7 BENEFITS OF ACQUIRING YOUR NURSING EDUCATION ONLINE

The world as we knew it changed extensively with the global coronavirus outbreak in 2020. It affected all aspects of our lives, including the way we eat, attend school, earn degrees, and do our jobs. Everyone had to adapt to the new normal of remote working and e-learning to keep up with the SOPs of Covid-19. All schools, including nursing schools, shifted their courses online, and students started adjusting to this new education model. While e-learning and virtual classrooms came with challenges of their own, they proved beneficial in various ways. Online education is highly beneficial for people who want to earn a degree in nursing, especially in recent times.

Benefits of Earning a Nursing Degree Online

Below, we have shared some benefits of getting your nursing degree online:

Flexibility of Schedule

The biggest perk of online nursing education is the flexibility of scheduling. Most online nursing courses do not require the students to be online or live at a particular time. Some instructors may need students to be online at the same time occasionally, but otherwise, there is no such requirement. Students can easily complete their assignments and listen to lectures whenever feasible.

This study model is ideal for those students who also work and have family obligations. So, with a flexible study schedule, they can easily manage their jobs, tend to their families, and perform other daily tasks without compromising on their studies.

Lower Cost

Another benefit of online nursing education is the lower degree cost. It means if you enroll in a Master of Science in Nursing FNP Online Program, you may not have to pay the same amount as a traditional school. A brick-and-mortar school usually charges more because they have many overhead expenses, like power, supplies, taxes, security, etc. However, online schooling requires no additional expenses, so it can be cheaper than a traditional school. Moreover, you also save up on travel costs, lunch money, and other school expenses.

Class Participation

Traditional and online classrooms have different dynamics for class participation. When studying in a traditional classroom, many introverted students or those who lack confidence tend to have little or no participation. When asked to share their thoughts about a particular subject, they don’t feel comfortable. Due to this, they may get lower grades in their class participation. On the other hand, online classes have different criteria for class participation. Every student has to participate in discussions by sharing their opinion about a subject in written form. As a result, even introverts and underconfident students get to participate and share their thoughts. Moreover, written participation gives them more time to collect and arrange their thoughts to present them more efficiently.

Cloud-Based Learning

The world is evolving, and no one has the time or space to record their assignments, notes, and lesson plans in hard copies. Moreover, working nurses may also find it hard to bring books and notes to the hospital for taking a class during their free time. Thus, online nursing courses completely provide a cloud-based learning experience to avoid these problems. It means students have all their projects, lesson plans, assignments, notes, and reading material stored digitally. They have everything at their fingertips and can easily access it with a few taps on their screens.

Self-Discipline

While online nursing education offers the freedom to learn at your own pace, it also helps students develop a higher level of self-discipline. The nursing field requires nurses to be self-disciplined, take the initiative and get the job done. When they study online, they develop these skills by managing their routine activities and watching lectures and submitting assignments. Nobody is there to remind them every day (except for the reminders they set on their smartphones). It means they have to learn to self-discipline or they will fall behind. As a result, they develop the skill of self-discipline, which benefits them in their line of duty. Self-starters are welcomed in the nursing profession with open arms, and they tend to get promoted sooner than their fellows due to this life skill.

Technical Skill Development

Online degree programs do not rely on only pen and paper. They incorporate a variety of remote communication tools and content management systems. You have to learn many new technical skills that are not email or word processors. For instance, during Covid-19 lockdowns, schools went remote, but they carried out online classes on different programs like Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc. Moreover, students had to learn to use many other programs for downloading lectures and submitting their assignments, like Dropbox. These technical skills are usually not taught in traditional nursing schools and can come in handy for nurses at their jobs.

Social Distancing

Although social distancing may not be a long-term benefit, currently, it is the most significant perk of online learning. Covid-19 has extensively changed the dynamic of traditional classrooms. Nowadays, social distancing is the new norm, and no one knows how long it will continue to be this way. Instead of keeping your life on hold, you should take advantage of the situation by enrolling in an online nursing course. You can easily learn from the comfort of your home and be prepared for the future because online learning will continue even after the pandemic ends. In the current scenario, you will be doing a huge favor to society by staying in with your laptop, so you might as well do something productive on it.

The Bottom Line

Nursing is a highly-demanding job, and many nurses stop pursuing higher education due to the nature of their careers. However, online nursing education can help them achieve their goals and easily manage their studies with work and home responsibilities. The flexible nature of online education is beneficial for nurses who are already working but want to further their careers through higher education. The coronavirus outbreak has provided an opportunity for such nurses by shifting the entire dynamic of educational institutes. So, if you want to pursue a higher degree in nursing, there won’t be a better time.