As a Benedictine institution rooted in the hallmarks of stability, hospitality, community, and love, Belmont Abbey College has brought to the field of nursing education an unwavering emphasis on exceptional, compassionate, and ethical care. It has been our joy to form nurses who enter the healthcare system well prepared to meet the growing needs of our Gaston County home and beyond. As part of our dedication to advancing the field and providing the highest quality education to future nurses, Belmont Abbey recently commissioned a study to explore the experience of college-educated nurses within the healthcare industry after graduation. It is our hope that these findings will contribute to an essential and ongoing conversation that bears with such urgency on the health of our communities. Nursing Education Statistics: US 2026 In the US, there are various educational pathways you can follow if you want to take the standardized National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX)-RN and become a nurse. These include a diploma, an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a PhD program, and doctoral programs. With so many options, it’s natural for those considering a nursing career to wonder which path they should follow and whether their potential career choice is worth it. To gain a better understanding of nursing education, we sourced data from an independent poll of 500 college-educated nurses in the US. The responses to various questions ranged from the expected to the surprising and beyond. Here’s what we found. Index A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is the highest level of education completed by 44% of college-educated nurses in the US 18% of college-educated nurses in the US say pediatric nursing best describes their primary career path since completing their nursing degree 34% of college-educated nurses in the US have worked in three different nursing…