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Texas, TX | LPN to BSN Nursing School Program

Why Do a Texas LPN to BSN?

A Licensed Practical Nurse in Texas makes a good living and has plenty of job opportunities. So why pursue an LPN to BSN program in Texas? Precisely because a BSN can lead to diverse career options and expand your earning potential well beyond the ceiling available to LPNs. By specializing knowledge, private sector jobs, management positions, and more become available, both vastly increasing salary potential, and also allowing students to follow personal interests both within their education and when they re-enter the work force.

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The normal duties of a Registered Nurse in a health care setting are achievable with a BSN—however, a BSN leads to expanded opportunities outside of hospital and clinical settings as specialized research work in both public health and corporate settings typically recruit BSNs over ADNs. From Cancer and pharmaceutical research to the instruction of Certified Nursing Assistants, a BSN provides the opportunity to go beyond patient care and delve into any number of occupational streams. Currently, the average pay for an RN in Texas is over $60,000 per year plus benefits, and with a BSN, the opportunities for work in the private sphere can lead to salaries into six figures.

How to Do an LPN to BSN in Texas

Licensed Practical Nurses in Texas who are currently working can get a BSN in two and a half years of full time study around their work schedule. However, if this seems like too much, there are also part time options available at most schools. A BSN does not lead to a higher level of licensure than an Associate Degree, Nursing—nurses in a BSN also take the national Registered Nurse licensing examination, the NCLEX-RN. What it does, though, is create the potential for greater specialization, diverse career opportunities, and more for LPN to BSN students.

Just like LPN training in Texas, an LPN to BSN in the state requires general education courses like math and English, and science courses such as microbiology upon entry. But, most of the program focuses on nursing-specific education in areas like clinical study and theory, and focused topics such as pediatrics, medication, assessment, legal issues in health care, even bioterrorism and more. Indeed, it is through the extra time allotted to a BSN that an LPN can pursue the areas of nursing that they find the most interesting towards an enjoyable and personally gratifying career path.

An LPN to BSN program leads to licensure as a Registered Nurse via the NCLEX-RN. To apply for the test, one must pay a $139 application fee to the Texas Board of Nursing and an additional $200 to Pearson Vue, who administers the exam. RNs make almost twice as much as LPNs—an average around $60,000 per year (according to BLS.gov) in Texas—making the fees minimal in comparison. And once one has completed an LPN to BSN program, they have expanded opportunities in positions of great responsibility both within a health care setting and in the private sphere.