Nursing Practice
Types of Degrees Nursing Practice Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many nursing practice graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Doctor’s Degree | 7,474 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 832 |
Master’s Degree | 453 |
Graduate Certificate | 275 |
Associate Degree | 161 |
Basic Certificate | 19 |
Undergraduate Certificate | 2 |
What Nursing Practice Majors Need to Know
O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to nursing practice and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.
Knowledge Areas for Nursing Practice Majors
According to O*NET survey takers, a major in nursing practice should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Skills for Nursing Practice Majors
A major in nursing practice prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Abilities for Nursing Practice Majors
As a nursing practice major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
What Can You Do With a Nursing Practice Major?
Below is a list of occupations associated with nursing practice:
Job Title | Job Growth Rate | Median Salary |
---|---|---|
Medical and Health Services Managers | 20.5% | $99,730 |
Nurse Practitioners | 36.1% | $107,030 |
Registered Nurses | 14.8% | $71,730 |
Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Practice?
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of nursing practice majors is as follows:
Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 52 |
Black or African American | 65 |
Hispanic or Latino | 92 |
White | 538 |
International Students | 13 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 72 |
Geographic Diversity
Students from other countries are interested in Nursing Practice, too. About 1.6% of those with this major are international students.
Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Nursing Practice
Some degrees associated with nursing practice may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.
How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to nursing practice have obtained the following education levels.
Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
---|---|
Some College Courses | 4.4% |
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 32.7% |
Bachelor’s Degree | 28.0% |
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. | 2.2% |
Master’s Degree | 30.4% |
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. | 1.1% |
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. | 1.1% |
Doctoral Degree | 2.2% |
Online Nursing Practice Programs
The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.
Degree Level | Colleges Offering Programs | Colleges Offering Online Classes |
---|---|---|
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) | 0 | 0 |
Certificate (1-2 years) | 6 | 0 |
Certificate (2-4 Years) | 0 | 0 |
Associate’s Degree | 3 | 1 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 17 | 5 |
Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
Master’s Degree | 31 | 16 |
Post-Master’s | 28 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 60 | 27 |
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 253 | 111 |
Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 22 | 14 |
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Majors Related to Nursing Practice
You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to nursing practice.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- College Scorecard
- National Center for Education Statistics
- O*NET Online
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
- Image Credit: By Aleksahgabrielle under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.