How to Obtain a Registered Nurse's License
If you desire to become a registered nurse or RN, you will find it to be an extremely rewarding and challenging profession with no two days exactly the same. There are a couple of educational tracks you can take that will lead to the RN license, which path you decide to take is an individualized choice.
- Choose the nursing diploma option
if you simply want to practice as an RN, but keep in mind there are
few advancement opportunities for those with the nursing diploma.
This is the fastest program to the RN license, but your training is
either within a hospital or some other facility rather than a
college setting. You complete the courses and then can sit for the
registered nursing exam and receive your license. - Enroll at a two-year college to
receive your associate's degree in nursing. The second option will
lead to an actual associates degree, which will take you two years
to complete. Your first year of the program is typically devoted to
general studies such as math, sciences, and liberal arts classes.
The final year is focused on your nursing courses. When you finish
the degree, you are then able to sit for your RN license. - Enter a bachelor of science in
nursing or BSN. The BSN is a four-year bachelor's degree that is
offered at universities that have the nursing program. You complete
it very much like you would any other bachelor's degree, your first
two years are basic or lower level and your final two years are
spent studying the field of nursing. After finishing the degree, you
will then sit for your licensing.