Headed back to school - Need feedback!

So ... am I right in assuming that you are interested in a career in Nursing Administration? If not, you need to start your search for a school over again because those degrees are all meant to prepare you for a job as a nurse manager/adminstrator. As a previous poster has said, the route to getting the best management/administration jobs is to have the combination of both graduate education in that field and also work experience that demonstrates increasing responsibility as you "climb the career ladder" in that specialty.

From your original post, I take it that you do not yet have work experience in the specialty of nursing managment/administration. That's OK, but you need to take that into consideration as you plan your career. You will be getting graduate education prior to getting practical experience in the field -- and as far as jobs go, you'll need to start near the bottom of the ladder before you will be considered a strong candidate for upper level positions no matter which academic degree you choose.

So ... the choice becomes a matter of "How much do you want to invest right now in a field in which you have no experience and cannot know for sure whether you will like it and/or be good at it?" My own experience as a young nurse was that I started grad school at the age of 24, majoring in Nursing Administration, thinking I wanted a career in that specialty. As I took a few classes in the specialty and interacted with my classmates (mostly experienced managers), I realized it was not the right specialty for me. I realized I was more interested in Staff Development and Project Management than budgets, supply management, staff management, etc. So I changed my major, picked up some Nursing Education classes, and have had a successful career in Nursing Professional Development (after spending some time as a CNS).

What happened to me might not happen to you. You might discover that you love the job responsibilities of management/administration and are really great at it. But now, you going in kind'a blind.

So ... do you want to make a huge investment in a graduate education in leadership now? ... or do you want to start off a little slower and see if you like it before investing more? That would be a good way to think about.

The straight MSN in leadership would probably require the least investment to begin with. You could add a DNP or PhD later if you want, depending on the long-term plans you develop as you learn more about the field and find your niche within it. The PhD would add academic options, but require more of an investment than a DNP that would focus more on the practice of nursing administration than the study of it.

The MSN/MSM would offer a broader foundation and would probably be worth it if you are interested in positions with a scope of influence broader than just nursing units.

If it were me, I would also strongly consider the quality of the programs/schools involved. If there is a quality difference, I would eliminate any programs that were not considered "high quality education." Your educational credentials are too important to waste money on poor quality.

Good luck with whatever you decide.