Pursue MPH or finish ADN ??? help!!!!

Nurses Career Support

Published

I currently have a Bachelors of Science in Healthcare Management and have not had any luck finding a relevant job. All I seem to be able to do is land receptionist positions which is very disheartening. I had started the BSN program at Chamberlain, then stopped before medsurg to pursue the "business side" of healthcare. I am at a crossroads on what to do now to further my education and further my career in a direction I would want. I was planning on a Masters of Public Health program, but when I look for jobs that I would want, it seems that they all require 5 years experience or licensed as an RN. I clearly do not have either of these and would not at the end of my masters program. I am worried if I pursue that route I will once again be stuck with a degree and not able to find a job that is relevant to it. I have recently started thinking about finishing my nursing degree with the online ADN program at Chamberlain (I live in Columbus) and finish within a year and a half with my credits I already have. I guess I just don't know what to do/which path to follow. I am so deeply interested in public health but it seems many of the positions require an RN. Would it be smarter and would I be more marketable to pursue my RN coupled with my Bachelors in Healthcare Management?

I also wanted to say that thankfully money is not an issue as my parents have so generously offered to pay for my schooling to help my new husband and I start our lives together (since I know Chamberlain is so pricey), I just want to make sure I'm not wasting their income as well as my time either way.

I would appreciate any help, I am so confused!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Oh my goodness. I believe that the B in Healthcare Admin is a real for-profit college scam. Maybe not quite as bad as the Criminal Justice & Medical Assistant programs that are endlessly promoted on daytime TV... but close. Honestly, I don't know of ANYONE who has been hired into a healthcare job based on that (BHA) degree unless s/he is also a licensed clinician (usually Resp Tx, because there aren't a lot of B degree programs available in their specialty). So sorry you have invested so much time & $ in it.

In my organization (and in most other large healthcare systems), management jobs require masters degrees, but they are filled with people who have an undergrad in either a clinical or 'operational' specialty (nursing, lab, health informatics, accounting, etc.). Clinicians normally obtain a masters in their profession but some of the ancillary folks go for an MBA. There are also a lot of folks with two master's degrees - usually their own profession & either an MBA or an MHA.

If you are interested in working in a healthcare operations area (not clinical), you may want to look at Health Information Management (used to be called Medical Records) or Healthcare Informatics. There are entry-level positions available. Of course, there are entry-level jobs available in all the 'support' areas also if you have administrative skills.

It looks like you are conducting a more thorough investigation into the MPH... good for you. Frankly, as you have discovered, those positions normally require clinical backgrounds also. In my area, most higher level PH jobs are filled with graduates of the School of Public Health (branch of state Health Science University).

Why are you limiting yourself to Chamberlin (DeVry)? It is very pricey. You can obtain an education at a traditional not-for-profit community college or school at a fraction of the cost & use the rest of the $ to help you and your new hubby get established in your new life.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in RN MPH CHES.

I encourage you to continue you degree in nursing. It will open so many more doors for you combined with your Healthcare Management Degree.

I graduated with my BS in bio in 2008...and my mph in 2010. I battled with my decision for so long. Starting the pre-nursing courses in 2010 and then stopped. Sometimes feeling like I was going backwards. But I have spoken to many clinicians and doctorate (MD, PHD, RN, CNL clinical nursing leaders) holders with 15+ years of experience and none have discouraged me from doing nursing. They said it is an incredible addition to my MPH and will open more doors. You are considered more resourceful. Someone even told me that...if you think about it, the MPH degree was originally created for clinicians who needed greater knowledge of public health.

I am currently in a 2 year 2nd degree bsn program. I started in 2012.

I had a friend's friend beat me out of a program coordinator position for teen mom's ONLY because she had her RN/MPH and I had my MPH, even though, I had more experience than her. In a way it's kind of political, but understandable. I say just focus on your nursing degree. Get the MPH while you are working as a nurse (they have 1yr programs for clinicians). If you want public health experience, while you are in nursing school, volunteer doing public health work...they have plenty.

I have no plans on remaining bedside after a yr or 2. I want to combine my mph with my bsn and develop health programs. Public Health is my first love...my passion, but I know nursing will give me the leverage to get into the international health and adolescent reproductive health field.

Hope this helps :)

I currently have a Bachelors of Science in Healthcare Management and have not had any luck finding a relevant job. All I seem to be able to do is land receptionist positions which is very disheartening. I had started the BSN program at Chamberlain, then stopped before medsurg to pursue the "business side" of healthcare. I am at a crossroads on what to do now to further my education and further my career in a direction I would want. I was planning on a Masters of Public Health program, but when I look for jobs that I would want, it seems that they all require 5 years experience or licensed as an RN. I clearly do not have either of these and would not at the end of my masters program. I am worried if I pursue that route I will once again be stuck with a degree and not able to find a job that is relevant to it. I have recently started thinking about finishing my nursing degree with the online ADN program at Chamberlain (I live in Columbus) and finish within a year and a half with my credits I already have. I guess I just don't know what to do/which path to follow. I am so deeply interested in public health but it seems many of the positions require an RN. Would it be smarter and would I be more marketable to pursue my RN coupled with my Bachelors in Healthcare Management?

I also wanted to say that thankfully money is not an issue as my parents have so generously offered to pay for my schooling to help my new husband and I start our lives together (since I know Chamberlain is so pricey), I just want to make sure I'm not wasting their income as well as my time either way.

I would appreciate any help, I am so confused!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks for all the info/help everyone. I have decided to pursue and finish nursing. I am meeting with my academic advisor this evening to start/finish this process. I completely agree with the healthcare admin degree being a scam, and would love to discourage anyone pursuing it. I am really hopeful about the nursing degree helping me get to where I want to be.

I am also limiting myself to Chamberlain since I already have so many credits there, and would essentially lose them if I went elsewhere (none of the nursing programs around me seem to accept any transfer credits for nursing, or acknowledge them). As for pursuing another college, I have missed a lot of application deadlines and would have to wait 1-2 years to start.

Thanks again for everyones help!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment