How to Become a Registered Nurse (RN)
"How do I become a Registered Nurse?" is one of the most common questions in healthcare — and for good reason. It's hard work, but it's worth it. I spent 4 years as a bedside RN and now work with nurses daily as an ER nurse practitioner, so I can offer some real insight into the path.
There are several routes into nursing. This guide walks through the most common path step by step, then covers the alternative routes that might fit your situation better.
What Is a Registered Nurse?
A Registered Nurse is a nurse trained to care for patients in and out of the hospital. They provide hands-on care, carry out provider orders, and advocate for their patients. Within the hospital, an RN's job includes:
Step 1: Graduate High School
To gain entry into any RN program, you'll need a high-school diploma or its equivalent (GED). Nursing schools want to know that you're academically capable in a classroom setting, and they'll look for specific prerequisites and recommendations on your transcript.
Nursing Program Prerequisites
Programs want to see certain high-school classes before they'll consider your application. Common prerequisites include:
Not every program requires all of these — many are flexible. Check the "admissions" page of any program you're interested in for specific recommendations. Many require a minimum GPA and SAT score, which varies by school. The better your GPA and scores, the more competitive your application.
Boost Your Application
To be a serious candidate, do your best academically and get involved. Programs like to see extracurricular activities — sports, music, theater, student council, journalism, and clubs.
Two Application Boosters
Taking Advanced Placement (AP) science classes makes you stand out and can earn university credit. So does real-life work experience in a related field — working as a CNA, EMT, medical scribe, or personal caregiver all look great to nursing programs.
Step 2: Choose a Nursing Program
One of the first big decisions is which type of program to attend. Programs vary in the degree they award and how long they take — there's no one-size-fits-all. Here are the main options.
Associate's Degree in Nursing (ADN)
An ADN lets you become an RN sooner by earning an associate's degree instead of a bachelor's. It gives students the basic technical and academic knowledge to enter employment — core science classes plus "how to be a nurse" classes, along with roughly 700 hours of clinicals in the hospital. Typical ADN classes include:
Most ADN degrees take about 2 years — roughly half the time of a BSN — letting you enter the workforce sooner. If you later want a BSN (or your facility requires it), an RN-to-BSN bridge program, usually all online, can be completed in another 1–2 years. Going this route gets you bedside experience and a paycheck sooner. Note that a BSN is required if you want to move into administration or advance your nursing education.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
A BSN is recommended and often needed to do anything "beyond" bedside nursing. This traditional 4-year degree is what many future nurses choose straight out of high school — it offers the full college experience along with an excellent nursing education. Students learn to assess patients and manage their care across every aspect of practice: personal care, medication administration, communication with physicians and ancillary staff, delegation, and more.
BSN students also complete clinicals — learning opportunities in the clinical setting where student nurses shadow and assist RNs. By graduation, most programs require 800–1,000 hours of clinical. A BSN curriculum includes everything an ADN covers, plus English, statistics, research, evidence-based practice, leadership, ethics, and community health.
ADN vs BSN: What's the Difference?
So what really separates an ADN-prepared RN from a BSN-prepared one? With an ADN you finish faster and start working sooner, but you're less educated overall.
Some facilities pay RNs the same regardless of degree, but many offer incentives for advanced education and certifications — so you might make a few more dollars per hour as a BSN versus an ADN. You can also earn more by adding specialty certifications like Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) or Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) in your specialty. Overall, there's a strong push for BSN-prepared nurses, with some evidence correlating higher nursing education with improved patient outcomes.
Diploma RN
Diploma RN programs — once a very common route, often run by hospitals with heavy hands-on, learn-on-the-job training — are largely being phased out and replaced by degree-granting programs from universities and colleges.
Step 3: Apply & Matriculate
Once you have the required prerequisites and know which program(s) you want, you can start applying. How hard admission is depends on both your application and how competitive the program is — some nursing programs are very difficult to get into.
Not Accepted Right Away?
Some students attend their university of choice as an "undeclared" major, take important RN-curriculum classes, do well, and then transfer into the nursing program.
Step 4: Graduate & Pass the NCLEX-RN
After you finish your RN program, you have to prove your knowledge with a competency exam called the NCLEX-RN. You'll spend a large portion of your education preparing for it, and each state board of nursing uses it as the basis for granting your RN license.
Once you pass — hopefully in 75 questions — and your state license goes through, you've earned the RN title after your name. After you apply for state licensure by exam, you can apply for licensure by endorsement in other states. Better yet, if your state belongs to a compact (multistate) license, your license is good across all compact states.
Step 5: Work as a Nurse
Once you're licensed, you can land a job as a registered nurse and finally put your knowledge to work — positively impacting your patients' lives (and your bank account). Finding a nursing job can sometimes be tough, but if you're willing to be flexible, there are so many nursing opportunities out there.
Alternative Routes to Becoming an RN
The standard path isn't the only one. Depending on your background, one of these alternatives may be a better fit.
If you already hold a bachelor's degree in another field (business, education, biology, etc.), accelerated programs fast-track you into nursing. Many general-ed prerequisites are already done, so these intensive programs rarely take breaks, require maximum effort, and can be completed in as little as 16 months — awarding a BSN at graduation. They often have science prerequisites of their own.
If you're already a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), a bridge program is an excellent route. There are options that award an ADN and options that award a BSN. LPN-to-ADN programs can be finished in 1–2 years; LPN-to-BSN programs in 2–4 years.
If you earned your RN education from an accredited program in another country, you can apply for U.S. state licensure. This generally requires at least 2 years of RN experience, a foreign-educated nurse refresher course, and English proficiency tests.
Career Pearls
Related Guides
References
- ADN vs BSN: What's the Difference?
- Direct-Entry RN Programs.
- Working in the US as a Foreign-Educated Nurse.
- Getting Into a Nursing Program.
- LPN-to-RN Bridge Programs.
Excelentísima explicación..! Very good
gracias!
Wonderful, interesting, give new opportunities.thanks
When deciding on how to become a registered nurse, one of the first things you will need to figure out is which type of program you want to attend. This guide should help. Thanks for sharing!
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