2020 was a game-changer for many industries, not the least of which was higher education. Many universities and colleges scrambled to make their curricula available online, in order to help students move successfully towards their degrees. While it’s true that many online nursing programs existed before a pandemic forced them to, 2020 definitely brought them into the spotlight as a viable alternative to traditional brick and mortar schools. That being said, nursing is fundamentally hands-on, and many consider “virtual nursing school” to be an oxymoron. Here we will examine the pros and cons of attending nursing school in-person or online.

Online Programs

The pros:

Accessible 

Easily the biggest pro of entering into an online program is the accessibility for (almost) all. No worries if you have a job with crazy hours, or a demanding home life, these kind of limiting lifestyle factors won’t matter as long as you have strong WiFi and motivation. This is probably the number one reason a prospective nursing student would decide to go virtual—the convenience of attaining a nursing degree on your terms.

Affordable

Typically it costs less to attend nursing school online than it does in person. This is true for base tuition, but more than that, you will also find that many of the costs of college life are mitigated. Room and board, administrative fees, the cost of commuting—even textbooks—are not a factor when your digital college comes to you. In addition, payment plans are offered more often with online programs than with traditional in-person schools.

Options

Students based in remote and rural locations without sound transportation can benefit greatly from online nursing education. Whereas years ago proximity to a brick and mortar nursing school (and a hospital for clinicals) was necessary, today that is not the case. This gives prospective nursing students a lot more choice when it comes to choosing an institution that best suits their particular needs and interests.

The cons:

Isolating

Nursing school can be intimidating, especially when you first begin. Consequently, one of the biggest ways new nursing students get through school is by learning alongside their classmates. With an online program, you would need to be proactive to form relationships with your peers—and your instructors—a part of nursing school that many students say they wouldn’t have made it to graduation without.

Lack of structure

One of the selling points of online programs is also one of its pitfalls—the ability to go at your own pace. For some students, the lack of hard deadlines, assignment due dates, and learning check-ins will be their downfall. The ability to self-pace with learning, studying, and completing assignments in a timely manner will make the difference between success and failure.  (If you are prone to procrastination, this aspect would be especially hard to overcome.) 

Accreditation

Accreditation means whether or not a nursing program satisfies core standards and requirements necessary to educate nurses.  Although this tide is shifting the more popular online nursing programs become, proper accreditation remains a problem. Non-accredited nursing programs present several issues for the prospective nurse. You will be ineligible to sit for the NCLEX; federal financial aid packages are non-existent; and lastly, employers often overlook graduates from non-accredited programs.

In-Person Programs

The pros:

Clinicals with classmates

From practicing in the sim-labs, (even on your fellow students), to eventual Real Live Patients, there’s nothing quite like hands-on learning for nurses. And while even online programs will still require their students to complete clinical hours, doing these rotations within the safety of the nursing student herd is an awesome learning environment that’s hard to beat. 

Camaraderie

Nursing. School. Is. Hard. And we all get by with a little help from our friends. This camaraderie goes beyond study groups and practicals. It is the collective lived experience of a select group of people, many of whom you’ll know for the rest of your life. If you’re lucky, you’ll even find a mentor or two to guide you along. Camaraderie can be the small raft that keeps you afloat when nursing school waters grow turbulent, and its effect cannot be underestimated. 

In-person support

The physical environment offers something that a virtual world can’t. People looking out for you, in the form of professors, teachers and instructors, financial aid counselors, and career-advice mentors. Not all feedback can be communicated through emails and virtual blackboards. There is so much to learn as a nursing student and it can be hard to assess for yourself whether you are in need of a course correction—something those with experience can help you with. 

The cons

Tuition differentials

In most areas, brick and mortar schools are more costly to attend than online programs. But beyond that, affordable community college programs fill fast and admit from a wait list; attending a private college, or an out-of-state university will further drive tuition costs up.

Inflexible

Nursing school is rigorous. As such, there are very strict attendance and grade policies. During clinicals, you are expected to be there for a 12 hour shift and then some, and that doesn’t factor in commuting time. For those that work or have kids, juggling their daily lives plus in-person school can be difficult to manage  

Limited exposure

Typically, each nursing school contracts with only a handful of hospitals and medical facilities for clinical rotations. Depending on the size of the town or city they are in, these locations may not have the specialties you’d like exposure to. If you desire to become an L&D Nurse, for example, and the rural hospital you do clinicals at only delivers a handful of babies each week, chances are you won’t really get the full experience there that you are seeking. 

Before committing to any program, be sure to do your due diligence. No matter the limiting or appealing factors that each program has, know that you are entering a field with endless possibilities!