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Students interested in pursuing campus and online nursing degrees have more options these days of which to choose. Nursing programs throughout the country are expanding and becoming more innovative, flexible and convenient. They’re available at undergraduate and graduate levels and are tailored to those with high school diplomas, as well as undergraduates working toward liberal arts bachelor’s degrees, individuals with nursing backgrounds or bachelor’s degrees in other disciplines.

The Bureau of Labor forecasts that employment growth for registered nurses between 2008 and 2018 is expected to be much faster than the average for all occupations and is to include some 581,500 newly created jobs and hundreds of thousands of replacement jobs. The fastest rate of growth is to be in physician’s offices followed by home healthcare services and then nursing care facilities, according to the Bureau of Labor. Registered nurses with bachelor’s degrees are to have better employment prospects, and those with advanced practice specialties, such as clinical nurse specialists, nurse mid-wives, nurse practitioners and nurse anesthesiologists are to be in high demand particularly in inner cities and rural areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes.

While some, such as Vanderbilt University Medical Center, say the nursing shortage in many parts of the country has eased, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employers in some parts of the country and some employment settings have cited a difficulty in attracting and retaining an adequate number of registered nurses – primarily because of an aging registered nurse workforce and a lack of young workers who can fill positions. The Tri-Council for Nursing recently encouraged nurses to recognize entry level nursing trends and advance their careers. Urgent needs exist in occupations such as nurse educators, as well as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, the Tri-Council suggested.

A shortage of nurse educators, according to what Mountain State University Orlando Executive Director Randy White reportedly told the Orlando Business Journal, hasn’t been addressed nearly as much as a nursing shortage itself. Mountain State University itself has added a new master’s degree program with a concentration in education, the Orlando Business Journal article noted. In New Mexico, ITT Technical Institute in Albuquerque is one of at least six institutions to have recently added new programs in nursing, according to a May article in New Mexico Business Weekly.

Online courses are a part of several nursing programs. Other institutions allow students to fulfill program requirements during evenings and weekends on campus or to combine undergraduate liberal arts studies with masters degree studies in nursing. Accelerated degree programs have particularly experienced growth, according to the American Association of Colleges in Nursing.

With the new ITT Tech nursing program, students working toward an associate’s degree have opportunities to take some non-core courses in class or online or through a combination of distance learning and in-classroom instruction, the ITT Tech website shows. The School of Nursing webpage for Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, shows that this institution offers an accelerated graduate program where students can spend blocks of time on campus and receive instruction via distance learning. Undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing at Denver’s Regis University allow students to take courses online or on campus.

Vanderbilt University also has partnerships with colleges and universities throughout the country, through which students working toward liberal arts degrees can at the same time study toward a masters degree in nursing. Through a Regis University CHOICE (Connecting Health Occupations with Innovative Curriculum and Experience) bachelor of science in nursing, evening classes are conducted on campus twice weekly and clinical experiences are held during weekends. Regis, along with several other institutions, also offers an accelerated nursing program for those who hold bachelor’s degrees in other disciplines.

Creighton University in Nebraska and Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, like Regis, allow participants in these full-time programs to earn a bachelor’s in nursing in 12 months. Instruction in accelerated nursing programs is often intense, and students typically go without breaks between sessions, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Accelerated degree programs typically don’t include liberal arts courses, the association notes. At Quinnipiac University, the accelerated nursing program focus is nursing courses. Institutions might also have different entry requirements, such as a Creighton University requirement that students have completed prerequisite courses in advance.

Innovative and flexible campus-based nursing programs, along with distance learning degree programs, can make it easier for students to pursue studies without interrupting their careers, income requirements and overall lifestyles. By making it easier for students to work toward their traditional and online degrees, students might also be more likely to complete nursing programs. For registered nurses, an advanced education might also open doors for career advancements. For those just starting out, taking a free CNA class can provide a start to employment and a move into nursing colleges that will lead to a lasting and advancing career.