How difficult is it to earn MSN in education?

Nurses Career Support

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

Hey guys!

I've made a decision to go to grad school in 2017 or 2018. I'm waiting so my husband can pursue his goal to become a fire fighter.

I'm an ER nurse with a year under my belt so far and I love it! However, soon I will be ready to advance my career options. I loved mentoring younger students when I was in nursing school and I absolutely enjoyed watching them grow and graduate. It was such an honor watching them succeed and know I was a little part of that.

I've chosen to go back to grad school in a year or two (while continuing to gain more patient care experience as an ER nurse). I want to pursue my MSN in education.

I was just curious if anyone has gone this pathway and could share if it was difficult earning this degree and what the curriculum is like. I plan to do online schooling so I can still work full time as a nurse.

Any advice would be helpful. I want to do my share of research to make sure I will be prepared in taking this on in the future.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jenna

ER BSN,RN

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Yea! It's always great to encounter someone who is planning to join our team (nurse educators). There are actually two different pathways you can choose - academia or workplace education. Have you decided on which one is more appealing?

I lead clinical education in a very large healthcare system and have a faculty role as well. Based on my own experience in both areas, I believe that workplace education is more challenging because of the broader knowledge base and skill set requirement. Workplace educators not only have to have all the qualifications related to the 'discipline' of education, we also have to have expertise in healthcare operations as well as clinical competency. We don't have the clean distinctions between didactic and clinical instruction - our jobs require both. We are also called upon to consult on performance issues, develop staff education plans to support organizational initiatives, create innovative instructional designs to ensure maximum efficiency . . . etc. etc., It's a creative and highly fulfilling role!

On the plus side - we don't have to deal with tenure, so career advancement can be accelerated. Our Director of Education positions require MSN in Education or equivalent + a lot of other stuff. (Some have doctorates). Salaries are comparable to other nurse leader positions, which is normally quite a bit more than MSN-prepared academic faculty.

Just one caveat (trying my best to avoid snark, so if you sense any, it is entirely unintended). "Online" MSN-Education programs tend to be very inadequate unless they include an actual residency in which you work with an actual nurse educator. Those without sufficient exposure to actual research (e.g., no thesis requirement) are not in the same league/universe when it comes to academic and professional preparation. Graduates of "some" programs are not even considered for faculty positions because they have had ZERO exposure to a scholarly environment. This will not become apparent until you start searching for jobs and end up smacking into invisible barriers.

My advice? Look for a well-respected traditional program. The vast majority of them offer a blended learning curriculum whereby you will be able to accomplish a lot of coursework online. You can also arrange the 'hands on' experiences by juggling your vacation/PTO days (been there, done that). In the long run, the 'easy way' will bit you in the (er, uh) knees.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

Thank you for all of the feedback! I was thinking about these two pathways o could embark upon and I and still thinking. Hospital education would be very interesting I feel, but I also loved seeing, when I mentored, how my students grew and it was such a self rewarding experience. However, pay I'm sure would be improved as a clinical educator compared to a staff educator at a school. Not to say I am in it for the money, but it would be nice to have some sort of pay increase if I will be paying big money for my education.

I will see if my school has evening classes I can attend in addition to online courses so I can get my hands on experience as well!

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Specializes in Float Pool - A Little Bit of Everything.

Hi,

I am in grad school currently, doing me MSN focused in healthcare policy. I have found that the MSN program fits well for my schedule. I am a mom, I work PRN, my husband works full time, and is also a full time student. We own a house, still visit our family out of state; we make it work. It will be nice when we are all done, but you can do anything you put your mind to.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

Wow that's amazing! I hope I am able to do it. I work and my husband works and we have his daughter who is 5 and I am expecting in September so I hope after a year of adjusting I can begin my masters program. I'm nervous, I don't know how difficult the curriculum will be.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

I seem to be very interested in the education within the hospital. I think you've made very good points and have given me a great amount of insight in regards to the work you do! Thank you! I went to Grand Canyon University for my BSN and plan to go back for my MSN.

It definitely seems like a challenge, but one that is beneficial to my career and progress as a nurse. Thank you so much for the advice and thorough information!! :)

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

That does sound fantastic! Thank you for sharing your experience!

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