Not sure what route to take...nursing or buisness admin?

[CookieDoodle]

I'm applying to universities this year for the next fall 2014 year. I am torn between what i really want to do. Nursing has been an interesting field to me seeing as I took clinical rotations my junior year in high school and enjoyed it very much.

But at the same time...i really want to do healthcare administration.

Is it possible for me to, after nursing school, get a masters in healthcare admin? Can it work like that?

Or would it just be better to take the busniess administration route first and leave nursing...which i really dont want to do.

Also...i was wondering. How competitive are NP programs? What would I need to do after nursing school to get into one?

Yeah i know..I'm like all over the page with this one. I'm just really struggling right now and don't know what I want to do with my life.

Thanks for any advice!!

[studentbear, CNA]

With a nursing degree, you could potentially do healthcare business admin. But with a business admin degree, you couldn't do nursing. Something to think about

[windsurfer8, BSN, RN]

My first bachelors in Business admin. Then I went back and got a second bachelors in nursing.

[maddiem]

Many nurses become health care administrators after spending a decent amount of time in the nursing field and some get their masters in nursing practice to do this as well. You could eventually become a nurse manager or a director of a nursing department. You need to understand though that this opportunity would come to you after gaining a substantial amount of experience within the nursing field to be able to manage people within nursing departments. So if you go to nursing school, make sure you're doing it because you want to be a nurse first or you may find yourself unhappy in your position.

I would definitely urge you to go to nursing school though! As long as you have the drive to get through it and push yourself, it's a great field with many opportunities.

[INN_777, BSN, RN]

Hi CookieDoodle:

Since you are not really sure where you want to go but you know you don't want to move away from nursing, one route could be to study nursing, get a couple years of experience and see if you still feel strongly about administration. If you still do, you can pursue your MBA or other business track then. But maybe you will fall in love with nursing and decide to further your education in that venue instead.

When in doubt -start somewhere, the rest will come:)