2023 - Best Nursing Schools in Nevada

One of the biggest and most esteemed colleges of Nevada state, the Great Basin College offers its students a chance to learn with a large pool of like-minded students. The campus spans across a whopping 86,500 sq miles, is spread across ten of Nevada's largest counties and two time zones. The school also boasts an enrollment of more than 4,000 students annually. Despite its size and large student body, the college offers affordable tuition so that finance doesn't become a barrier when it comes to producing quality nurses. 

Every campus affiliated with the Great Basin College offers state-of-the-art simulation labs, clinical practice opportunities at multiple locations, and a competitive as well as nurturing environment to prepare nurses who are critical thinkers and exceptional critical thinkers. The graduates of the Great Basin College AAS Nursing have gone on to work excellently at hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and community health facilities. 

Similarly, the Elko campus which offers the AAS Nursing program is well equipped with computing labs, a library, a high-tech center, an academic success center, a theater, an outdoor amphitheater, a fitness center, as well as an amazing student housing system. The campus also has a child and family center which offers preschool and extended childcare to students who need it.

Undergraduate programs - Associate of Applied Science Nursing Degree (AAS Nursing): This baccalaureate-level program aims to prepare nurses to take on any kind of challenges as Registered Nurse, while also paving way for more advanced studies. Students are admitted only in the fall semester if they can pass the academic requirements and the TEAS entrance examination. 

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): The RN to BSN program is designed to integrate the concepts from the social, natural sciences, and humanities to understand health and diseases. The program enables students to emerge as competent leaders who can integrate evidence-based practice into health care while also thinking critically. They also have a fully online GBC RN to BSN program.

Nevada State College’s School of Nursing has devoted itself to supporting nursing students as they become compassionate nurses who provide quality care to both patients and their families. 

Nevada State College has partnered with a variety of hospitals, clinics, as well as community healthcare facilities to provide its students with valuable clinical, lab, and simulation opportunities to perfect their skills and knowledge. 

As per the alumni, affordable tuition, flexible schedule, online study options, and a welcoming faculty are some of the few factors that set Nevada State College apart from other nursing institutions. Some of the courses are fully online whereas some require on-campus and on-site training, this allows students, especially working students to work around their jobs, family life, and other responsibilities while still getting an unparalleled quality education.

You can choose to apply to this top-ranking college in the Spring for both full-time and part-time pre-licensure nursing programs. 

Undergraduate Programs - Bachelor of Science in Nursing: The BSN program at Nevada State College provides its students with all the information and knowledge necessary to become competent RNs once they pass their NCLEX-RN examination. There are three options or tracks to choose from.

The BSN full-time track is the traditional program designed for students who can make a full-time commitment to their classes; degree achievement for full-time students usually takes 5 semesters, including summer.

The part-time track is for students who prefer to take part-time classes; they are usually awarded a BSN degree after completion of 10 semesters, including summers.

The post-licensure BSN track is for students who are already working as RN or have an ADN degree but do not hold a BSN degree. This 100% online course allows students to continue their work while studying.

The University of Nevada, School of Nursing prepares both its graduate and undergraduate nurses to meet global healthcare needs. The school has been actively preparing its students to face all kinds of healthcare scenarios. The alumni of the University of Nevada have proven themselves to be competent in evidence-based education, are constantly updating themselves in terms of research and practice, and have gone on to work at some of the most esteemed healthcare facilities worldwide.

The Clinical Simulation Centre of Las Vegas (CSCLV) located at the Shadow Lane Campus allows nursing students to perfect all kinds of clinical skills in high fidelity manikins in a controlled environment. The CSCLV offers standardized patient interactions, simulations, and surgical labs by creating different specific hospital environments such as ER, Delivery Room, Surgical Suites, etc. Here, students’ actions and the manikins’ responses are monitored and recorded thereby allowing students to observe their actions and constantly better themselves.

Another innovative program that UNLV offers to nursing students is the Continuing Education program designed to enhance their advanced skills and also empower them.

Undergraduate programs - Traditional BSN: This program prepares nursing students for any entry-level nursing practice as well as future graduate study.

