Post Graduate Certificate, Your thoughts?

[manny1222]

I have just gotten done with a MSN degree in Nursing Informatics from Walden University. I was considering doing a MHA degree, but I have too much going on right now to do and afford that. Not even sure if it make that much difference in my marketability. However, I can do a 5 course post graduate certificate at Walden U to get the certificate in Nursing Leadership and Management.

My questions are, how much more marketable will I be with this certificate? Anybody with this certificate, what has been your experience? Should I be looking at a DNP level program instead? (That would have to be down the road).

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

What are you trying to do with these certificates and degrees? Are you already a manger trying to move up? Or are you trying to land your first management position? Have you ever worked in Information Technology either as a nurse or otherwise? In any case, you may wish to check out the Informatics Nursing Board/Forum: https://allnurses.com/nursing-informatics/.

In general, my understanding is that if you lead an Informatics Department, certifications in Nursing Informatics and work experience in that specialty will be more helpful than a degree related to it vs. the competition depending on your area. So, if you do not work in Informatics and/or you do not have a work background in IT, you may not walk into a management positon in that specialty any time soon no matter your degree.

On the other hand, as with most nurse management positons gaining work experience in the specific area of interest, networking, taking on additional assignments/projects, volunteering on committees to improve your place of work and/or patient care, etc. should help you to either land your first nursing management position or to grow in your current management position. In other words, I am sure that most will agree that having a Master's is a good start, but taking on more debt to get additional degrees is a waste of time and money if you already have a Master's compatible with the level of expertise you need to grow your career currently.

In fact, education and licensure past BSN and RN go beyond marketability. Advance degrees speak to what you do in your career and what you want people to see you having an expertise in related to your career. Sadly, sales people of academia recruit students to attend schools by selling advance degrees as keys-to-the-kingdom, but they are not! They are a way of life... Long after earning the degree, you still have a long way to go to be an expert in that area or field.

So, to answer if you should get a DNP, you need to answer the question of yourself, what do you want to do with your career? For example, a DNP is not necessary if you are not trying to work as a NP, nurse educator, and/or in research. However, if this is what you seek, you can work in your area of interest then earn another advanced degree when you have the time and money. By the way, congrats on earning your Master's! :) Good luck!

[ikarus01]

In general, my understanding is that if you lead an Informatics Department, certifications in Nursing Informatics and work experience in that specialty will be more helpful than a degree related to it vs. the competition depending on your area.

Hi, I just wanted to add that I do work in the NI field and usually what indeed matters nowadays to lead an informatics department is experience and many times a master's degree. Certifications, not so essential, so not sure how you have that understanding, but a master's degree nowadays is many times what's required to be in a leadership position.

And I say many times because I have seen people getting promoted based on their experience, specially in smaller hospitals.

However, now the shift is to have managers with master's degrees and not necessarily master's in informatics since many nurses have gotten their master's in other fields; also, what usually matters, like you mentioned, is actual experience working in informatics.

Therefore, if somebody were to asked me what's essential to have a leadership experience in the nursing informatics field, I would definitely say Experience plus a master's degree. I'm yet to see a job posting for a management position requiring some specific certification, specially for a nursing informatics job.

So for the OP, if you have master's in informatics, and you have already experience in the field, why are you seeking more certifications? Does your current job require you to have such certification to get promoted?

[klone, MSN, RN]

It sounds like the OP is asking if a MSN in Nursing Leadership and Informatics will make him/her more marketable than just the Informatics degree.

And I ask the same question as a previous poster - what's your endgame?