(Newswire.net — October 7, 2020) — One of the great things about nursing is that you never stop learning. Whether you are converting an RN to BSN or studying for the highest degree possible, you have got amazing opportunities to develop your skills.
With a growing aging population, healthcare is set for many challenges in the coming years. Throw into the mix a large number of registered nurses who will come up for retirement in the near future, and there is a big focus on making sure we are training the nurses of tomorrow.
A big part of this is a focus on further education and ensuring we produce nurses who are well equipped to work in tomorrow’s healthcare setting. This means that wherever you are in your nursing career, there are amazing opportunities to continue to develop your skills and push your career to the next level.
Now is a perfect time to convert your RN to BSN, or if you have already got your BSN, then take the next step in your journey. With the proliferation of high-quality online degrees, you may well find you have the flexibility you need to work around your career and give yourself the new skills you need.
Benefits of Further Education in Nursing
Studies have found there are huge benefits to further education in nursing. In nearly all areas, hospitals with a high percentage of nurses with further degrees performed better, and this is another reason why there is such a push for nurses to continue their studies.
Not only does further education benefit the overall standard of care in a healthcare setting, but it also offers many opportunities on a personal level. If you are looking at converting your RN to BSN, then you can expect the following benefits.
New Skills
Learning new skills is not limited to a practical setting, and it is also not limited to the classroom. The best way to learn is to blend the theoretical and practical side of things and returning to your studies gives you this opportunity.
Things move on quickly in nursing. Different approaches become more prevalent, technology moves on, and you must keep up. While you are going to improve your skills through your day to day working nurse, sometimes you have just got to return to the classroom to pick up some of the other skills.
An RN to BSN degree will help make sure you are up to date with the latest trends and have all the knowledge you need to push your career to the next level. With modern technology, you have a great opportunity to pursue both the theoretical and practical sides of nursing without sacrificing on either side.
Career Opportunities
A BSN will prepare you to take on more responsibility in the workplace, significantly boosting your career opportunities.
No matter how much we love our jobs, it is normal to want to take things to the next level and progress in our careers. There are always new challenges you can pursue, and this is particularly true in nursing, where the sky’s the limit. To start making that career progression, though, you have got to take tangible steps, which often involves furthering your studies.
Every piece of education you undertake will look great on your resume and show employers that you are serious about achieving success in nursing. Whether that is an RN to BSN, a BSN to an MSN, or taking your MSN either further, it is going to help unlock doors.
Hopefully, nursing is going to be a big part of your life for a long time, so it is natural to want to achieve as much as you possibly can in it.
Salary Increase
Money might not be the primary reason people go into nursing, but it is very important, nonetheless. You spend each and every day working hard to give people the best possible care, and you need to be rewarded for this.
The more skills you have, and the more responsibility you take on, the greater these rewards are likely to be. When you convert your RN to BSN, you are going to give yourself opportunities to earn more money. These positions might come with greater responsibilities, but that is exactly what your degree will train you for, and that is one of the reasons you will have greater earning potential.
Money is important, no matter what job you are in, and investing in your education is going to open up opportunities to increase your salary.
Keep Up with Developments
As we mentioned earlier, nursing changes at a fast pace. The world is always changing, and the technology we have access to is always getting better, so it is important to keep on top of things if you want to provide the best care possible.
Of course, you are going to adapt to technology as you continue to work, but sometimes there is a fundamental shift in ideology that needs to be understood in the classroom. It is not just on the hospital floor where things change. Healthcare changes from a structural point of view as well, and it needs strong leaders on the nursing side of things to help drive change.
If you want to get ahead of the game, then one of the best ways to do it is by going back to the classroom and looking ahead at how nursing is going to change.
Why Study Online?
One of the big changes in recent years is the ability to study online, which makes it much more convenient to study while still earning money. This allows students to fit their studies around their lives, meaning entering further education is much more achievable for many people.
There are so many high-quality online nursing degrees, especially for RN to BSN, give nurses options, and this is invaluable. Whether you study on campus or online, you have access to the high-level teaching that can help you improve your career, so it is worth exploring your options.
