When you thought about becoming a nurse, did you imagine wearing a white uniform, a stethoscope draped jauntily around your neck, racing down a hospital hallway to rescue a patient from himself? Did you picture yourself standing gravely at a hospital bedside, waiting to see whether your patient would make it through the night? While bedside nurses are indeed very valuable, both traditional and online degree university programs offer many other options to people with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN).

Online college degree programs offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing. Many other online degree courses and continuing education programs are available as well. For example, some top online schools offer certificate programs in forensic nursing. Forensic nurses are specially trained to help victims of assault and to collect physical evidence that will help policemen and attorneys catch a victim’s assailant.

Others decide to become legal nurse consultants, and offer their expert testimony on a wide variety of issues. Like forensic nursing, this is not a graduate degree program, but rather a post-baccalaureate certification program. These certifications can be obtained either through distance degree programs, by attending continuing education seminars, or at a traditional college campus.

Often, nurses become tired of working at the bedside after five to ten years of caregiving. Through nontraditional distant learning programs such as these, however, nurses can seek new interests and challenges in their profession. Rather than relinquish their skills for another career, they find new ways to use these skills within their chosen profession.