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A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) classified as a mid-level practitioner. A nurse practitioner is trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose illness and disease, prescribe medication and formulate treatment plans. NP training covers basic disease prevention, coordination of care, and health promotion, but does not provide the depth of expertise needed to recognize more complex cases in which multiple symptoms suggest more serious conditions. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, a nurse practitioner is educated at the masters or doctoral level to provide "primary, acute, chronic, and specialty care to patients of all ages and all walks of life". The scope of practice for a nurse practitioner is defined by jurisdiction. Depending on jurisdiction, nurse practitioners may or may not be required to practice under the supervision of a physician. In United States, nurse practitioners have been lobbying for independent practice. The opponents of independent practice have argued that nurse practitioner education is "flimsy," because it can consist of online coursework with few hours of actual patient contact. The number of patient contact hours in nurse practitioner training is less than or equal to 3% of physician training Increased utilization of nurse practitioners is leading to increased cost of care through increased use of resources and unnecessary referrals.

The path to becoming a nurse practitioner in the United States begins by earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or other undergraduate degree, and requires licensure as a registered nurse (RN) and experience in the generalist RN role. Then, one must graduate from an accredited graduate (MSN) or doctoral (DNP) program. Overall, to become an NP requires 1.5 to 3 years of post-baccalaureate training, compared to physicians who are required to complete a minimum of 7 years of post-baccalaureate training. A new nurse practitioner has between 500 and 1,500 hours of clinical training compared with a family physician who would have more 15,000 hours of clinical training by the time certification. The quality of education and applicants for NP schools has been cited as a reason to not allow NPs to practice medicine. Many schools have 100% acceptance rates, coursework can be 100% online, and clinical experience is limited to shadowing with no hands-on experience.

An online degree is an academic degree (usually a college degree, but sometimes the term includes high school diplomas and non-degree certificate programs) that can be earned primarily or entirely through the use of an Internet-connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting. Improvements in technology, the increasing use of the Internet worldwide, and the need for people to have flexible school schedules while they are working have led to a proliferation of online colleges that award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.

The goal of educational accreditation, according to the United States Department of Education, is to ensure that programs provided by institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality.[1] ENQA, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, describes the role of external quality assurance in education as one that "combines both accountability for the reassurance of the public and an objective and developmental role for enhancing quality in institutions".[2] In the area of online education, it is important to avoid unaccredited diploma mills that offer fake degrees, as these are unfortunately common. Students seeking valid online degrees should obtain proof of accreditation from an appropriate national or regional accrediting body.

In the United States, online colleges that are fully accredited have earned a widely recognized form of university accreditation from one of six regional accreditation boards.[3] Each of six geographic regions of the United States has one of these boards, a non-governmental agency that oversees and accredits degree-granting institutions headquartered in their areas. The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) also recognize the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) as the accrediting organization for distance learning institutions and education programs that offer online degrees.

Outside of the United States, other national and regional standards of accreditation hold, and may be highly supportive of, distance education. For example, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, or Open University of Catalonia, has been accredited by AQU, the Agency for Quality Assurance in the Catalan University System (a full member of ENQA), since its inception in 1995, and has been called a "significant success story" as "the world's first continuous, and sustainable, virtual university".[4] Similarly, in Ireland, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) has accredited a number of online colleges and degrees, e.g. Setanta College.[5]

In many cases, an online degree earned through an accredited public or private university may be effectively indistinguishable from a degree earned in a campus-based program, sometimes referred to as "brick-and-mortar" programs. The instruction is often exactly the same, with the online degree containing no special designation. As such the same financial aid packages are often available to online students, which has helped make them more accessible to traditional applicants. An example of an indistinguishable degree program is that offered by Columbia University. Student who earn a degree through the Columbia Video Network (CVN) earn exactly the same type of degree as the campus-based program.[13] The professors, courses, homework, tests, and eventual transcripts and diploma are identical to that of on-campus students.[14] Another example is NYU Tandon Online which offers master's degrees completely online through New York University Tandon School of Engineering.[15]

