| The health care industry is expanding enormously, | | | | included: |
| and finding the best nursing school is the objective of | | | | 1. Baccalaureate-Level Curricular Innovation at Harding |
| many who are looking to enter the field for the first | | | | University College of Nursing (Arkansas) and |
| time, or pursue an advanced degree in nursing. As | | | | University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing and |
| technology continues to grow, nurses will be | | | | Health Professions. |
| expected to provide care to patients over great | | | | 2. Advanced Practice-Level Curricular Innovation at |
| distances via the Internet as well as by telephone. | | | | Oregon Health & Science University School of |
| According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, on | | | | Nursing. |
| average, by 2012, the employment rate of | | | | 3. Geriatric Nursing Faculty Champion at the Elaine C. |
| Registered Nurses will exceed the growth rate of all | | | | Hubbard Center for Nursing Research on Aging, |
| other occupations. Therefore, if you are looking to | | | | University of Rochester School of Nursing. |
| apply to the best nursing schools 2009, you may | | | | 4. Outstanding School of Nursing Communications at |
| want to begin your search by determining which | | | | Mennonite College of Nursing at Illinois State |
| schools are pushing technology. | | | | University., |
| There are several questions that you may want to | | | | When searching for a nursing program or school, it is |
| ask yourself or examine in order to determine which | | | | recommended that you check out the school |
| programs are ranking as the best nursing school. | | | | websites yourself in order to ascertain whether the |
| Firstly, do you want to attend school locally or are | | | | program and school meets your own standards. A |
| you able to travel or perhaps relocate? In the U.S., | | | | phone call and visit to the school is always best |
| there are at least 739 nursing schools. Out of those, | | | | before making a final decision. Perhaps you might |
| 728 offer full-time programs and 478 also offer | | | | even sit in on a class or two, speak to a few |
| part-time programs. In its June 2009 edition, U.S. | | | | students, as well as professors who might very well |
| News and World Report lists top nursing programs | | | | be the ones teaching you the next semester. |
| across the country. However, this data was gathered | | | | Please keep in mind that the best nursing school for |
| in 2007, and is based on ratings by nursing educators, | | | | others may not be the best choice for you. There |
| who essentially nominated up to 10 schools for each | | | | are many factors to keep in mind including location, |
| area of excellence. | | | | cost, schedule, affiliated hospitals, medical facilities, |
| There are many professional nursing sites and | | | | and staff. For older students, flexibility may not be an |
| periodicals where you can get detailed information | | | | option. The schools and programs mentioned above |
| about programs as well as the most recent awards in | | | | are just a tiny sampling of the broad range of nursing |
| your field of interest. One such site is The American | | | | specialties offered by schools and universities. |
| Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), which in | | | | Additionally, more and more universities and colleges |
| November gave out Awards for Excellence in | | | | are offering online degree programs, which are |
| Gerontological Nursing Education. The categories | | | | ranked accordingly. |