After earning your high school diploma or GED, you will need to earn a diploma in practical nursing to qualify for the NCLEX-PN and become a licensed practical nurse.

It can take as few as 12 months to earn a diploma in practical nursing, as opposed to approximately 2-3 years to earn an associate or bachelor's degree in nursing (ADN/ASN or BSN).

It can take anywhere from 12 months to 3 years to earn your BSN depending on your prior education and experience. Herzing University offers many unique degree pathways to earn your bachelor’s degree in nursing and advance your career (time estimates will vary by campus).

• I am new to nursing. Earn your bachelor’s degree in nursing in 3 years. We offer both on-campus options and an online BSN program. If you already have a BS degree in another field you may be eligible to enroll in our accelerated BSN nursing program.
• I am an ASN nurse. Enroll in our RN to BSN online bridge program to earn your bachelor’s degree in as few as 12 months.
• I am a licensed healthcare professional. We offer BSN bridge pathways for LPNs, paramedics, military medics, Respiratory Therapists (RT), and Cardiovascular Technologists (CVT) you may complete in as few as 28 months.

*Not all programs are available at every campus – you can find campus availability by clicking through to each program for further detail.

Yes! Many schools offer flexible or online nursing programs that make it easier for you to fit education in to your life. At Herzing University, much of the coursework for the BSN program is online, allowing students to advance their nursing careers while balancing a full-time job and/or family commitments. New nurses enrolling the BSN program can also take advantage of night classes to fit education into their schedule.

“Being able to earn my bachelor's degree while working as a registered nurse was a huge advantage. It was a challenge managing a full-time job and new courses every eight weeks, but the classes were set up nicely, allowing me enough time to complete my assignments and projects,” says recent Herzing University graduate Lindsey Van Galder.

As a registered nurse with a BSN, you’ll be able to do more of what you already love most while leading the way in the future of healthcare.

“Community-based work makes the difference between a BSN and ASN nurse,” says Joan Neave, a clinical coordinator at Herzing University. “Most of the healthcare happens outside of the hospital walls. Providing public health education and increasing access to health services in the community ensures a healthier future for everyone.”

The clinical experience you complete in a BSN program is very different than that of your ASN program. Through community-based clinical and volunteer work, you’ll gain hands-on experience in providing holistic, personalized care to a diverse patient population. This not only prepares you to become a leader within a healthcare setting, but also a driver of community change.

BSN-prepared nurses are most desirable in the job market for registered nurses. Registered nurse positions are expected to grow 7 percent through 2029, adding more than 200,000 new jobs.

Additionally, as more new nurses join the workforce, healthcare organizations must rely on skilled and experienced nursing leaders to guide them in achieving the highest quality of care. For many BSN nurses, this opens up the opportunity to move into leadership positions or specialized roles, including becoming a pediatric nurse, traveling nurse, surgical/perioperative nurse, oncology nurse or advance to a master’s degree program to grow into higher paying specialties.

As a medical records technician, you can build your career in a variety of healthcare settings. Most medical records technicians in 2019 worked in hospitals according to the BLS. You can also work in general practice, physicians’ offices, administrative support or technical services. Long-term care facilities also offer many employment opportunities as the elderly population in the U.S. seeks affordable care options.

As a full-time medical records clerk, you would likely have access to benefits such as a 401(k), paid vacation and medical and dental insurance. With the options to work part-time and weekend shifts, a career as a medical records clerk is very flexible, allowing you to explore the positions that best suit your professional goals.

On a typical day, a medical records technician might create or retrieve medical records for new and existing patients and review medical records for accuracy and completeness. It is of utmost importance that they maintain the confidentiality of these records because patient information is highly sensitive data.

Medical records technicians must also ensure that patient information is cataloged correctly and transferred and stored securely. A career in medical records is especially suited for people who like to help others, but also have an affinity for working with data.

Successful medical records technicians are also compassionate, have strong interpersonal skills. They can communicate effectively with doctors, nurses and other members of the patient care team as necessary as a part of their job duties.

Medical records technicians, otherwise known as medical coders or registrars, are an important part of the healthcare system. They keep track of patient data ranging from medical history to test results and help code and digitize that information into electronic health records (EHRs), which are stored in a hospital’s patient database and later interpreted by health insurance companies for reimbursement of healthcare services.

If you are interested in working the background of healthcare and have strong organizational and analytical skills, a career as a medical records technician might be an enticing option for you.