In recent years many top universities have been actively expanding their extension and online learning programs in an effort to legitimize the online education arena.[16][17] While admissions to online programs at prestigious universities hasn't seen a dramatic spike, there has been a large expansion in course offerings in recent years. Almost all Ivy League and top 20 universities now offer at least one online graduate degree program or certification.[18]

The Sloan Consortium, based on data collected from over 2,200 U.S. colleges and universities, reports that nearly 3.2 million students took at least one online course during 2005 (a significant increase over the 2.3 million reported in 2004). According to the same report, about two-thirds of the largest institutions have fully online programs.[11] In 2010, more than 6 million students were taking at least one course online.[20] As of 2013, the number of students enrolled in online courses had risen to over 6.7 million.[21]

• "U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs". ed.gov. United States Department of Education. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• "ENQA Mission Statement". enqa.eu. European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• "College Accreditation in the United States-- Pg 7". ed.gov. United States Department of Education. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• Rajasingham, Lalita. "New Challenges Facing Universities in the Internet-Driven Global Environment". EURODL. European Distance and E-learning Network. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• "Setantal Report Final with Amendments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-12.

• Adams, Jonathan; Defleur, Margaret. "The acceptability of online degrees earned as a credential for obtaining employment". Communication Education. Routledge. doi:10.1080/03634520500343376.

• Wellen, Alex (2006-07-30). "Degrees of Acceptance". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• "Fraud and Online Learning". 5 October 2011 – via NYTimes.com.

• Robinson, JoAnn (2004-03-23). "Using Your Distance Education to Earn an Academic Degree" (PDF). detc.org. Distance Education and Training Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• Carnevale, Dan (2007-01-05). "Employers Often Distrust Online Degrees". Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• Allen, I. Elaine; Seaman, Jeff (2006-11-15). Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006 (PDF). Sloan Consortium. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• Lohr, Steve. “Second Thoughts On Web Classes.” New York Times 13 Sept. 2010: 3 Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

• Schweitzer, Karen. "Will Anyone Hire a Grad with an Online Business Degree?". about.com. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• Online Degrees Portal Is online degree the same as on-campus degree?

• NYU-ePoly FAQs What is the difference between an on-campus course and online course content?

• charley (8 April 2015). "About Us".

• "Online courses + time on campus = a new path to an MIT master's degree".

• "Top Universities You Didn't Know Had Online Masters Degree Programs - academical". 9 July 2016.

• Tabs, E.D. (2003-07-15). "Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2000-2001" (PDF). National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

• "Growing number of college students choose online courses". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2012-02-16. Retrieved 23 December 2012.

• "The Rise of Online MBA Education". University of Ohio. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

• Croix, Wendy. "Down with the 50 Percent Rule: Up with Online Education Financial Aid". WorldWideLearn. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

Industry Description Full Program Listing

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Industry Description

There are few fields that are as challenging or rewarding as nursing. In today’s world when the scope of nursing is increasing to include palliative, ambulatory home care, it is also becoming a growth field as well. For many people a dream of becoming a nurse has been hindered by a variety of concerns. Financial, geographical and practical obstacles that have stood in your way can be brushed aside with the innovation of online nursing courses. This opens the door to every age and students of every life stage. High school graduates, working professionals, parents returning to the workforce and even those approaching retirement can find an online course may suit your needs best.

Rest assured that the level of instruction and attention given to you as a student is of the highest standards. Professional instructors and professors are at your disposal to help you learn at the pace that best suits your individual needs. Your education will involve both course work and supervised clinical experience in hospitals or other health care facilities. The course work will include anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, nutrition and psychology. Practical experience can be acquired at numerous institutions and departments such as medical wards, surgery, maternity, pediatrics, geriatrics and maternity.

Upon completion of your online nursing course you will be ready to write your state licensing exam. An individual can maintain licensing in multiple states and thereby be available for career opportunities with a wide variety of institutions and facilities within each of those states. A job in a hospital, clinic, ambulatory care center or geriatric facility can be waiting for you. Prepare today with online nursing courses!

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