Sometime around the year 2012 the U.S. Department of Labor is projecting the county will need more than 1,000,000 new and replacement Registered Nurses in the US. As a result many nursing schools across the country are trying to find ways in which they can increase school capacity and reach new student populations. One such way is accelerated nursing programs which provide accelerated nursing programs for non-nursing graduates. These schools offer both a Baccalaureate and Master's Degree programs which build on you prior learning experiences. They provide a way for those individuals who have undergraduate degrees in some other fields to transfer into accelerated nursing programs.

Accelerated nursing programs give the student the simplest route to a license as a Registered Nurse (RN) for those who have already completed a Bachelor's or Graduate's degree in a non nursing discipline. Such programs take between 11 to 18 months to complete and include prerequisites, While an accelerated master's degree program will usually take the students about 3 years to complete.

At present such accelerated nursing programs are available in most states across the US and also in the District of Columbia. By the middle of 2006 there were 173 accelerated baccalaureate programs and just under 50 accelerated master's programs to be found at nursing schools across the country. And as of July 2006 there were another 40 accelerated bachelor degree programs in the planning stage along with 17 new accelerated master's programs.

So what is accelerated nursing education?

These programs accomplish the training required in a very short time as they build on your previous learning experiences. The instruction provided on these programs is intense as the courses are offered to students full time with no breaks between sessions. However the students on these programs will receive the same number of hours as those of their counterparts who are using traditional nursing schools.

Admission standards for these programs are high and they will usually require that the student has a least a 3.0 GPA, and the student usually will also have to go through a thorough screening process before they are accepted. But those who eventually are accepted are encouraged NOT to also try and hold down a full time job, as the rigors that are associated with this intense training will make it difficult for them to be able to complete the degree requirements.

The nursing schools which provide accelerated programs are specifically geared to those individuals who have already proven their ability to succeed at a college. Many students who have already completed either a bachelor's degree, or are graduate degree students tend to be attracted to fast track programs as they are the natural next step in their higher education and a successful nursing career.