RN Programs in Texas

According to the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies, the R.N. vacancy rate in Texas has increased from 8.6 percent in 2004 to roughly 11.2 percent currently despite the economic downturn.Demand for full-time registered nurses in Texas in 2008 exceeded supply by 22,000 and, without major increases in funding for nurse education, this gap will widen to 70,000 by 2020 as the state's rapidly growing population ages and as older nurses retire or reduce the hours they work.Current, conservative estimates still predict that in the next decade the U.S. will begin to experience one of the worst shortages of registered nurses in the nation's history.Unlike nurse shortages in the past, a rapidly aging population, a subsequent increased demand for RNs, plus an aging nursing workforce drive this nurse shortage, unparalleled in American nursing. Rapid changes in health care and technology require the nursing profession to continually expand its role. Educators and health planners see the growing demand for nurses not only as a need for additional personnel but also for additional education, with more nurses prepared in baccalaureate programs that emphasize leadership, patient education, case management, and care across a variety of acute care and outpatient settings. Nurse Educators, BSN prepared nurses, home health nurses, and all advanced practice specialties - clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and nurse anesthetists-are in high demand - especially in rural areas.

In order to meet the increasingly complex demands of today's health care environment, many healthcare agencies prefer or require a minimum of a bachelor's degree for their nursing staff, so now is the perfect time for LPN's to enroll in an online LPN to RN program, or LPN to BSN degree program, for RN's to take an online RN-BSN degree completion program, or RN to MSN bridge program, and for BSN nurses to earn a MS in Nursing degree.

Average Nursing Base Salaries:

Find Nursing Schools and Allied Health Programs For Texas

Browse accredited nursing schools and allied health programs that accept students from Texas, then request free information from any or all schools offering programs that match your needs: