A Masters in What??

whodatnurse · May 25, 2010

It all depends on what your particular career goals are. I would recommend that you have some sort of vision before proceeding with the time and expense of an advanced degree.

greenfiremajick · May 25, 2010

It all depends on what your particular career goals are. I would recommend that you have some sort of vision before proceeding with the time and expense of an advanced degree.

My 1st goal, is to get employment with a hospital, as an RN. After that, I would like to get enough experience as an RN and enough time with a facility, to have them pay for my masters degree.

However, I also want to make sure that any grad degree I get, will allow me to be employable as an RN in almost any setting.....

I'm really drawn towards NP, in several specialties, so......peds and NICU are my ideal area, which I know would require an NP degree program....

But what about working in a hospital without doing an NP program? What would an MSN lead me towards, if I were to stay working as an RN in a hospital, home health, or hospice setting?

Would a hospital that requires a nurse to have her grad or BS degree (in order to achieve or maintain magnet status) accept a grad or BS degree in another health related field, such as nursing/business, or nursing informatics, etc? Since this push for more educated nurses has become a bit more intense and it is relatively new, I am unsure where to research this, other than calling the accrediting agencies, or the individual hospitals and I'm not so sure they would answer my questions!

So what are your thoughts, opinions, etc? Or anybody else thoughts, opinions, etc!

greytRNtobe · May 25, 2010

If you want to succeed in nursing, focus your attention on a MSN and/or DNP. The MPH is great but will not help you in nursing, even if you want to pursue public health nursing. You need the one year in hospital based nursing if you want to pursue an infection control nurse position - after the certification exam. Also, there are so many people who have MPHs that it does not have the same weight it had in 1980's, during the AIDS epidemic. MPHs now have to get PhDs to be considered viable in the workplace now.

Penguin67 · May 26, 2010

If you ever want to teach nursing, accrediting agengies require a master's in nursing as a minimum requirement for a FT position.You have showbthat youb qualify for what you teach clinically, and that is usually with a MSN with some clinical focus, although experience is looked at too.

If you plan to keep that teaching position and obtain tenure and promotion, you will need a doctorate. If you get a nursing doctorate, most programs require a masters in nursing and will require many additional extra courses for applicants without the nursing masters.

You may think that you would never go into teaching now, but many look for teaching positions later in their careers without having planned for it.

greenfiremajick · May 26, 2010

If you ever want to teach nursing, accrediting agengies require a master's in nursing as a minimum requirement for a FT position.You have showbthat youb qualify for what you teach clinically, and that is usually with a MSN with some clinical focus, although experience is looked at too.
If you plan to keep that teaching position and obtain tenure and promotion, you will need a doctorate. If you get a nursing doctorate, most programs require a masters in nursing and will require many additional extra courses for applicants without the nursing masters.
You may think that you would never go into teaching now, but many look for teaching positions later in their careers without having planned for it.

Thanks, Penguin. Now I wonder if going for a nurse practitioner program, which is also usually labeled as an MSN qualifies. I think it should, what do you think?

llg, PhD, RN · May 26, 2010

Thanks, Penguin. Now I wonder if going for a nurse practitioner program, which is also usually labeled as an MSN qualifies. I think it should, what do you think?

Qualifies for what? That is the question. You need to figure out what type of work you want to do before you can decide on an appropriate graduate program.

If you want to continue to work in a hospital in acute care ... then a NP degree is not likely to help much. Most NP programs teach people how to do primary care in an outpatient setting: they don't emphasize inpatient care. Clinical Nurse Leader and Clinical Nurse Specialist roles (which are taught at the MSN level) focus on inpatient care. You might want to look at those roles and the programs that prepare nurses for those roles.

Other nurses with Master's Degrees (in nursing) work in Nursing Staff Development, providing education for hospital staff. Still others focus on management/administration.

Other people work in roles such as Infection Control, Patient Education, Diabetes Education, Lactation Consultant, Quality Assurance, Research, etc. There are dozens of specialized roles that nurses can take -- and none of them are based on an NP education, though some NP's might take some of those roles.

From the nature of your questions, it sounds like you are at the very beginning of your nursing career. I strongly suggest that you work for a little while as a nurse (I know, that's easier said than done.) and find out what your natural talents and preferences are before you make a big investment in graduate education. As you discover "who you are as a nurse," the path that fits you the best will start to become more evident. Until then, it is impossible to know which path is right for you.

Penguin67 · May 26, 2010

Thanks, Penguin. Now I wonder if going for a nurse practitioner program, which is also usually labeled as an MSN qualifies. I think it should, what do you think?

If you are thinking of getting a masters as an NP, there are two schools of thought. Sometme in the future, (2015 is currently targeted, but that date has changed over the last few years), all advanced practice nurses (CNS, CNM, CRNA and NP) will be prepared at the doctoral level and receive a "DNP" (Doctorate of Nursing Practice) degree. Yes, it will be a doctorate, but entirely practice focused. Sort of brings nursing in line with other professions that have a clinical practice terminal degree. The first school of thought suggests that some view DNPs as qualified for academic teaching positions that require a doctorate, and some do not, because of the practice, not research, education and theory focus. There is an interesting article in the Journal of Professional Nursing (May-June 2010, pages 137-140) by Sandra R. Edwardson titled "Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Nursing PRactice as Complimentary Degrees" that you may find interesting as you explore educational avenues in nursing.

The second school of thought is that the DNP is equivalent to the Phd, DSN, DSNc, and some schools will hire you with that as your terminal degree, because it is a doctorate. It is ideal for someone who wants to teach in a DNP program, as you have "one degree higher" than the students you teach, a common educational philosophy.

Think carefully about what you want to do with your career, in 5, 10 and 15 years, as that decision should guide your choice of masters program. Consider the 2015 deadline for advanced practice degrees at the MSN level and how your plans would be impacted by that. The AACN website (American Association of CoOlleges of Nursing) has the information on DNP programs and the intended date to implement the DNP. Currently, they say folks who already have the MSN advanced practice degree will be grandfathered in and not ahve to return to school to obtain another degree.

Hope this helps!