Overview

Nursing programs focus on professional skills as well as personal growth, including your ability to function under pressure, notice details, work long hours, and demonstrate emotional stability. Their purpose is to prepare you to care for people with illnesses, injuries, and disabilities in a fast-paced medical environment.

Course Work & Learning Outcomes

As a nursing student, you’ll develop practical skills (like charting, where you document what you did and didn’t do) as well as personal qualities like tenacity, humor, and resilience. Common programs include:

• Bachelor’s of science in nursing (BSN)
• Registered nurse (RN) to BSN
• Second degree bachelor’s

Typical courses in this type of program include health assessment, healthcare law, pharmacology, pediatrics, geriatrics, advanced maternal nursing, ethics in nursing, critical thinking for medical professionals, and patient management.

Career Outlook

You could use your degree in nursing to get a job as a certified legal nurse consultant, certified nurse midwife, nurse anesthetist, or nursing informatics analyst. Best-paying jobs include titles like advanced nurse practitioner, nurse administrator, and research nurse.