Online Nursing Prerequisites: Types?

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Many nursing programs require online prerequisites in general education and health sciences, including math, psychology, and anatomy. Availability of online courses varies by institution.

Most nursing programs include several prerequisites or classes that must be taken before starting the nursing program. Many institutions offer at least a portion of them online. Online nursing prerequisites are often divided into two categories: general education and health-related courses. General education courses are those that should be taken by people pursuing any type of degree. Health-related courses, called health sciences or medical courses, are those taken by most training for health careers, whether in nursing or another field.

Almost all degree-granting degree programs require a substantial number of general education courses, regardless of most courses. Online nursing prerequisites that fall under the general education category often include at least one primary language course. In the United States, that would be English. It could be a general English course, composition, or basic business writing.

Mathematics is another of the common online nursing prerequisites. This can start with a basic math class, but often includes more advanced classes such as algebra, statistics or calculus. Other common courses include psychology, computer basics and public speaking and may include an elective course such as literature, history or philosophy. Nursing programs also often require classes in general education sciences such as biology and chemistry, but these may not be offered online due to the lab component found in many of these courses.

A portion of the online nursing prerequisites falls under the field of health sciences. One such common course is medical terminology, in which students learn common words, word parts, and phrases used in the healthcare industry. Another common healthcare prerequisite is anatomy, sometimes called human anatomy or anatomy and physiology. Anatomy course work is often presented as a series, such as Anatomy One and Anatomy Two or Basic Anatomy and Advanced Anatomy. Other possible requirements include an introduction to a professional nursing course or pharmacology class.

In some nursing programs, subjects such as medical terminology and anatomy may be combined with an introductory nursing class and offered as a single multi-criteria course. This course work may or may not be offered online. It is important to note that the availability of online nursing prerequisites depends on the degree-granting institution. Some universities offer all or most of their prerequisite classes online, while others offer little or no classes online. Other universities may offer general education courses online but require classroom attendance for health science classes.




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