Getting my MBA

One more thing - I'm not sure if bedside care is for me. I plan to volunteer to experience it. How long would you think I would have to work as a RN before I could move into administration? I don't want my MBA to become useless...

Bare minimum for a management position in a "good facility" that wasn't desparate would be at least 1 year. But 2 or 3 years would be preferred. It usually takes about one year for a new graduate nurse to become competent as a staff nurse. It takes a couple more years to become proficient/expert. No self-respecting staff nurse would want to work for a manager who was not competent in the field -- and no employer would hire a nurse-manager who was not at least competent in clinical practice.

There is nothing wrong with having gotten a business education first ... but you are still going to be expected to be competent as a nurse and not just have the letters after your name.

I got my RN in December of 2008. I still have been unable to find a job as an RN, except this Fall I will doing flu shot clinics. When it was apparent the jobs for new grads had dried up in the spring of 2009, I was offered the chance to attend an university MBA in healthcare admin. program. in April. I go there one evening a week plus one saturday a month (if not online). I will be done in 12/2010. The entire program including laptop and textbooks/equipment is $25,000.

I am on my third course in the program. I have learned so much about Healthcare industry - and it is a pretty exciting time to be learning about an industry that is on the verge of an evolution of sorts. I am so glad my nursing instructors had us write so many APA papers.It has definately come in handy as I have written eight research papers in the last 4 months. Our thesis project can either be a research project or business plan and we have about a year to prepare it.

I chose to go for it because I am 44, an entrepreneur at heart, and cannot see myself physically being able to do bedside nursing for 10 years. I love helping people, but it seems that the personal time and attention I thought I would be giving to people does not occur anymore. I have always wanted an MBA - This seemed to be a good time to get it.