Interested in climbing the administrative ladder

[runningbull]

Hey everybody! I wasn't sure where to post this so I chose nursing management. I'm getting my BSN soon and have a million thoughts running through my head on the direction I want to take my nursing career. My top 3 considerations include: managing a large medical corporation/business, becoming an NP, and becoming a CRNA. Becoming an NP or CRNA would be the "easy route" in a sense because all I have to do is get accepted into a program so I am not going to talk any further about those 2 options.

I would love to get into an administrative role in a large medical company one day but have NO idea how to do it or where to start. I am not referring to charge nurse or nurse unit manager roles, but a larger role such as a hospital administrator or a director of medical staffing agencies. **Nothing against unit managers or charge nurses, I just know I can't deal with the 24/7 headaches that come with the job.

If anybody reading this currently has an administrative role or has combined their nursing career with a business role please enlighten me on what you are doing and how you got there.

Also, if anybody has the answer to these questions please let me know:

1. Do managerial/director positions exist for nurses in medical staffing agencies such as MSN?

2. Would getting a MBA in the future open any opportunities?

[stephva1008]

All good questions. If you just graduated with your BSN, sitting down and setting up some milestones for the next ten years is important. I assume you are not an RN to BSN and that you have no nursing experience? If so, you need at least 2 years nursing experience as a floor RN. Then I would start training for charge nurse positions, or assistant unit managers, house supervisors, etc. Learn as much as you can. If you want a hospital administrator position, like a director or CNO, you have to work your way up the ranks. This almost always involves a unit manager position to start. If you do that for 4-5 years, and have a handle about how it is run 1 unit, start applying for director jobs and manage multiple units for at least 4-5 years. Then I would apply for CNO positions. In the meanwhile, I would get your MSN or MHA (masters of health administration). I think the MBA is less important these days for nurses (this is my opinion). Employers want to see that you can manage a large number of FTE's, stay under budget, have a healthy operating margin, and maintain your quality metrics. You will need a master's in nursing though. Some magnet facilities are requiring that a masters degree for unit managers as entry level and I wouldn't be surprised if that trend increases.

I'm sure managerial director roles exist in medical staffing agencies but I imagine you would have to work up through the ranks there as well. I'm not as familiar with those organizations.

Good luck in your journey! The world is your oyster!