MSN and DNP Questions

- How are the positions such as nursing informatics, nursing education, nursing administration, clinical nurse leader? For nursing informatics, I hear they would rather look for

No idea what this means

- Are online degrees legitimate?

Some are/some aren't; you have to consider the specific program

- Are you screwed by undergrad GPA forever if you didn't do as well or how much does job experience help and what kind of job experience for how long would help?

Schools are going to look at applicants holistically including GPA, LORs, GRE scores, essays, work experience, etc.. However, the minimum GPA at virtually every program is a 3.0 If you're slightly below you may be able to make up for it with outstanding GRE scores or excellent LORs but too far from that and your chances are slim.

- I hear a lot of hospitals do not pay DNPS more than MSN NP's. Any thoughts? I was thinking of doing PA instead, in that case

This is mostly true since a DNP does nothing to broaden scope of practice or reimbursement levels. The point of the DNP really has nothing to do with increasing earning potential. PAs, however, generally are paid very similarly to NPs so if salary is the motivating issue then you will probably be disappointed. PA programs are also going to require science pre-reqs that are not part of most nursing programs. They can also be more selective than NP programs.

- When you choose a MSN degree, it has to be in a specialty/concentration, correct?

In every instance I know of, you have to apply for a specific specialty for grad school. Depending on the school it may be possible to change you specialty once matriculated but it would be wise to have a strong sense of what specialty you want before you begin applying or even selecting schools since many programs only have a limited number of specialties available.

- Do I have to wait to get 2+ years of experience on the floor or would I be able to apply with at least 1 year on the floor in a critical care area like ED?

This will also depend on the specific program. Many schools are recognizing that experience as an RN is not a good metric for success as an APN or a student. Acute care specialties like ACNP, ACPNP, or NNP are more likely to require or look favorably on experience closely related to the specialty. And of course CRNA programs all require at least 2 years of ICU experience.