How do you get a degree in nursing?

What if you don’t have any nursing experience?

Nearly a year and a half of a global pandemic may have changed you. How couldn’t it? As the world falls into sickness, record-high unemployment and financial instability rock communities both local and global. Your priorities must’ve shifted during this time of uncertainty. Maybe, even as a return to normalcy seems possible, you aren’t the same person anymore. Maybe you want something more as you return to the workforce.

Maybe you want to actively protect your community by getting a degree in nursing.

It’s never too late to begin or advance your career in nursing. COVID-19 has reaffirmed that healthcare workers will always protect the communities they serve. And it’s never been a better time to join the frontline of essential healthcare workers.

Explore a degree in nursing

From the humanities to the hard sciences, many nurses start in fields and get degrees unrelated to nursing. Do you worry that you didn’t take any prerequisite courses for nursing? Or that your degree won’t cut it? The first requirement is a desire to serve, protect and provide aid. Beyond that, becoming a nurse may be easier than you think.

Degrees in nursing with and without prerequisites

If you already possess a bachelor’s degree, you can choose to start with a Nursing Assistant certification, or dive right into a hybrid on-campus/online Post-Baccalaureate Nursing major tailored for those with a previous bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing field. If you already have a nursing degree, our options include:

• RN to BS (100% online nursing degree)
• BS to DNP – Family Nurse Practitioner
• BS to DNP – Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
• BS to DNP – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
• Post-Graduate DNP
• Post-Graduate Nursing Certificates

Why get a degree in nursing?

• Nursing will always be an essential function within the healthcare field
• Indispensable pillar of the community
• Variety in both levels of education and day-to-day activities
• High average salary and great benefits
• St. Scholastica offers flexible, online, and fast options for getting a degree in nursing

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an average of 200,000 positions for registered nurses will open, year over year, for the next decade at least. Another recent study found that up to 4 million nurses are expected to retire by 2030. The physical and emotional demand for medical workers has only been made increasingly dire by the COVID-19 pandemic as hospitals fill.

And with an average annual salary of about $75k, a nursing degree also proves to be a financially smart career decision.

Next steps for starting or advancing your career in nursing

The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN has provided over a century of nursing education and has graduated more than 8,200 nurses since 1912. St. Scholastica specializes in offering multiple levels of degrees and career entry points for future and current nurses of any experience or degree level. Whether you just received an undergraduate degree unsure of what to do next or you’re a seasoned professional looking to advance your career, St. Scholastica empowers you to reach the next level of success in the most flexible way possible.

Begin, advance, or complete your nursing career at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, St. Cloud, or online. Discover more about their nursing programs.