Even amidst myriad budget troubles at the hand of the state, the University of South Florida is still taking measures to better improve programs for their respective students.  Case in point, the new and revamped nursing bachelor's degree now offered by the public university.

The new program is completely online and focused on catering to working students or those who simply can't commute to the university on a regular basis.  With 30 credit hours required, the program is hardly the cakewalk of online learning one might expect.

Nursing students enrolled in the program will learn through three major focus areas - clinical practice, education, and leadership - throughout their education.

The clinical practice area focuses on real-world health needs and how students can learn to improve their current or future workplaces through relevant projects and instruction.  The educational area focuses on the educational role of the nurse, a figure often the most present and needed in a medical practice.  Students will learn health literacy and how to make patients understand vital health care instructions.

The last area, leadership, focuses on administrative tasks a nurse can utilize to determine things like how many nurses are needed on a shift.

The required courses can ideally be completed in three semesters or about 18 months by a full-time student and about 30 months or five semesters for a part-time student in the new nursing program.  The price for attaining this degree?  Under $6,000 according to the university.

If you're thinking about attending the program, your search for health care jobs in Tampa after completion will be all the more assisted.  Many Tampa Bay area hospitals now require bachelor's degrees like this one and regularly offer tuition reimbursement programs for hired nurses.

For more information on the new nursing bachelor's degree at USF, check out the USF School of Nursing website.  And, if you're a current or past student seeking a nursing position in the area, check out our jobs page and search for open health care jobs in Tampa.