Job-seeking nurses face higher hurdle as hospitals require more-advanced degrees

Megan Goodman was a dean's list student at Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences who served on two student nursing boards before she earned her associate degree in nursing in May. Since then, the 30-year-old Downingtown, Pa., resident still is seeking work after applying for more than three dozen hospital jobs. "Truthfully, an associate's program is not really going to get you anywhere anymore," she said. Hundreds of thousands of Americans flocked to nursing schools over the past decade, drawn by the prospect of a well-paying job with a degree that takes as little as two years. [Subscription Required]