Nursing Education - Which is the Best Route?

by Kelly Hunter

Contrary to what some people believe, nursing requires formal education, though education in nursing can be done through various methods and routes. About 60% of nurses or aspiring nurses take to studying the Practitioners' course, popularly known as LPN to many, as a way of stepping into the nursing domain.

Here are some methods of getting educated in nursing domain:

- Bachelors of Science in Nursing - This study program, also known as BSN is offered as a 3-year course by institutions that offer courses in nursing. Some students also take the option of an additional year on clinical trials, but this completely optional. These courses come second in popularity next to the LPN courses. They have a similar model of teaching, with students exposed to the clinical aspects of nursing with this course too.

- Diploma in Nursing - The Diploma courses are turnkey in nature and students availing of these courses, aim for getting basic knowledge about the domain of nursing. These courses last 6 months at the most. Nurses who do the Diploma courses look for uplifting their knowledge, either by doing the LPN or the BSN course.

- Accelerated BSN - MSN Programs - These dual programs are considered the most intensive in the domain of nursing. Students opting for this program spend about 4 1/2 - 5 years in studying various aspects of nursing including doing clinical experiments. The duration of study coupled with the intensity forces a lot of students not to take to this program. Yet, about 10% of students enroll for this program, as this provides them with complete knowledge about the nursing domain.

Top healthcare institutes in the United States of America offer all these courses, and in addition, also offer specialized courses in a branch of medicine. For example, some institutes also offer a course in EchoCardiography, also known as ECG. Students aspiring to become radiologists can enroll with this course, as a stepping stone.

With nursing, education never ends. Nurses learn about nursing not only in their study programs, but also in their respective roles. But for them to get working on a specific role in a health care setting, some formal education is required. That is where, these courses come into play.