online LPN to BS in nursing program or those who dream of obtaining their associate of science in nursing.  

EARN stands for the Educational Ambassadors Resource Network™. It's comprised of people who have referred their friends and colleagues. One of the best things about this network is that enables people to start their own study community while they support their own education.

As a customer of The College Network®, when you refer someone and that person enrolls in a degree program, you will receive $200.  And on your sixth referral, remaining balance on The College Network portion of your loan will be paid in full. So while you support your education, inspire others to achieve the same success and create your study community. You will be recognized for your efforts.

Want to learn more about the EARN program? Go here to find out more about how it works and for a complete list of rules and guidelines. And if you are already to refer someone today, you can go to our online referral form.  Keep up the good work, and keep inspiring others! 

Happy New Year!!!

Hopefully you had a great 2012 but I want to help you have an even better 2013 by fulfilling one of your biggest resolutions.

Every single year people make a ton of different resolutions:

• This is the year I finally lose that extra 10 pounds
• This is the year I finally stop smoking
• This is the year I finally start flossing (no? Maybe just me)

While oftentimes it is looked at as goal that supersedes a resolution, I want to tell you why this should be the year you choose to finish your online education.

To me, there is nothing more rewarding than learning a new skill or finally mastering something that you have been working on for a while. Rarely, do these new skills tend to lead to you getting a raise at work.

As much as I would love to learn to play a new instrument, here in the field of online education, I'm not going to make any more money for doing it.

What am I getting at?

Well, just by completing your degree and passing your NCLEX-RN you can get a job making up to $20,000 more each year.

While this may seem like a larger undertaking than learning a new instrument or foreign language, I want to assure you that it is not.

When you are learning anything new, how do you get better at it?

1. Practice
2. Practice
3. Practice
4. More Practice

If you are not spending at least 10 hours a week practicing guitar or French, how do you expect to retain it? 

What if you could finish your associate degree in nursing in 18 months solely by "practicing" 10 hours a week?

At The College Network, our online comprehensive learning modules have been designed specifically to make this a reality.

Many people that work on one of our courses spend about 10 hours a week and finishes one course in just over a month.

Now that's progress!

So what are you waiting for? Make 2013 the year you earn your degree, move up at work, and make an average of $20,000 more a year.

Ein Peck, Program Advisor

(800) 307-1006, ext. 4786

We're excited to launch Education Editorial — a new eMagazine from The College Network®. This edition is packed with valuable articles written by experts in nursing and healthcare. 

We are officially in the holiday season. It's a time that most of us look forward to seeing our family and friends, while enjoying the feeling of contentment we get from being around those we love. But it can also be really stressful. We try to manage our work, our shopping, our studying, our volunteering, our family--it's overwhelming at times.  

Because of everything going on in your life, you might think that it's a great time to stop studying, put aside your online education and take a break.  I want to encourage you not to do that.  Be sure that as you are scheduling your holiday get-togethers, you are also scheduling your study time.

Why not take a break?

Here's why. You will get to the first of the year and wish that you had studied so that you were further ahead in your associate degree in nursing or your RN to BS in nursing program. We want you to reach the first of the year, look back at 2012 and be happy with how much you accomplished. If for some reason you feel like you won't be able to do that--call us. 

The College Network's academic support team can work with you to help you get back on track and move forward. We can make sure you have a study plan and help you chart your course to make your degree attainable--for you. We know that you can do it, and everyone needs some help now and then. 

You can reach our academic team at 800-634-1443. Or call one of our program advisors at 800-395-1014 to learn more about our other online programs and what is the best fit for you. 

I have seen quite a few postings on Facebook lately about what people are thankful for at this time of year. Personally, I think it's a great practice to develop. So many times we don't think about being grateful for the little things we have in our life. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day hectic schedules that we try to keep up. Work, exercise, school, kids, parents, friends...the list never ends. 

I encourage you to take a moment today to be thankful for the education that you have. It has brought you to where you are. If you think about education as building blocks in your life, you can see how far you have come. We learned to read, then write and then figure out if the sum of y is equal to or greater than x. (I still haven't figured that one out and as an English major, I hold little hope that I will.) Once we have those in place, we moved onto a more career-focused education. 

Many of you have completed your training and are now LPNs. It was this building block that allowed you to move forward and become a working nurse. Are you now ready to talk about your next building block?  The College Network offers a way for you to earn an Associate of Science in nursing degree to provide the education requirements necessary to become a registered nurse.   

Through our partnership with Indiana State University, we are also able to offer the only NLNAC-accredited LPN to BS in Nursing degree program that can be completed entirely through distance learning. This self-paced program allows you to work as an LPN while working toward your degree.  

