Education to go into administration?

[eman1haddad]

I am currently in a BSN program and completing a minor in Business Administration. My plan was to get an MBA or MHA and move into administration (my ultimate goal), but I am hearing that it would be wiser to get a DNP or continue to specialize in nursing, and then get an MBA/MHA.

Say I wanted to become a CNO. If I was starting as an RN, what educational path would be best to follow to be qualified for a nursing management position? I have heard that since CNO is more on the business side than nursing, a business degree would look better than specializing in nursing. But wouldn't a business degree just put me on that standard path of hoping to slowly move up the ladder to the top?

Thirdly, I have seen several CNOs with educational backgrounds that all seem to include a BSN, MBA/MHA, and then a DNP with no concentration once they were already set to be given the CNO position.

Also, it seems like getting a DNP after a BSN would actually make the process even longer. I would imagine that after a BSN, you would need some years of experience to enter a DNP program, and after that would need more years of experience as a DNP before being considered for an administration job, regardless of whether you decided to get a business degree after the DNP.

I don't know if I want to be a CNO (too soon to tell, I'm still in school), I just know that I want to work in administration one day and was hoping a nursing background would help me, but now I am not sure what I should be aiming for.

If anyone works in administration, any advice would be greatly appreciated! I know I have time, but I would like to get an idea of what others who have taken this path have done or would advise to do.