Accelerated BSN Programs at Kentucky Nursing Schools
If you’ve ever wanted to work in a fast-paced environment that is constantly changing and challenging you, nursing may be the career for you. It used to be that there were only two options for Kentucky students that wanted to become nurses: two-year Associate Degrees in nursing and four-year Bachelor’s degrees in nursing. As nursing schools attempt to provide more options for nursing students, in an effort to strengthen the nursing workforce, you now have expanded options in Kentucky to become a nurse.
Find out about your options for an Accelerated BSN (ABSN) degree by requesting information from the schools featured below. We have compiled a list of both online and ground based programs, and encourage you to request materials from multiple schools in order to compare requirements, courses, costs, and feasibility. We at BestNursingDegree.com have taken the time to find the schools, so you can focus on finding out which one is the best choice for you!
With an accelerated, or fast track, nursing program, you may be able to earn your Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree in as little as 12-18 months.
How can you earn a four-year degree so quickly? If you already have a degree in another, non-nursing field, then you will likely be able to apply some of the credits from that degree to cover the general education requirements of a BSN. The result—you may only have to take nursing courses, which can allow you to finish a nursing degree program in less than half the time it takes traditional students.
Accelerated BSN Curriculum in Kentucky
One way that nursing schools keep accelerated BSN programs move fast is by having strict prerequisite requirements. Since nursing is based in science, you will most likely have to have completed biology, anatomy and physiology, and human biology to enter most accelerated nursing programs.
As soon as you start in your Kentucky accelerated BSN program, you will begin to explore nursing topics. First, you will learn basic nursing skills such as health assessment and care planning, in classes like introductory nursing, physiology, and medication administration. You will then take more detailed courses in nursing, meant to prepare you to work as a nurse in any specialty or setting.
Specific course requirements may vary from school to school, but in general, you will take courses in palliative care, emergency nursing, labor and delivery nursing, and nursing leadership. You will also receive instruction that is intended to strengthen your critical thinking skills, develop your ability to delegate healthcare related activities to other nurses and staff, and prepare you for a degree of autonomy befitting your education and abilities.
After you have completed all of your courses, whether online or in-person, it’s time to practice what you’ve learned. Your school will send you to a local clinical site, where you will practice the nursing skills that you learned in school. In addition, you learn practical skills like working with other nurses and communicating efficiently with patients. The clinical portion of your nursing education is essential to developing the confidence and competency required of the nursing profession.
Nursing Career Outlook in Kentucky
If you choose to work as a nurse in Kentucky, you are looking toward a bright future, according to CareerOneStop. O*Net expects there to be 2,050 new nursing jobs per year from now until 2020. This represents a 25% growth in nursing jobs between 2010 and 2020.
Registered Nurses in Kentucky can usually earn a comfortable salary, particularly after earning a BSN, which may open up the job market for you. The median salary for registered nurses in Kansas is $56,600 per year (O*Net, 2012). Those with specialized skills and experience may be able to earn over $70,000 per year in Kentucky (O*Net, 2012), depending upon location and setting, among other factors.
Some of the main employers in Kentucky are hospitals and healthcare clinics. Major nursing employers include Charleston Health Care Center, Brandenburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Elmcroft Senior Living, and Advanced Correctional Healthcare.
Licensing Considerations in Kentucky
Kentucky uses its Board of Nursing to administer and regulate licenses. However, graduates can also take part in other activities through the Board of Nursing. For instance, the Board of Nursing is looking for input from nurses on the topic of educational mobility.
After passing the NCLEX-RN exam, you can receive your license from the Board of Nursing. The Board of Nursing website allows you to track the status of your application online. To renew your license every two years, you must complete 14 hours of continuing education, earn a certification related to your career, or a finish a nursing research project. Kentucky is part of the nursing compact, which means that you can use your nursing license from Kentucky to work in other compact states.
The Kentucky Nurses Association offers seminars for new nurses on how to survive your first year of nursing, in addition to making nurses heard in their workplaces. If you’re a new nurse, joining the Kentucky Nurses Association can improve your work experience by providing resources and networking that otherwise may be hard to find.
