Necessary? No! You do you! I on the other hand earned a DNP and the a PhD. Did I it make a huge difference - No! It fed into my career plan and enabled me to teach and publish. You follow your plan. Find what is important to you and shrug off all the bitter old peeps who tell you otherwise
This depends on how you learn. Some people love seeing a teacher and lapping up what they say. I could never stand sitting in a class for three hours listening to a large lady rambling on forever. I can pick up info quickly and do not need ppt or ramblings forever, I read the book and maintain a 4.o. Classes are for the lower 70 percent