MSN-CNL or ANP

Specialties NP

Published

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone who has to given past feed back...you are all appreciated!

I have a dilema. I was accepted into 2 nursing programs. One is a 2 year MSN-CNL at the University of San Francisco costing $69,000; the other is a 3 MEPN - NP program at the University of Hawaii costing $160,000 (they will not allow you to get residency after your first year, that why it costs so much).

I originally chose USF because it was a generalist degree and I thought that it gave me the best oportunity to choose directions after I got my feet wet in the field. First question - is the 160K to much to pay for a NP degree? Second - Can you go from a MSN-CNL to NP later down the road. I've heard that you can only get a certificate and not a degree as an NP - is that sufficient?

Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
First question - is the 160K to much to pay for a NP degree?

I think that's a really expensive program and I would hesitate to pay that much especially since your earning potential for the first few years in practice is probably going to be just over half of that amount per year. Have you figured out how you're going to pay for this program should you decide to register for it?

I've heard that you can only get a certificate and not a degree as an NP - is that sufficient?

Absolutely. Depending on the program you attended, articulation to a post-Master's certificate with a NP specialization can take shorter than taking the traditional Master's with an NP focus. You do only get a post-Master's certificate as you would have already obtained a Master's degree in Nursing when you finish your MSN-CNL. That is not going to be an issue with potential employers nor the certifying boards. Without getting into the whole DNP confusion (which is another issue upon itself), if you decide to pursue a DNP degree with a NP focus after you complete your MSN-CNL, you would earn that new degree because the doctoral degree is obviously higher than a Master's.

Wow!!! $160,000 is a lot to pay for an NP degree...possibly any degree. I'm spoiled in that my current job pays for my NP education. Is it possible to work and go to school, maybe a staff RN position where there are education benefits?

Specializes in Adult primary care, college health.

I think I'd want to think a bit more about what it is I want to do with this degree. The CNL and NP roles are very different - one prepares you for working as a nurse leader in a more traditional nursing role; the other prepares you for advanced practice - diagnosing, prescribing, etc.

That said, a 2-year program that trains you as a nurse and awards an MSN - that sounds pretty reasonable, esp. if you're not completely sure what it is you want to do within nursing. There's nothing to keep you from then entering a post-masters NP program later on if you determine that's really what you want to do.

And I totally agree - $160K sounds like too much money to spend on a degree, particularly if you're not completely sure that degree will allow you to do what you want to do. (How terrible would it be to spend all that money only to discover you actually want to work in a completely different nursing role?)

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