As senior year comes to an end, many of us have chosen to attend college to major in the field in the sciences such as biology following, the pre-med track, or nursing. Both majors Nursing and Biology can provide a wide range of possible career opportunities. At FDR most of us have chosen to pursue Nursing.

There are seven nursing degrees that one can get: Certified nursing assistant (CNA) certificate, Licensed practical nurse (LNP) certificate, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor of Science Degree, Master of Science Degree, Dual Master’s Degree, and Doctoral Nursing Degrees.

The different degrees that you can receive would also dictate the tasks that a registered nurse (RN) can do. Firstly to become a RN, applicants would need a minimum of an associate’s degree. This is a two-year degree program which prepares graduates to pass the NCLEX-RN exam. Some RNs would opt for a four-year degree and go straight through four years of schooling before entering the nursing field. Some paths for a RN include: LPN-to-BSN and or RN-to-BSN. A nurse who earned their Bachelor of science degree is able to apply for positions such as: Staff Nurse, Case manager, Nurse Manager, Clinical research nurse, and more. With a Master of Science degree, you will be able to apply to four of the main speciality areas: Nurse practitioner (NP), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). This type of degree takes another two years beyond a bachelor’s degree to earn. Lastly, you can earn a Dual Master’s degree and the Doctoral Nursing degree. These two degrees would give you a management degree and hold executive poisons as a researcher and or analyst.

Each of these possible degrees  would give you a different career path in the medical setting. As a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), you are able to handle basic patient care to support other medical staff. Some other tasks of a CNA include: taking patient vitals, recording patient data, producing patient personal care, and more. As a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) sometimes referred to as Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN), you can take vitals, insert catheters and IVs, record patient information in their medical records and more.

Whichever degree you decide to pursue in the long term, all these nursing options would give you a purpose in the healthcare field. No matter which field you are in, due to the vastness of the field, you will find the place where you will be able to find your sense of belonging.