How long does it take to become a Student Nurse?

It takes 3 years of professional experience to become a student nurse. That is the time it takes to learn specific student nurse skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 6 to 8 years years to become a student nurse.

How To Become A Student Nurse: What It Is and Career Path

What is a student nurse and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.

A student nurse is an entry-level professional nursing career that maintains the health of patients in health care environments. You will perform the physical assessment of the patients by listening to their heart, lungs, and bowel sounds with the use of a stethoscope.

With this, you will give verbal reports on each patient to the physician at the start and end of the process so as to know the patient's condition. You will also demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired in school to provide care and assess patients. Likewise, you will prepare handwritten and typed reports with proper spelling and grammar.

The student nurse must give good reports based on the patient's test results and nursing assessment to provide the right nursing care. The ability to remain calm and work under pressure are important skills required for the post of a student nurse. They must also be able to use various medical equipment and classroom instruments. Student nurses make $14.3 an hour, equivalent to $29,752 yearly.

What general advice would you give to a Student Nurse?

Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.

Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University

One of the suggestions for new graduates is the importance of self-care. We have long known of the demanding nature of the nursing practice. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the nursing role's critical importance and the unique contributions made by nursing professionals. As the healthcare environment is extremely complex and challenging, nurses must remember to advocate for themselves and prioritize self-care.

ScoreStudent NurseUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,281

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 11.31%

Black or African American 10.80%

Hispanic or Latino 9.00%

Unknown 4.26%

White 64.20%

Gender

female 84.50%

male 15.50%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.1

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.8

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a student nurse

Explore student nurse education requirements

Most common student nurse degrees

Bachelor's

52.0 %

Associate

29.4 %

High School Diploma

5.2 %

Start to develop specific student nurse skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	25.62%
Vital Signs	8.78%
Direct Patient Care	5.88%
Administer Medications	4.18%
IV	3.58%

Complete relevant student nurse training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New student nurses learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a student nurse based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real student nurse resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed student nurse usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed student nurse in most of states. 43 states require student nurses to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Alabama	Degree required	State exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Nurse, Licensed Practical
Arkansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
California	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Vocational Nurse
Colorado	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse

Gain additional student nurse certifications

Student nurse certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific student nurse certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for student nurses include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Certified Nurse Technician (CNT).

More About Certifications

Research student nurse duties and responsibilities

Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
Experience in plastics, general, podiatry, ortho, gyn, GI and pain services
Administer intravenous infusions, PO, IM, IVP, SubQ prescriptions and monitoring patients for adverse reactions.
Provide competent nursing care within scope of practice on the Med-Surg, and ICU floor as a student nurse.

Prepare your student nurse resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your student nurse resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a student nurse resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Student Nurse Resume templates

Build a professional Student Nurse resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Student Nurse resume.

Apply for student nurse jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a student nurse job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Student Nurse Job

Alfred Dari

Student Nurse

Over here in Ghana West Africa. To become a student nurse, you must have to successfully complete senior secondary school with passes in the core subjects area such as English, Mathematics, integrated science. And any other 2 electives subject; it could be french or history.

After high school, you apply for the nursing institution online, where you will be asked to upload your senior secondary school results, from there you'll go for interview. If you qualify, they will now send you an appointment letter and congratulations message and a date to begin your studies on the nursing career.
In Ghana here, the duration for college applicants in the nursing school is 3-4years depending on the certificate. Diploma in nursing is 3years of study. Degree in nursing is 4years of study.

But I have successfully completed, nursing school and have graduated with excellent passes and have been certified by the Nursing and Midwifery council, Ghana.
Now waiting for appointment, for am not working yet. You can ask well recommend me to other agency who needed my type of expertise. Am a Diploma Registered General Nurse.

How do student nurses rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Student Nurse reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

helping people and saving lives

Cons

the pay is not good not enough for the lifestyle I would like to live

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

The feeling I get when helping people.

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019

Cons

Far to many things to mention but to be on your feet for 12 hours plus a stressful environment the job should be double in salary especially they save lives just like a policeman or fireman ! I could go on and I am a mother of a nurse !!

Pros

Ready to be a server in an high-end restaurant. !😰😰

What is a student nurse and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a Student Nurse?

Student Nurse career paths

Key steps to become a student nurse

Explore student nurse education requirements

Most common student nurse degrees

Start to develop specific student nurse skills

Complete relevant student nurse training and internships

Obtain the necessary licensing

Gain additional student nurse certifications

Research student nurse duties and responsibilities

Prepare your student nurse resume

Choose From 10+ Customizable Student Nurse Resume templates

Apply for student nurse jobs

How Did You Land Your First Student Nurse Job

Average student nurse salary

How do student nurses rate their job?

Student Nurse reviews

Student Nurse FAQs

How long does it take to become a Student Nurse?

Search for student nurse jobs

Student Nurse jobs by state