Is it possible to earn your nursing degree online? Yes and no. Yes, it’s possible to complete much of your coursework on an online learning platform. However, any program that confers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree must also include in-person components so that students can learn clinical skills.
Can you get a nursing degree online? While many degrees can fully be earned online, a nursing degree isn’t one of them. Nursing education requires both didactic learning and hands-on experiential learning; however, many hybrid online nursing programs offer online coursework paired with in-person learning components.
One example is Northeastern University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program, which provides a hybrid approach to learning that integrates both online and in-person learning components. While our students take online courses, they also receive extensive student support from dedicated nursing instructors.
To decide whether the hybrid approach toward nursing education is the right choice for you, it’s helpful to learn what it entails. Explore the different learning components and the many benefits of a hybrid nursing education.
Can You Earn Your Nursing Degree Online? Understanding the Basics
Our ABSN students complete a blend of fundamental coursework, nursing labs, and clinical rotations. While the coursework is 100% online, the in-person labs and clinicals provide the applied learning experiences required to become a registered nurse (RN).
In short, you’ll develop comprehensive nursing knowledge while completing your online nursing coursework. During your in-person labs and clinical rotations, you’ll continue to expand your nursing knowledge while also acquiring crucial clinical skills. In addition, clinicals provide opportunities to practice interacting with patients and delivering direct patient care under the supervision of experienced clinical instructors.
How Online Nursing Programs Work
Before deciding whether to earn an online nursing degree, take a closer look at the main learning components.
Online Coursework Component of the Northeastern ABSN Program
Can you take nursing classes online? At Northeastern, it’s possible. Our accelerated nursing coursework lays the groundwork for your education. These courses focus on the fundamentals and theories of professional practice. The topics covered include pathophysiology, nursing informatics, cultural diversity and healthcare ethics.
You’ll complete these courses on our intuitive online learning management system. Each course consists of different learning modules that reinforce and solidify your retention of core nursing concepts. Assignments within each module include:
- Textbook readings
- Informational videos
- Patient case studies
- NCLEX-RN® prep work
In-Person Components of the Northeastern ABSN Program
The Northeastern ABSN program cannot be completed 100% online; in-person aspects of the curriculum require students to live within driving distance of our ABSN program site and clinical placement locations.
Skills Lab in Nursing School
The nursing skills lab is where your applied learning begins. Our lab setting features hospital equipment, nursing supplies, clinical task trainers, and medical manikins to provide a safe, contextual environment for clinical skills development.
Clinical skills taught include:
- Hand-washing practices
- Hospital bed changes
- Catheterization
- Intramuscular injections
- Nasogastric tube insertions
- Oxygenation therapy
- Wound care
Labs are learning experiences, during which mistakes can be made in a judgment-free setting, so students can learn. Students can also participate in open lab hours to gain more practice.
Simulation Labs in Nursing Education
Nursing simulation is a key to our experiential education model. These realistic learning activities allow you and your classmates to intervene in clinical situations that become more complex over time. Through simulation, we bring a human-to-human interaction component to the learning process without putting patient safety at risk.
Either an actor or a high-fidelity manikin carries out the patient role during a simulation. The type of patient we use depends on the learning objective. We use manikins in high-risk clinical situations, such as cardiac arrest or severe hemorrhaging.
If a simulation involves interpersonal communication, we’ll have an actor play the patient role. Then, following each simulation, you’ll attend a debriefing session with your instructor to talk about the experience.
You won’t be graded during nursing simulations at Northeastern. This is because we keep the focus on simulations as a safe space for learning from constructive criticism and honest self-reflection.
Learn more about the benefits of simulation lab.
Clinicals for Real-World Experience
Hybrid online nursing programs like Northeastern’s ABSN offer clinical rotations, which place nursing students in nearby healthcare facilities to practice delivering actual patient care under supervision.
We partner with diverse healthcare facilities to ensure our students receive clinical experiences that provide a broad perspective of the profession. As an ABSN program student, your first clinical takes place in the first semester of our four-semester nursing program.
During your rotations, you’ll perform health assessments, develop care plans and take vitals under the guidance of an instructor. You may work with any of the following patient populations:
- Adults with common health problems
- Adults in complex care situations
- Childbearing women and their families
- Children with acute and/or chronic illnesses
- Individuals and groups with mental health conditions
- Public health and the community
During your final weeks in the ABSN program, you’ll complete a role transition experience in a concentrated area of nursing practice. You’ll learn under the guidance of a clinical preceptor (a trained registered nurse), working the same shifts as this individual and helping them take care of patients. This helps you prepare for professional nursing practice.
Benefits of Earning Your Nursing Degree Online
Although an online nursing degree does require an in-person presence for hands-on, experiential learning, this blended approach is often preferable. It provides greater flexibility, while still enabling you to benefit from interactions with your classmates and faculty.
What is nursing school really like? Get an inside look at what you can expect.
The Flexibility to Learn on Your Own Schedule
The online portion of the ABSN program allows for more flexibility in terms of where and when you study. Since coursework is online, you can view lectures and complete assignments when your schedule allows. You can also study and submit assignments from wherever you choose.
The flexibility of online nursing instruction does not mean you can be lax about your studies or miss deadlines. You must still stay on track with your course requirements and submit your work on time.
The Capability to Learn From Faculty and Peers
Interaction with your faculty and other students is a key element of the Northeastern ABSN program. While courses take place online, there is a high level of virtual interaction and collaboration through the learning management system. Plus, you’ll complete your labs and clinical rotations concurrently with online courses, offering live feedback and face-to-face interaction.
Discussion boards play an important role in online courses. In an online environment, all students have an opportunity to contribute to the discussion and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of concepts.
On the discussion boards, students get a chance to know one another, challenge their beliefs, process information and form new ideas. This social aspect of engagement helps foster growth and understanding.
The Ability to Adapt Your Education to Your Learning Needs
Not everyone learns in the same fashion, which can create roadblocks for students in traditional nursing programs. Online coursework, however, allows you to view and review lectures and course materials as many times as needed until you fully understand the subject.
You can approach the same nursing concept with a variety of approaches, such as by viewing images and graphics, listening to audio lectures, and engaging with others on the discussion forum.
Ready to Accelerate Your Nursing Career?
Northeastern University’s ABSN program allows you to earn a BSN in as few as 16 months. Our students enjoy our small class sizes, community-like cohort structure and personalized attention from instructors. Plus, we offer three enrollment locations near Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Contact an admissions counselor at Northeastern today to learn more about our hybrid online nursing program.