Master Program Right After Nursing School Possible?

Altra, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2010

My counselors suggest i look into master's in mgmt, nurse educator, or nurse informatics (I am not sure i fully understand what that entails?).

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Consider that this alone indicates that you are not prepared at this point to make decisions about graduate school specialization and you would be making an ill-informed decision.

Work as a nurse in an acute care setting. (note that acute care encompasses far more than critical care ) Get some solid nursing experience and an understanding of different specialty areas within acute care, as well as an understanding of the demands of health care management. Then, make decisions about further study and/or specialization.

Good luck to you.

BabyLady, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2010

I have an NP that I have went to for medical care for a little over a year and have found her to be very knowledgeable and professional as long as very helpful.

Little did I know that she went straight through and got her NP without working a day as an RN via the University of Virginia...and graduated with excellent grades.

She said she always wanted to be an NP and never wanted to do bedside nursing.

I see not a thing wrong with that.

tostos21 · Mar 19, 2010

Informatics is the use of technology (particularly computer technology) in nursing.
In all honesty, I would be really hesitant to start a master's program in nursing education or management without a bit of clinical experience under your belt. I'm in a program right now but I think some of my classmates with less experience are struggling a bit.
Good luck---hope all works out for you!

Informatics sounds like something i will be interested in, but i haven't seen much job openings or opportunities to actually practice this. Thanks for your advice:)

caliotter3 · Mar 20, 2010

A student in my BSN class was accepted to an MSN program at the same school prior to graduating from the BSN program. Unique to her situation was that she had never worked one day in health care.

cookderosa · Mar 20, 2010

You have to remember -- schools are a business, too. They are selling a product. They are often happy to take someone's money in exchange for providing the education -- even if that person will have trouble finding a job after graduation and/or will be only minimally qualified. Just because a school will offer a degree or accept a student into a program doesn't mean it is a wise move for every student to attend that program.
Schools only run themselves. They don't run the profession of nursing ... and they certainly don't run the world.

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Very very true. As a community college teacher for 17 years, I understand this concept too well.

One thought I had, is that the direct entry MSNs sometimes have a part/full option. For example, the University of Illinois program (called GEP) is 15 months intensive on campus full time, then you can attend your master's specialty at any of their satellite locations part or full time. They encourage part time attendance so you can work. I think this means 2 things. 1) That they know you are more marketable with 3 years work experience, even as a part time RN 2) This has come up before :)

TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN · Mar 20, 2010

A student in my BSN class was accepted to an MSN program at the same school prior to graduating from the BSN program. Unique to her situation was that she had never worked one day in health care.

The pre-req requirements for the MSN programs tend to be different than for the NP programs, especially critical care and CRNA programs. I think it is far more reasonable to go straight through with an general MSN than practitioner program, although it could probably be argued that some experience in between either program would be beneficial.