Which MSN degree, CNE or CNS?

[Loque, BSN, RN]

Things have been going well at my job, and while I do enjoy critical care and caring for patients, I know that my long term plans will most likely not involve bedside direct patient care. I have always been happy to work with students and colleagues when it comes to educating and teaching, and have been told by some of my co-workers that I have strengths in teamwork, communication, and always being a good mood.

I only have one year of nursing experience, but I have been toying with the idea of going back to school part time while I work.

I believe my long term goals could be in several areas, such as:

Nursing professional development

Coordination of patient care

Nurse leadership

While I cannot probably do both, I would like to collaborate with our medical teams to improve and coordinate patient care and outcomes, or work on developing our nurses skills (including our new grad orientation process, which was terrible for me).

I apologize if my ambitions are vague, but does anyone know which avenue I should purse with my higher education?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

First, what are you calling a CNE degree? If you are referring to an MSN in education, that is not CNE. CNE is a certification for academic nurse educators and is not a degree at all.

Second, the only person who can make this decision is you. Try shadowing a clinical nurse specialist for a day and a nurse educator for a day, and get an inside view of what the job is all about. And if you do go to school for one thing but decide you want to do the other, it's not the end of the world. Many schools offer post-masters certifications, so you could essentially get the education for both areas.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

It will be very difficult to land a nurse educator job without demonstrated clinical expertise & some background in entry-level instruction such as BLS Instructor. In my organization, entry level for Nurse Educators is an MSN, but if you plan on moving into academia - you need to plan on obtaining a doctorate. Workplace educators make significantly more than our academic colleagues, but they have a much nicer work schedule. If you are unsure about your path, you can always obtain a clinical MSN and then get a post-grad certificate in Education.

Also - keep in mind that our (educator) jobs are among the least secure in any healthcare organization. Marketing is usually the first to go - LOL... but educator positions are eliminated with alarming regularity whenever the budget squeeze begins. Thank heavens we're a tough bunch.

[Loque, BSN, RN]

It will be very difficult to land a nurse educator job without demonstrated clinical expertise & some background in entry-level instruction such as BLS Instructor. In my organization, entry level for Nurse Educators is an MSN, but if you plan on moving into academia - you need to plan on obtaining a doctorate. Workplace educators make significantly more than our academic colleagues, but they have a much nicer work schedule. If you are unsure about your path, you can always obtain a clinical MSN and then get a post-grad certificate in Education.

Also - keep in mind that our (educator) jobs are among the least secure in any healthcare organization. Marketing is usually the first to go - LOL... but educator positions are eliminated with alarming regularity whenever the budget squeeze begins. Thank heavens we're a tough bunch.

Thanks for your insight. I am planning on being a Clinical Instructor for students at my Alma mater, do you believe that can serve as an entry level expertise? I would like to get my MSN and work on staff professional development at the workplace.

I was not aware that the job instability aspect. I find this interesting because we have felt the pinch at some aspects of our bedside nursing already. I think its a shame that education is not seen as essential, especially with influxes of new grad nurses entering the profession. While instability is not a total deterrent to me, it gives me something to think about.