These are some of the benefits of studying online.
A High-Quality Education
Online courses have become much more prevalent in recent years, and as technology has improved, so too has the quality of education. Students throughout the US are now studying online in their millions. In a recent survey, 52% found their online degree gave them a better learning experience than the in-class equivalent.
Studying online and in-class is different, and there is no one that is better than the other, but this shows just how comprehensive an online degree can be. In the past, when considering online studies, students might have perceived the in-classroom education to be more comprehensive, but that is not the case anymore.
You can do anything you want to achieve through an online education, which is true in nursing. From RN to BSN, all the way to the very top degrees, you’ve got the opportunity to get a world-class degree online.
Flexibility to Fit Your Life
People lead busy lives and studying on campus doesn’t always fit into this. If you have got commitments that you just cannot change, but you still want to further your education, then studying online can be the perfect answer.
When you study online, you have the tools to create your own schedule and fit it around your busy life. Whether that means continuing to work, looking after family members, or something else, you have got the opportunity to work around your commitments.
For many students, this can mean the difference between having the opportunity to further their education or not. Technology gives us the ability to have access to learning materials when we need them, and this means you can study when you need to and not have to worry about being in a classroom.
It takes a lot of discipline and determination to balance a busy schedule with online learning, but it is possible. It can allow you to go from RN to BSN while still focusing on the other important things in your life.
Future Proof
All you need to study online is some basic IT equipment and a connection to the internet. This makes online education much easier to implement during difficult times.
During 2020 we have seen institutions worldwide being forced to embrace online learning because of social restrictions, and this is one area where remote learning shines. No matter what is going on in the world, all you need to continue your studies is an internet connection, and you are good to go.
You do not need to leave the house, which means that no matter what is going on in your life, the chances are you will still have the ability to keep up with your studies. We do not know what the future holds, but online learning is very resilient to big changes.
If you are investing in your education, then you want to know you can access it at any point, and that is something online learning gives you.
Financial Benefits
Studying online can often work out cheaper than campus-based learning.
When a university runs a campus-based program, it has lots of overheads such as maintaining the campus and looking after buildings, which will naturally add to your education cost.
An online degree has fewer overheads, though, which means institutions can pass the savings on to you in the form of a more cost-effective degree. Of course, there is still the cost of paying the professors and the software that hosts your modules, but it can often work out cheaper.
This means you can convert from an RN to BSN for less while still getting the same education quality. Again, this makes further education in nursing much more accessible and allows more nurses to take that next step.
Build Connections
One of the reasons people often choose on-campus learning is because of the connections you can build. When you are at university, you build life-long relationships that can enrich your life in many ways. However, we live in a society that’s increasingly comfortable operating online, and there is no reason you cannot build strong relationships with your fellow students while studying online.
The right course will encourage you to create connections and work with other students, and you will find these relationships can make a real difference to your career. We often hear the saying, “it’s not what you know but who you know” and there is a little bit of truth in this, but that’s certainly not a reason to be put off online studying.
Technology allows you to build strong relationships through online learning, and the right courses will foster this.
Practical as Well as Theoretical
Nursing is not based solely on theoretical learning; there are many practical aspects as well, and your online university should recognize this. The best online institutions will set you up to get the best possible real-world experience and help you take the next steps in your career.
Modern-day online courses give you excellent support that can give you the advice you need to take the next step with what you want to do. Your course might be online, but the people running it understand you have got to operate in the real world, and they work to ensure you have got the skills to do this.
Conclusion
There’s always more to learn in nursing and going back to the “classroom” is always an option. No matter your circumstances, the chances are, there is a course out there that can fit into your life and allow you to take your career to the next level.
Going from RN to BSN is a big step to take, but there are lots of options out there, and there will be one that gives you the best chance of success. With the option of studying online, you can continue to work while studying, and though this may be challenging, it might just be one of the best investments you make, so take a look at your options and see if further education is right for you.