Licensed practical nurses ready to expand their knowledge and start working as a registered nurses, assuming thus more responsibility but also earning some $24,000 more per year, might be interested to check Insider Monkey’s ranking of 6 easiest LPN to RN bridge programs.

LPN to RN bridge programs usually last four semesters and more, but programs included in Insider Monkey’s list can be finished in three semesters. Moreover, they have easy curriculum and in some cases students are expected to finish only four nursing courses before graduation. Note though that all programs have prerequisite courses such as chemistry,  biology, anatomy, physiology, and similar. All programs that found a place on the list are offered by community and vocational educational institutions. In last few years there have been an increase in the number of online LPN to RN bridge programs which attract mainly employed nurses. Besides greater flexibility online programs are also cheaper compared to traditional ones and some cost less than $8,000.

As said before, registered nurses can count on an annual salary of $68,450 which is some $24,000 more compared to earnings of LPNs. Moreover, RNs find a job more easily and quickly than LPNs. While both nursing professions will experience significant job growth, the job market for registered nurses will expand faster, growing 26% compared to 22% growth in LPN field.

Taking everything into account it is no wonder that more and more licensed practical nurses want to make significant career advancement. After graduating from LPN to RN bridge program a nurse need to pass NCLEX-RN, national licensing exam, to be allowed to work as registered nurse.  If you want to find out more about this topic follow the link to the list of  6 easiest LPN to RN bridge programs.