How long does it take to become a registered nurse?
In Canada it takes four years to complete the degree necessary to become a registered nurse.
Some new programs are now being developed for individuals who may alreay have a univeristy degree and they generally are about 3 years in length. These "second degree" are new and not available everywhere.
You can become a nurse with as little as an Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN), which is a 2 year program, but there are pre-requisite courses you will likely need before applying to a program, so for most people it ends up being about 3 years in all. Or you can go straight for a Bachelor of Science or Arts in Nursing (BSN or BAN), which is a 4 year (if going full time every semester) program. Either the ADN or BSN make you eligible for licensure as an RN. The ADN programs teach you the basic, fundemental nursing skills required, while the BSN will go into greater depth in terms of nursing theory, research, public health concepts, and leadership and management training. So with the BSN you are better able to advance in your career into supervisory or administrative positions later on. You can also start with the ADN degree and get to work and find an employer who pays tuition reimbursement to complete you BSN at a later time.
believe the back stabbing, holier than Thou has got to be the worst…..And if you have a good sense of self confidence and you make others look bad you become a target for the stabbing. It is nice to have a “friend” on your unit to count on because it is really true what they say “nurses eat their young!” I would never have believed it before I got my license, but I have seen it firsthand. I encounter nursing students now and I enjoy passing on my prior nursing and nursing school experiences. I would rather be a mentor than treat students a nurses treated me as a student…….Nurses should appreciate an up and coming new nurse, not ask “why would you want to be a nurse” Just because older nurses were put through hell doesn’t mean they have to put you through it. Also, it took a long time to complete nursing school, but I love my profession and my job. (it is all what you make it) And failing a class does not a bad nurse make……
To become a registered nurse with an AA degree takes about four years. 2 years of general education and 2 years of the actual nursing program. Ironically, to get a BSN (bachelor of science in nursing) also takes about 4 years (I’m still trying to understand why not all nurses get a BSN) A RN can go all the way up to having a PhD, which takes quite a bit longer. The worst part of the job depends on what you perceive as being bad, I suppose. Personally, I don’t care for the 12 hour shifts, but some people prefer it because it means you work for three days with four days off. An “up” of the profession: You’ll always have an interesting job. Nurses are always in demand. A ‘down” of the profession would be the incredible amount of stress that nurses have. Overworked and understaffed.
