Country music lovers will gravitate to Tennessee’s Grand Ole Opry, and hikers and bird lovers will lean toward this state’s Smokey Mountains. Memphis is an easy city to navigate, and the hospitals are thriving in this metropolis – but they need nurses. Other cities include Nashville and Knoxville, and tourist magnets include Chattanooga, Maryville and Asheville. Nurses can find career and educational opportunities in large cities and small towns from east to west across this state.

Becoming a Nurse in Tennessee

Memphis is the magnet for nurses who want to obtain a doctoral degree in nursing. Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis provides specialties in anesthetist nursing and family care, with MSN, doctoral and post-doctoral degrees. If you’d prefer to study in Nashville, Tennessee State University provides associate, BSN and MSN degrees in programs such as family care and holistic nursing. Tennessee Wesleyan College in Knoxville provides students with programs in adult care, anatomy, community health, nutrition and physiology, with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Even if you want to attend a smaller college, you still can obtain a BSN at colleges such as East Tennessee State University in Johnson City or King College in Bristol.

Nursing Jobs in Tennessee

Some of the largest health care employers in Tennessee include Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Vanguard Health Systems in Nashville, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. St. Jude has career opportunities for a wide range of positions, to support the institution’s biomedical research and clinical activities. In addition, postdoctoral fellowships are available in a variety of specialized programs. LPNs who wish to work in Tennesse can expect to earn between $26,000 and $52,000 per year. RNs in this state can earn between $50,000 and $111,000 per year. A critical care RN in Memphis can earn, on average, $67,000 per year, and that same nurse can earn about $73,000 per year in Knoxville.