How to Become a Nurse in Alaska, AK

Nurses are in high demand in Alaska, and they earn great wages at an average of $42,000 annually for Licensed Practical Nurses and $77,000 per year (according to BLS.gov) for Registered Nurses. And becoming a nurse in Alaska may be easier than you think—it only takes a year of nursing education to become an Alaska LPN, and as little as two years in a college of nursing training to become an RN.

While LPNs take a diploma education program, becoming an Alaska RN requires earning one of two college degrees: an Associate Degree or Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. Regardless of which route you might choose, prerequisites are similar. Typically, between 15 and 30 credit hours of study in first year college courses such as math, statistics, physiology and psychology are required. Your grades in these courses are also the basis for acceptance into a college of nursing.

Once accepted into Alaska LPN nurse training, clinical skills and patient care techniques are taught. At the end of the nurse training, a student should possess all the skills necessary to take and pass the NCLEX-PN, the nationally-standardized Licensed Practical Nurse exam.

Registered Nurse training is a little more complicated. First, students must choose between a two year nursing education program (ADN) and a more advanced four year BSN education program. The extra two years of a Bachelor’s of Science, Nursing, may seem like a lot, but they also allow time for nurses to pick up advanced management, research, and patient care skills, as well as pursue specialized knowledge in topics of particular interest like caring for mothers, children, the elderly, community health, and any number of topics. Regardless of the degree chosen, RN education graduates take the NCLEX-RN at the end of their training. Around 90 percent of students pass the exam and become licensed to begin working as a Registered Nurse in Alaska.

For more information on becoming a nurse in Alaska and the various education programs available to Licensed Practical Nurses and Registered Nurses who want to take their education further, visit our in-depth state page.