MSN + Ed.D (phd in education) opportunities ? Is it viable ?

Nursing Students Post Graduate

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So someone who has kind of been mentoring me in my nursing career for a while has told me if they were in my shoes they would pursue an MSN (in nursing admin or leadership) and then get an Ed.D.

Ive been having trouble for a while deciding on what exactly to get my advanced degrees in. What kind of opportunities would one have with an MSN + Ed.D ?

They told me that with an MSN + Ed.D you would be able to be involved with both hospital leadership and faculty nursing (at most major colleges/universities)

Would having a combo of an MSN (nursing admin/cnl whatever)and Ed.D offer plentiful opportunities? Or would I be like a new grad desperately trying to find anything possible?

Ill add that I already have an MBA. So it would be an MBA + MSN + Ed.D

Also since I know the question would invetiably be coming. Well what do I want to do. Id love to be a CNO someday, as well as teach nursing.

I definitely know (nor am I in the ideal position) I do not want to go the NP/DNP route.

Hope I wasnt too scatter brained, thanks !

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

The MSN / MBA combination is a good one for nursing administration. Why don't you start with that and then reassess after you work with that for a while. Experience might change your career preferences and time may well change the job market.

The Ed D prepares people for educational administration. It is not the preferred degree for nursing professors ... nor does it prepare people for health care CEO roles. But back in the days when there were few PhD programs in nursing, a lot of nurses who are now professors and school administrators got that degree. Now that there are lots of PhD and DNP programs, the job market for professors and school administrators may change. Most things evolve in time, and higher education does too. All the more reason to travel your path one step at a time.

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The MSN / MBA combination is a good one for nursing administration. Why don't you start with that and then reassess after you work with that for a while. Experience might change your career preferences and time may well change the job market.

The Ed D prepares people for educational administration. It is not the preferred degree for nursing professors ... nor does it prepare people for health care CEO roles. But back in the days when there were few PhD programs in nursing, a lot of nurses who are now professors and school administrators got that degree. Now that there are lots of PhD and DNP programs, the job market for professors and school administrators may change. Most things evolve in time, and higher education does too. All the more reason to travel your path one step at a time.

Im always continually reassessing, I cant help it lol. From what I hear the DNP isnt really (currently) catching on in the educational world, it seems more relegated to the clinical side of nursing.

But part of the reason im trying to research and get an idea of what to do is I want to try to have an optimal synergistic relationship between the two degrees without being redundant.

Like I feel that it would be somewhat redundant for me to say have an MBA, an MSN in nursing admin, and then a phd in nursing management or something. And then I know certain degrees (especially nursing) are far more difficult to find at the phd level then the msn.

For example ive seen a ton of MSN Nursing Informatics programs, but barely any phds on the topic. So if for some reason i decided Nursing Informatics is something I really need to know id probably decide to get the MSN in that, then I could go for the advanced degree in either admin/management or whatever.

And also the major university near me has kind of been recruiting me a little since i went to school there, so im trying not to wait too long to do anything.

Plus id rather spend too much time figuring out what to do, then too little lol

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

Assess your local market. What type of degrees do most nurse educators have in your area? If there are many unfilled positions, you have more leeway with your degree. I would consider BSN to PhD, for example, if I were looking to enter the market as an educator at my local research intensive university, but an MSN might be enough to get me in the door at a more rural, teaching-focused school. You need to know your market and preferred setting.

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