RN-BSN: This fast-track degree is designed for Registered Nurses who want to earn a bachelor’s degree in Nursing. The course is 1 year long if taken on full time, and it also gives the students an option to take 9 credit hours at the graduate level if they wish to apply to their graduate program as well.

Accelerated Second Degree Bachelor in Nursing: It is offered to students who currently hold a non-nursing bachelor's or graduate degree. The course is 13 months long if taken full-time with no breaks in between. 

Graduate Programs - For nurses who want to further advance their nursing education and become nurse leaders, the school of nursing also offers a multitude of MSN, DNP, and Advanced Graduate Certificates. These programs are designed to bring out the nursing leaders in post-graduate students so that they can pave the way for the betterment of the nursing fraternity as a whole.

The school of nursing offers Master of Science in Nursing courses such as Nurse Educator, Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP).

It also offers two Doctorate programs Doctor of Nursing Practice, and Doctor of Philosophy of Nursing.

There are also multiple advanced graduate certificates (Post Master’s) like Advanced Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education, Advanced Graduate Certificate in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner for the FNP, and more.

With over 70 programs of study that provide more than 160 degree, certificate, and other completion options, Truckee Meadows CC is one of the leading voices when it comes to affordable, accessible, and quality education in the state of Nevada. 

Similarly, the Maxine S. Jacobs Nursing Program prepares nurses for any high-demanding nursing job in any kind of healthcare facilities like clinics, hospitals, or community care centers. 

Truckee Meadows CC is determined to fill in the gaps created by the lack of skilled human resources in Nevada and to ensure cost is never a barrier to both their and their students’ goals, the college provides ample amounts of financial aid, grants, loans, scholarships, and work-study opportunities. The college offers a special distance education rate to out-of-state students who take the online RN to BSN course, and it also provides great opportunities for international students. 

Undergraduate Programs - The Maxine S. Jacobs Nursing Program offers an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program for students who wish to practice as Registered Nurses. The students are required to have a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) degree before applying. With a wide variety of learning resources such as simulation labs and clinical rotations at high-end hospitals, it is no surprise that the ADN degree here ranks among the best in the state. 

As mentioned earlier, there is also an RN to BSN program specially designed for practicing RNs who don’t have their BSN degree. The students can attend the entire course online while working.

Carrington College has multiple campuses across eight states, one of which is in Reno, Nevada.  They offer a practical nursing program, an RN program and a bridge program, for LPNs seeking a degree as an RN.  Carrington College is a network of campuses that focus on educating healthcare professionals, using "hands-on" training.

If you are looking to expand your career as a nurse in one of the best and oldest nursing schools in the state of Nevada then the University of Nevada is the best choice for you. The Orvis School of Nursing is preparing its nurses to become not only healthcare professionals but also esteemed leaders. The school aims to promote the health and well-being of the people of Nevada and the nation through excellence in nursing education, discovery, and engagement. The institutional goals of this school focus on creating a better and richer experience for the students that is accessible, affordable, and doesn’t compromise on the quality of knowledge and skills. 

Orvis School of Nursing houses state-of-the-art simulation labs that have high fidelity manikins to mimic real-life scenarios. What’s more, is that the labor simulator here is probably one of its kind in the region. From running virtual reality scenarios to mimicking clinical situations as they would appear in the hospitals, these simulation labs prepare students for their clinical rotations as well as for when they go to work as Registered Nurses. 

The school also provides Pre-Nursing group advising sessions for prospective students, gives out scholarships to those in need, and it also has its own Student Nurses’ Association so that students are always a part of a community of their own.

Undergraduate Programs - BSN Programs: This school provides both a traditional 16 month BSN program and the 12-month Accelerated BSN program. In addition to this, they also have RN to BSN programs that provide graduates of an associate degree with a chance to obtain their BSN degree.

Graduate Programs - The graduate programs at the University of Nevada-Reno are aimed at licensed nurses who want to take a step further and become nursing leaders, educators, policymakers, and change agents. The MSN programs like Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Leader, Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator, etc. offer specialization courses to nurses who seek them to become advanced practitioners. 

An Advanced Graduate (Post-Master’s) Certificate is also awarded to students in these fields should they choose to pursue it.

There are also two options for the DNP program that include BSN to DNP option and the MSN to DNP program.