All around the Internet there are websites that advertise online nursing schools, but for the student who has sat down to find a nursing school online the options may not seem as wide as the ads will have you to believe. This leaves many people to question whether online nursing courses are effective in providing an education.
The answer is yes there are nursing courses online and schools that are effective in training you to be both an LPN or an RN but you have to know where to look and focus on schools you recognize.
For example, Kaplan and Phoenix online schools both offer online nursing courses to those who are interested in upgrading their nursing status from LPN to RN and for those who are just starting out as a LPN.
The trick is to start early building your resume because the one disadvantage that online nursing schools have is that you spend less time in clinical situations then you would if you actually attended a physical university. Thus, if you can get a position as a STNA or even as a volunteer and get early exposure you can start with a leg up on other students who are studying to be nurses.
Every bit of experience helps and everything you can do from within your current job will aid you. For example, as a volunteer or STNA you may be offered disease control training, or infectious protocol, or other small classes you may consider worthless.
However, any certification you can add to the degree earned from online nursing schools will benefit you even if you fail to see the connection so if offered the opportunity to participate in training always take it. It is possible to get an education through online nursing schools but the key is experience on top of experience to make yourself stand out!
