Online learning can enhance your nursing education by making it more accessible and help accelerate the time to graduation, so you can start working sooner. The many benefits of online learning include greater flexibility and convenience, improved time management and technical skills and a personalized learning approach.
In nursing school, you will learn how to assess patients, administer medications and perform various procedures, all requiring hands-on experience. While in-person learning is critical to your nursing education, online coursework can enhance your experience. There are many benefits of online learning that can make your nursing school experience more flexible, accessible and productive.
At Harding University, the accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program combines online learning with in-person experiences to provide students with a comprehensive education that prepares them to become practice-ready nurses. If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree or at least 64 non-nursing college credits, you can earn a Bachelor of Science in nursing in as few as 16 months.
The advantages of online learning are clear; with greater flexibility and convenience, higher education online can be more accessible, improve time management and technical skills, and help accelerate the time to graduation.
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1. Greater Schedule Flexibility
One of the most compelling benefits of online learning is the ability to complete coursework when it’s most convenient. While you must still meet deadlines and, in the case of Harding University’s online coursework, attend the ABSN site for proctored exams, you have greater freedom in scheduling when to work on the nursing coursework.
With online learning, you can log in and view lectures, complete learning activities and participate in discussion forums on a schedule that works best for you. Since you won’t have to commute to campus for classes, you’ll also save time that you can use for studying or other responsibilities.
2. More Convenience
Online learning also allows you to complete coursework in the environment where you learn best, such as the comfort of your own home, a library, a coffee shop or on the go wherever there’s an internet connection. Coupled with scheduling flexibility, online learning allows you to fit your nursing coursework into your life easily. You can work around your nursing school and family’s schedule to achieve a work/life balance.
3. Set Your Own Pace
Online learning also allows you to set your own pace. While assignment deadlines, scheduled exams and semesters dictate the total time available to work through the nursing curriculum, you can take your time with certain topics if needed.
When taking courses in person, the lesson lasts as long as the scheduled class; however, in online learning, you can take as long as you need to fully understand the course material before moving on, as long as you don’t fall behind.
4. Continued Access to Course Materials
Another of the many advantages of an online education is that it helps improve retention and quality of study sessions. Because coursework is housed in an e-learning platform, you can return to lessons, lectures and exercises.
This continued access to course materials helps make study sessions more productive. You can also access materials whenever you need a refresher on specific topics. This is especially beneficial when preparing for the NCLEX-RN while in nursing school.
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5. Improves Time Management
Because you have greater flexibility in when and where you can complete coursework, you must develop strong time management skills to meet deadlines and not fall behind. While this might sound like a drawback, it is actually one of the advantages of online learning.
Nurses must have excellent time management skills to care for multiple patients simultaneously. Developing these skills early in your education will help you in the long run. Knowing how long it takes to complete a certain task and planning accordingly is critical to your success as a nursing student and future nurse.
6. Strengthens Useful Technical Skills
It isn’t enough for an aspiring nurse to know how to place an IV line, administer medications according to the physicians’ orders and help patients understand their diagnoses and treatment options. Nurses also need strong technical skills alongside their clinical skills.
When you become a registered nurse, you must have the computer literacy skills to quickly learn how to use various software programs at your health care facility and manage the electronic health records.
You can get a leg up in this area as an online student. When you take courses online, you’ll learn to navigate the e-learning platform and use technology to your advantage. Your technical skills can serve you well in the nursing workforce.
Learn what other essential skills for nurses you will need as you start your career.
7. Increased Student Enrollment
Online learning also makes nursing programs accessible to more students. Because student capacity is not limited to the number of students allowed in a classroom, more students can enroll each year. Harding’s ABSN program also offers three start dates a year, so we can enroll more students than the average program while keeping class sizes small, allowing for more individualized attention.
8. Accelerated Timeline
Online learning also helps accelerate the program so you can graduate with a nursing degree faster than in a traditional program. By completing online coursework outside of structured class times, the curriculum can move at a faster pace.
Even though Harding’s ABSN program moves fast, it does not compromise on quality. The online coursework establishes the foundation needed for in-person experiences in labs and clinicals, so you enter these hands-on components feeling supported and prepared to get the most out of these experiences.
9. Personalized Learning Approach
Another of the many benefits of online learning is that it offers a more personalized approach than in-person learning. While this might not be true for every online education program, it’s certainly true at Harding University.
As an online student, you will engage with the material in different ways to enhance learning retention and comprehension. For example, you will:
- Complete self-assessments to evaluate your understanding of the material.
- Follow along with simulated case studies.
- Interact with cohort members and instructors on the discussion boards.
- Listen to podcasts and audio scenarios about conditions and patients.
- Work through interactive simulations for an active learning experience.
How Does Online Learning Work in Nursing School?
Now that you have a clearer idea of the top five benefits of online learning, you may be wondering exactly how online courses work in nursing school.
Nurses need a solid understanding of nursing concepts and theories. For example, they need to understand what to look for when assessing a patient and which symptoms could indicate various conditions. They must also develop hands-on skills like providing wound care, starting IVs and operating medical equipment.
As a hybrid ABSN program student, you’ll learn the fundamentals of nursing theories and concepts in your online courses, but the program cannot be completed entirely online.
You must also commute to the ABSN program site for regularly scheduled nursing skills and simulation labs. You’ll practice hands-on skills in these labs and work through patient case scenarios.
In addition to labs, you’ll complete a series of clinical rotations. During each clinical, you’ll be placed in a nearby health care facility to provide direct patient care under supervision. This will help you graduate with the skills and confidence needed to pass the NCLEX, setting you on the path to becoming a practice-ready nurse.
Experience the Advantages of Online Learning at Harding
Are you ready to experience the advantages of online education for yourself as you work toward becoming a nurse? If you have at least 64 non-nursing credit hours or a bachelor’s degree, Harding University’s ABSN program could be the right choice for you.
Our dedicated instructors, counselors and staff will teach you everything you need to know to put nursing theory into practice. With three start dates per year, you can begin right away and graduate with a BSN in as few as 16 months.
Contact our admissions counselors today to take the next step toward a brighter future in health care.