How many years of "language other than english" is required to become a Registered Nurse or Nurse Practitioner?

3 years, you will need to know 3 languages for nursing. Mental retardation- mainly ooh and arr! 1.2 year study old age pensioner talk- consists of " i need my pills" 1.5 year study dead talk - usually do not say much. 3 months study Hope this helps.

I have never heard of a second language being required in order to become a nurse.

3 years should be sufficient for applying to a university. As for starting all over again, if you're in a degree program that requires 2 years of language (typical), they will test you to place you. Many people who have had a couple of years in high school do start in the first year in college because they didn't really learn all that much as a high school student. It's possible that a language won't be required if you're in a nursing program, although it should be. You will have lots of Spanish speaking patients. Wouldn't you like to be able to communicate with them? My daughter is the only person in her hospital who speaks Spanish. They call her in all the time- someone needs to understand the patients when they tell what their symptoms are or what they're feeling after a treatment or medicine. She's won awards for her nursing, and part of that is that she can communicate well with her patients. When they had a woman who only spoke Russian, no one in the hospital could communicate with her. My daughter brought in her husband, who speaks Russian. It's a terrible situation for patients when they can't communicate with anyone.