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By 2012 the U.S. Department of Labor projects there will be a need for more than 1,000,000 new and replacement Registered Nurses in the US. As a result many nursing schools across the country are trying to find ways in which to increase capacity and reach new students. One such way is to use fast track nursing schools which provide nursing programs for non-nursing graduates. These nursing schools offer a Baccalaureate and Master's Degree programs which build on you prior learning experiences. Thus they provide a way for those individuals who have undergraduate degrees in other fields of expertise to transfer into nursing programs.

Such accelerated programs give the student the quickest route to a license as a Registered Nurse for those who have already completed a Bachelor's or Graduate's degree in a non nursing discipline. Such programs take between 11 to 18 months to complete and include various prerequisites, While an accelerated master's degree program will generally take the students about 3 years to complete.

At present such accelerated nursing programs are available in most states and also in the District of Columbia. By July 2006 there were 173 accelerated bachelor degree programs and 46 accelerated master's programs at nursing schools all across the country. Further more as of July 2006 there around 40 accelerated bachelor degree programs being developed along with 17 new accelerated master's programs.

So what will accelerated nursing program do for me?

These programs accomplish the required training in a very short time as they build on your previous learning experiences. The instruction provided on these programs is intense as the courses are offered to students full time with no breaks between sessions. But the students on these programs get the same number of credit hours as those who are using traditional nursing programs.

Admission standards for these programs are high and they will typically require that the student has a least a 3.0 GPA, and the student will usually also have to go through a screening process before they are accepted. But those who are accepted are encouraged NOT to also try and hold down a job, as the rigors that are associated with this intense training will make it difficult for them to be able to complete the all degree requirements.

The nursing schools which provide these accelerated nursing programs are specifically geared to those individuals who have already shown their ability to succeed at a college. Many students who have already finished either a bachelor's degree, or are graduate degree students tend to be attracted to these fast track programs as they are the natural next step in their higher education training and a successful nursing career.