CEO with nursing background?

Yes. Several hospital CEOs within my health system have been RNs.

That's encouraging, Altra! By any chance do you know any of their educational backgrounds? I'm curious what degrees make nurses good candidates should they ever decide to pursuit such a role.

The CEO of the largest hospital in our system is an RN. She has a Master's in Public Health. She does not have an MSN. It's less about the degree that you have and more about your networking and the leadership experience you bring with you.

To limit my discussion to the scope of your question, though, an MPH, MSN, MBA, or MPA would all be good degrees to earn. If you can find a dual MSN/MBA, you'll be well-prepared to move up the ranks through nursing administration, which may eventually land you in the C-suite.

Side note: if you work in a Magnet facility, you'll want to get the MSN first to ensure that you can move up in nursing administration.

I know a couple- the titles may be different to that in the US (I'm in Australia) but generally the pathway seems to be RN > Director of Clinical Services/ Director of Nursing/ Operations Management > completed MBA > CEO

The only CEO I have personally known that was an RN was a ADN. All of her post graduate work was in the business field. She is still an RN though! The CEO I am currently working under is an MD. I think it really depends on the organization...If you are a smaller community based hospital vs a large academic medical center, the needs could be different.

Many of the CEOs I have encountered throughout my career have been non-RNs. For the very first time my current CEO (new to my facility) is a RN! I am so pleased with the changes she has implemented. She works very closely with the CNO and the Operations Manager (also nurses). The three of them have implemented changes that look and feel like nursing for those of us that still work in the trenches. For example, those of us lower on the food chain are given detailed up-to-date explanations as to why we are doing things, where we are going with changes, and how it relates to our nursing practice. Also, from a management perspective the ANMs are tasked with more involvement on the business side of things to not only grow our careers, but to improve the processes the higher ups expect our departments to implement. I love it..... !!!! :)

By the way, education did not land them their roles... Promotions are more complicated then simply going back to school.... However, the degrees that are needed to be considered qualified = a Masters preparation..... Nurses in executive and senior leadership will usually have an MSN or an MPH or an MBA or a combination.

Hi MBARNBSN!

Thank you so much for posting! I come from a background in management in the banking industry and am going back to school working toward getting my RN license. All the CEO's in the various hospitals I've worked at have been non RN's and it's apparent through their approach that teamwork, patient care, and ensuring staff feels valued are at the bottom of the priority list. I'm beginning to think I may be interested in going into nursing management or hospital administration eventually to make a difference in the lives of a greater number of people than I could at the bedside. I'm a firm believer a hospital can be profitable, while providing excellent care and a positive working environment for employees!