Call us today at 800-395-1014 to learn more about our nursing programs.  It's time to think about the next building block you need to move forward. You will be thankful you did. 

Although the unemployment rate increased slightly in October-going from 7.8% to 7.9%-the United States still added 171,000 new jobs. Amongst the top industries contributing to these new jobs was health care with 31,000 new positions added.

If you are unemployed or just looking for a more stable career, health care is an excellent choice, and The College Network can help get you started down this new path. We have several different programs for you to choose from to earn an online degree in the health care field:

Associate's Degree Programs

• LPN/LVN to RN
• Paramedic to RN

Bachelor's Degree Programs

• LPN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing
• RN to BS in Nursing
• Health Care Administration
• Health Information Management
• Healthcare Management

Master's Degree Programs

• RN to MS in Nursing
• MS in Nursing

The College Network offers academic support for our portion of these degree programs from leading universities, so when you enroll with us, you are never alone. Your success is just as important to us as it is to you, and we will work with you as much as you need our help to ensure that you master the knowledge you are learning. There has never been a better time to begin a career in the healthcare industry, so if you would like more information on our online degree programs call 1-800-395-1014.

As I watched coverage of the horrible storm that hit the East coast --I was thankful that my friends and family were safe and sound.  When a disaster of this proportion hits our country, we see the best in people.  Neighbors helping those without electricity, and sharing food and shelter as well. It reminds us that we are one country, built on the commonality that we will always help those in need.

There are quite a lot of customers at The College Network who have taken advantage of the EARN program. But, there are also quite a few that haven't yet. And, if you don't know about it--let me tell you the ways that it can help you with your degree program.

The EARN program helps customers create their own study communities by referring their friends and coworkers. There are some of our customers who work together that will meet in the cafeteria every week for a study group.  It helps motivate them and gives them a support system. I think It's always helpful, when you don't quite understand a concept, to hear someone explain something to you from their perspective.  

The EARN program also benefits customers by supporting their education. You see, as a customer of The College Network who is obtaining an associate degree in nursing or working towards a bachelor's degree, you will receive $200 for each person that you refer to The College Network when they enroll in a degree program. And, when you reach your sixth referral--The College Network portion of your program loan will be paid off!  

Need more motivation?  I recently worked with a customer on her success story. She just reached her loan payoff by referring her friends at work. To help them succeed in their program, she gave them the $200 she had received for the referral so they could use it to pay for their first exam. She is motivating them to succeed by inspiring them with her success. And, she has earned every part of it!

Call us today at 866-567-6150 to make a referral or you can also go online--create your own study group and support your education. 

The past several years have been disappointing for college applicants looking to earn their associate’s degree in nursing (ADN). According to the National League for Nursing, ADN applications were the most frequently rejected among both pre- and post-licensure nursing applications in 2011. The NLN report stated that nearly 50% of all qualified ADN applications were rejected in 2011, with only 15% of the nation’s ADN programs accepting qualified applicants on a regular basis. A lack of qualified faculty was found to be the main obstacle preventing nursing programs from accepting qualified candidates and expanding program capacity.

Despite these discouraging statistics, there are still several options for students looking to pursue their RN license with an associate’s degree. Distance learning programs like those offered by The College Network provide a positive alternative to the lengthy waiting lists found at most campus-based programs. By completing general education requirements with The College Network, students can bypass the wait-list process and apply directly to university nursing programs with a useful set of existing credits. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can get started with your associate’s degree without the wait, contact The College Network at 800-395-1014 today to speak with one of our knowledgeable Program Advisors.

In today’s economic conditions, there are very few career paths that guarantee job stability. But, according to a 2012 report from Newsweek’s The Daily Beast, nursing graduates have the best chance of being hired upon graduation. Nursing ranked as the #1 most useful major on the website’s recent list of the “13 Most Useful College Majors,” followed by mechanical and electrical engineering.

According to the report, the unemployment rate for recent nursing graduates is 4%, a league above the current national unemployment rate of 8.3%. At 1.9%, the unemployment rate for a nurse with previous field experience is even more promising.  This means that nurses who choose to return to school in the near future have a greater chance of landing a job upon graduation than students in any other profession in the country. For nurses who’ve been considering going back to school for a higher credential, the numbers show that now is most definitely the time.  

This isn’t the only time nursing has ranked #1 for job stability; registered nurses ranked first on U.S. News’ “25 Best Jobs of 2012” report. At a time when our country’s economic future is uncertain, it certainly pays to be a nurse.

If you’ve been thinking about earning your RN with an Associate's or Bachelor's degree in nursing, don’t put it off any longer. Here at The College Network, we’ve created programs that make earning your degree simpler than ever before.   Contact The College Network at 800-395-1014 to speak with one of our knowledgeable Program Advisors and get started today.