SAUSALITO (ASRN.ORG) -- Making it one of the country’s fastest-growing career fields, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employment of nurses to grow by 22% by 2018, creating nearly 600,000 new jobs at hospitals, physician’s offices, and in emerging markets like home health care agencies and community centers1. In addition, the American Society of Registered Nurses (ASRN) recently issued a call for a more educated workforce in the face of growing demands on nurses and the increasing complexity of health care.

“More men and women than ever will be entering the workforce as registered nurses during the next several years, and we are committed to helping these graduates stand out and position themselves for advancement and high-level success with the career-building power of a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing,” says Mary Del Valle, RN, MN, Psy.D, President of the American Society of Registered Nurses. “Since 2003, we’ve been helping nurses earn a bachelor’s degree through on-campus programs. By creating an online RN-BSN program, we believe that would create the same academic experience and respected degree available to licensed nurses in all 50 states. This isn’t just a service to students--it helps fill a critical role for the entire American health care system, as demand for qualified, college-educated nurses is expected to outpace supply for the foreseeable future.”

To further help working nurses quickly and conveniently earn an online Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing, ASRN has developed standards to grant accrediation toward the BSN degree based on a nurse’s previous college and/or community-college coursework, their national certification status, and even work experience.

“We believe a nurse’s time spent in the field is an invaluable asset that should be recognized and rewarded as he or she makes the important decision to pursue an advanced degree,” says Del Vallee. “That’s why we allow nurses up to six credit hours toward their RN-BSN degree for work experience and three credit hours for national certification status. Our health care system needs as many good men and women as possible to gain the skills and knowledge that are part of our BSN degree, and we’re committed to making that process as fast and convenient as possible.” 

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