Is MSN in Nursing Education enough?

Specialties Educators

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Specializes in School Nursing.

My ultimate goal is to teach Public/Community Health Nursing class and clinicals in a BSN program at a local major private university (my alma mater :) ). I would be willing to teach other classes as well (Peds, Fundamentals, Pharm, etc) but I don't think my hospital background is strong enough to teach Med/Surg. I also hope to research and write for publication as well, so I know that a PhD is in my future.

I have a BSN. I am planning on going for a MSN in Nursing Education, possibly through Aspen. After that I will go straight for my PhD at a local university who has an online PhD, but hopefully I can start teaching while I'm working on it. I have seen some Universities whose tenure track positions advertised state "CNS preferred", and that concerns me a bit. Is the MSN in Nursing Ed really not enough, even though I'm going to get my PhD? Should I be looking at a CNS program and get a certificate in Nursing Ed? Right now I have to look at online programs, which is why Aspen appealed to me (accredited and all online, and inexpensive so I have more $ to put toward the PhD).

If you think a CNS is important to have at the tenured professor level, what area of concentration? I have not seen many public health CNS programs, and the ones I have seen cost a ton or are not online. What does your university require/prefer?

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Do you have any favorite profs at your alma mater you could ask? I'm happy with my MSN in Ed., but I have no desire to go beyond my CC ASN program. Another way to look, find job postings for your type of job, and see what they require specifically.

Might also look into if MSN or CNS is enough for your school's BSN postitions; in mine (the BSN program I had) all the classroom instructors were PhDs. Took an MSN to be a clinical instructor, but weren't many of them. Very few classroom lecturers didn't also do clinicals; there usually isn't an option to only do classroom teaching. Only the most senior (and published) didn't.

How much hospital experience do you have? Just curious because if you aren't confident in medsurg, am wondering about peds/fundies.

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