Once you have received a Bachelors in Nursing, what are the steps to become a Nurse Practitioner?

That is great you are thinking ahead like this!!! Once you have your BSN, you can work as a nurse for a few years or jump in and start your applications to different Universities that offer Nurse Practitioner programs. You may also need to submit your GRE scores, which is an exam for graduate school similar to the SATs. One thing that I did, which I strongly recommend, is to take the GRE as soon as you finish college, even if you are not sure where and if you are going to graduate school. You can save the score for 5 years and it’s much easier to take when you are already in “student” mode.

One reason why it might be good to work a year or two before you apply to NP programs is that you will really know what field you want to specialize in. I went in to nursing because I was interested in in-hospital cancer care, but I ultimately became a Womens Health NP.

Hope this helps!

I agree with Cecily's excellent response. I also would like to emphasize that working for a few years after your BSN before you go to grad school and become an NP is really essential (IMHO). First, you want to work as nurse for a few years to see if you even like it before you incur the additional costs of becoming an NP (which is 2-3 MORE years of education)! Plus, there is a culture working in medicine and nursing as well as some unique communication styles/vocabulary that is unique to these disciplines. Best to be comfortable with those variables before you begin your role as an NP provider. Your first year as an NP will have a steep learning curve but when you come into it with some clinical experience under your belt, the transition from RN-BSN to advance practice provider will be MUCH easier. Best wishes!

Sapna,
After you graduate and pass your NCLEX you will typically need two years of work experience before applying to a nursing graduate program NP track. There are some universities, such as Houston Baptist University, that will admit students into their Master of Nursing program with only a few months of work experience.

Hope this helps!