Confused about MSN degree options?

[jason4546]

I am a bit confused on the different options of MSN programs. I am still working on getting my BSN but I have noticed that for the MSN degree, certain schools offer different paths. For example, WGU offers an MSN in nursing education. If one wants to be a practitioner AND teach, does one have to get 2 master degrees from schools that offer FNP programs? Also I have read about post master degree and other specialties such as PMNPT nurses. Will those require more education?

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

For most positions that I know of, your FNP program would be sufficient if you wanted to teach. I have a master's with an emphasis in nursing education because I wanted to pursue teaching but was not ready for an advanced practice role like NP. I am a clinical instructor in a BSN program and I don't think anyone there even asked me what concentration my MSN was in. There are NPs that teach in the same role as me but they do not have separate master's degrees in nursing education. Hope this helps.

[llg, PhD, RN]

The whole idea of graduate-level education is that it involves in-depth learning of specific specialties. And different schools offer concentrations in different focus areas. Before going to graduate school, you should decide which focus areas are the best fit for your desired career path. Not every school will offer a path that is a good fit for your particular hopes and dreams. That is one reason a lot of us recommend that people get a little real-world experience as a nurse before entering a graduate program -- to make sure you have chosen the right path for you and chosen a good school for that particular path.

Yes, to get graduate level credentials in more than one specialty area, the student might need to take courses from 2 different graduate programs -- or combine to different tracks within the same university. For example, years ago when I got my MSN ... I majored in my clinical field + got a minor in Nursing Administration + took some electives in Nursing Education. I took 52 credit hours of coursework (rather than the usual 36 credit hours that most MSN programs are), but I graduated prepared for a wide variety of roles. After graduation, I worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and later specialized in Nursing Professional Development.

As the previous poster said, sometimes a person who is educated as a Nurse Practitioner can get a job teaching. That is pretty common. But if you want to go that route, be prepared for maybe having to take some courses in Nursing Education. Some states (and some schools) are requiring college faculty to be knowledgeable about education as well as their clinical area -- and are requiring faculty members to go back to school for that content if they didn't get it the first time they went to grad school.

Good luck to you!