When you’re past college age, possibly with your own family and working one or two jobs, distance learning becomes an option and it becomes imperative to pursue further education in such a way that you don’t compromise family time and/or have to miss too much work. If you’ve thought of taking up a Masters in Nursing program, distance learning options are also available for that field, and if you consider the other benefits of such a program, it might not take long before you realize that this is a very good way to pursue post-graduate studies.
A study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education recently revealed that students who do at least a certain percentage of their coursework on the Internet (regardless of course) do better than students who are enrolled in a conventional campus setting. That alone is one very important advantage to taking your Masters in Nursing online, as opposed to in an actual classroom. After all, such a setting gives you more time to study. But what type of online Masters of Nursing program should you prioritize above others?
The answer to the above question may differ, but one constant is that the CRNA, or Nurse Anesthetist program is very seldom made available online. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try, but just to set your expectations, recent research shows that online CRNA programs were not available in over 2,000 schools covering more than 7,000 programs. One example of an educational institution you may want to check out is Kaplan University, as the school has several online nursing programs, including:
- Master of Science – DNP Adult Nurse Practitioner
- Master of Science – DNP Executive Leader
- Master of Science – DNP Family Nurse Practitioner
- Master of Science in Nursing – Adult Gerontology Practitioner
- Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner
- Master of Science-DNP Path (Doctor of Nursing Practice)
- MS in Nursing
- MSN – Executive Leader
- MSN – Nurse Educator
- MSN – Nurse Informatics
- RN to MS in Nursing
Another CCNE-accredited school that you can count among your options is the University of Phoenix, which is particularly known for its distance learning programs. However, only four online programs – MS in Nursing, MS in Nursing/MBA Health Care Management, MS in Nursing/Health Care Education, and MS in Nursing/Master of Health Administration are available.
Other schools that offer a wide range of online nursing programs for your master’s education include Capella University, Georgetown University, Grand Canyon University, Jacksonville University, Keiser University, Maryville University, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Cincinnati, and Western Governors University, just to name a few.
Regardless of which school or which program you choose, it is advisable to do your research before making any commitment. You would want to get all the details you could get about these programs, including, but not limited to the extent of your online education – is the entire program offered online , or would you have to make a few campus visits? And you should also make sure to contact multiple schools while gathering enough data and figuring out where you would want to take your Online Masters in Nursing – all it takes is a little elbow grease as you compare and contrast admissions requirements, costs, and other various factors.