Will multiple degrees at the same level help me?

Nurses General Nursing

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I previously was a business major so i have multiple business degrees (bachelors and MBA) and became started working as a nurse a little over a year ago.

Im currently getting my MSN (and working as an RN full time). I planned on eventually getting a terminal degree (still trying to figure out exactly where/what exactly, but I know id need a terminal degree for many leadership/educational positions down the road and id have at least 4~ years nursing experience by the time i finish my MSN)

My question is there are some very interesting masters degree programs out there that have gotten my attention and seem like potentially beneficial to me. But these programs are extremely scarce (or dont even exist) at the doctoral level.

Would it be extraordinarily redundant/inefficient for me to get another ( a 3rd) masters degree, especially if I planned on getting a terminal degree ?

I mean right now my plan is to have a BSN/MSN/MBA (I have or almost have all 3 of these currently) + (one of these 3) DBA/DHA/DNP

The others masters program I was interested in was some of the healthcare system/management engineerings degrees (yes, id be a nurse engineer...)

Do I need to be committed ? But on a serious note, do you think any of that healthcare engineering stuff would/could actually be beneficial to me ?

And in case its relevant, im only in my late 20s so there is that tidbit.

Thanks to anyone that responds !

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It's your money. Get the degrees you want. Nobody said a degree has to be "useful". After all, if you get satisfaction from pursuing a certain degree, then it is useful to you.

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It's your money. Get the degrees you want. Nobody said a degree has to be "useful". After all, if you get satisfaction from pursuing a certain degree, then it is useful to you.

A degree doesnt "have" to be useful, but it should be

I think it would be a waste if I invested precious resources (my time, effort, and money) into something that wouldn't benefit both myself and my organizations.

Ill concede that my long term goals are little lofty and bizarre, but I would like to have a unique and meaningful impact in the field that i am in as that is something very important to me.

And heck if the degree is/was worthless, I could always just buy the books and learn it all the same without spending thousands of dollars getting the piece of paper that comes along with that knowledge.

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But that piece of paper can make all the difference!! It seems like you would currently have multiple opportunities with your Business and Nursing degrees combined. Advance Practice Nurses are suppose to be all the rage and are currently in demand, who knows what will happen in the next 5-10 years. The medical/nursing field is so very dynamic that it is hard to predict where the fields will go, and it does depend on socio-economic trends, which governmant party is in control etc. Personally at your age, if you do not have any commitments to children or spouse, I would go for what I wanted. If you know of a good resource that can predict trends for future nursing that is where I would look for guidance. Knowledge is power and having that higher degree will most likely help you unless every other nurse has that same degree. Good Luck. Learning is a lifelong process when you are a nurse!!

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Specializes in ICU.

I have several degrees, including a business degree, but it hasn't helped me any. As far as advanced practice, it seems every nurse I know is seeking their nurse practitioner degree. I had read recently that certain areas are already over-saturated, and nurse practitioners were having a hard time finding the job they want. My friend who lives here in Florida had to go to New Orleans to seek work as a NP. Anyway, good luck with whatever decision you make.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

What are your ultimate career goals?

And just out of curiosity, what would a "nurse engineer" do?

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What are your ultimate career goals?

And just out of curiosity, what would a "nurse engineer" do?

Well I do plan on going into leadership (especially since I dont physically expect to be able to handle a clinical workload into my late 40s/50s). CNO/COO definitely on or near the top of my wishlist

The engineering i want to do (health systems) isnt your classical engineer (ie cars/airplanes). Its a lot of systems/processes (six sigma, lean, kaizen etc). So the combination of engineer (focused on systems/processes, minimizing defects, reducing waste) and nursing (which makes up a massive portion of healthcare) is an absolute golden opportunity to improve quality while reducing costs.

I think the "nurse engineer" thing would take me to the exact same place as a msn/mba, but id be far more capable of improving processes/quality with an (healthcare) engineering background

I dont think most people know it, but engineering is really the backbone of most quality improvement processes in this country

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

I would guess that an over abundance of alphabet soup after your name and on your resume could easily cost you as many employment possibilities as it might gain you. It will be hard to avoid the appearance of being over-qualified.

Although I can't really discern your ultimate goal (as a PP asked: what exactly is a nurse engineer?), perhaps you should narrow your focus to achieving the degree that best supports your goal as opposed to aiming for quantity.

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Having the degrees will be great, but will you have the experience in the workforce to back them up? Or will you essentially be a new grad over and over and over?

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
The engineering i want to do (health systems) isnt your classical engineer (ie cars/airplanes). Its a lot of systems/processes (six sigma, lean, kaizen etc). So the combination of engineer (focused on systems/processes, minimizing defects, reducing waste) and nursing (which makes up a massive portion of healthcare) is an absolute golden opportunity to improve quality while reducing costs.

Have you thought of doing the training to get your Six Sigma Black Belt? That's what I think I may do once I'm finished with my MSN.

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Have you thought of doing the training to get your Six Sigma Black Belt? That's what I think I may do once I'm finished with my MSN.

Definitely, ive even talked to a few nurse managers to see which hospitals in my area utilize LSS (and pay for the training for their nurses) and which dont.

Although they usually pay for like Green Belt or something. If I dont end up getting any degrees based upon engineering, thats certainly the route im going to go.

Ive even thought of moving west to work at some of the nationally renown hospitals that have big training programs for that kind of stuff

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Check out Denver Health - they offer a ton of Lean trainings for other facilities.

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