MSA versus MSN

Nursing Students SRNA

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Whats are the pros and cons of both a masters in nursing or masters in anesthesia

Specializes in Anesthesia ICU LTC Dialysis.
Whats are the pros and cons of both a masters in nursing or masters in anesthesia

One HUGE advantage to the MSA...... no ' OLD DEAD WHITE WOMEN COURSES" AKA NURSING THEORY. No need to know one THING OREM et al ever thought.

I am an MSN CRNA and the nursing theory crap was painful.

Specializes in ICU.

They are worlds apart. Like apples and oranges. MSN is typically for those who would like to teach Nursing and MSA is for those who want to become an anesthetist. Its an advanced practice role where you administer anesthesia to patients either in the OR or at he bedside for an Epidural for example.

Specializes in Anesthesia.
They are worlds apart. Like apples and oranges. MSN is typically for those who would like to teach Nursing and MSA is for those who want to become an anesthetist. Its an advanced practice role where you administer anesthesia to patients either in the OR or at he bedside for an Epidural for example.

This is simply wrong.

Like infidel stated the big difference (really the only difference) between an MS in anesthesia vs an MSN in anesthesia is that you get to skip all the nursing theory classes/nursing research etc. The reason a lot of these schools offer an MSA vs. MSN is because it is easier to associate themselves with science departments a lot of times vs nursing departments.

Both anesthesia programs teach all the required courses for CRNA neither course inheritly offers you a significant advantage over the other one. Both programs will be able to offer a DNP/DNAP (DNAP will be the desigination for the current MS in anesthesia programs).

Specializes in Anesthesia ICU LTC Dialysis.
They are worlds apart. Like apples and oranges. MSN is typically for those who would like to teach Nursing and MSA is for those who want to become an anesthetist. Its an advanced practice role where you administer anesthesia to patients either in the OR or at he bedside for an Epidural for example.

No,, actually the difference is the nursing theory crap,, nothing else.

No,, actually the difference is the nursing theory crap,, nothing else.

Ahh, he/she must have not realized that the question was about MSN (CRNA) vs MSA (CRNA)

Specializes in CVICU.

Well, actually....if you go the MSA route and want a DNAP later you WILL have to take the theory classes you didn't take at the masters level, can't get around theory....them's the breaks.

Longhorn

Specializes in Anesthesia ICU LTC Dialysis.
Well, actually....if you go the MSA route and want a DNAP later you WILL have to take the theory classes you didn't take at the masters level, can't get around theory....them's the breaks.

Longhorn

No advanatge at all to a DNAP... go the PhD ROUTE and AVOID ALL THAT NONSENSE.

If you are an a CRNA when the mandatory educational standards are adopted... you will NOT have to get the higher degree. So there is no real advanatge to the DNAP unless you do it ab initio.

I strongly suggest an MSA for the simple reason that the time spent in an MSN program studying Orem, Hall or Abdellah et. al. is spent learning things that will actually make a DIFFERENCE to patient care in the anesthesia world.... physiology etc.

Specializes in CVICU.
No advanatge at all to a DNAP... go the PhD ROUTE and AVOID ALL THAT NONSENSE.

If you are an a CRNA when the mandatory educational standards are adopted... you will NOT have to get the higher degree. So there is no real advanatge to the DNAP unless you do it ab initio.

I strongly suggest an MSA for the simple reason that the time spent in an MSN program studying Orem, Hall or Abdellah et. al. is spent learning things that will actually make a DIFFERENCE to patient care in the anesthesia world.... physiology etc.

I feel your pain.....BUT....I think that to be fair, if a CRNA is going to get a PhD it will probably be in nursing, no? Therefore theory is required for a PhD as well as a DNAP. I suppose an argument could be made that one could get a PhD in "physiology", but who wants to spend ANOTHER 4-5 years obtaining a tangential degree, that qualifies you to do research, true but adds very little to your clinical practice.

Finally, I think that whether you obtained it "ab initio" or not full practice will require it. (By that I mean working where you want to work). Maybe not in the near future, but its coming.

Specializes in Anesthesia.
Well, actually....if you go the MSA route and want a DNAP later you WILL have to take the theory classes you didn't take at the masters level, can't get around theory....them's the breaks.

Longhorn

That is not correct either. The DNAP was specifically designed to overcome the barriers of nurse anesthesia schools that are not associated with nursing schools. Check out VCU's DNAP program there is no nursing theory classes. http://www.sahp.vcu.edu/nrsa/programs/doctorate/doc_curriculum.htm

That is not correct either. The DNAP was specifically designed to overcome the barriers of nurse anesthesia schools that are not associated with nursing schools. Check out VCU's DNAP program there is no nursing theory classes. http://www.sahp.vcu.edu/nrsa/programs/doctorate/doc_curriculum.htm

Looking at the course description of the last two semesters at the above URL:

ALHP 701 Health Services Delivery Systems 3

ALHP 708 Ethics and Health Care 3

ALHP 760 Biostatistical Methods for Health Related Sciences 3

These courses seem to be the same as most MSN courses. The statistics course description does not contain specifics of doctorate level research.

Can someone explain this?:confused:

Specializes in Anesthesia.
Looking at the course description of the last two semesters at the above URL:

ALHP 701 Health Services Delivery Systems 3

ALHP 708 Ethics and Health Care 3

ALHP 760 Biostatistical Methods for Health Related Sciences 3

These courses seem to be the same as most MSN courses. The statistics course description does not contain specifics of doctorate level research.

Can someone explain this?:confused:

They are going to be very similar (more expanded versions) as what is required by all nurse anesthesia curriculum, but there aren't any nursing theory courses. Remember also that this program is eventually going to be totally integrated with their MS in anesthesia program so there has to be some overlap.

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