Question about accreditations when choosing graduate school programs

[rnfostermom, BSN, RN]

I'm about ready to pull my hair out! I have been searching for a MSN program for over a year now and would like to start next year. I am interested in either a general MSN, clinical nurse leader or something that has some sort of focus on patients in the acute care setting. I am NOT interested in leadership or education. I am open to either a "brick and mortar" school or an online program. I live in Minnesota, and have not found much suitable locally other than Capella. Capella has CCNE accreditation. I have looked at some other schools in other states and occasionally been told "we can't grant credit to you in Minnesota" (WTAMU, Northern Alabama). I am open to online programs, and currently have some interest in American Sentinel University, which has CCNE and DEAC accreditation.

I have searched quite a bit on allnurses and there are a lot of statements about "regional accreditation" being very important to the quality of a program. I also spoke to the people in HR at my hospital (a Level I trauma center in a large urban teaching hospital) and they said they only cared about CCNE and they did not have opinions about the quality of a school beyond ticking that box when evaluating resumes and qualifications. She specifically said she had no idea what I meant by "regional accreditation." My current nurse manager is a Capella student and our hospital has a partnership with Capella for tuition discount. However, I am not leaning toward Capella because their MSN specializations are not quite what I am looking for. I should note that I also called my state BON, and they said they have absolutely no position about MSN programs, only initial RN and APRN licensure.

SO, HERE'S MY QUESTION: Has anyone ever actually run into a problem regarding the accreditation of the nursing programs (RN-BSN, MSN, DNP, PhD) they completed with respect to employment options, hiring decisions, etc? Has anyone who has completed a degree program from Capella, American Sentinel, or any other online school got any encouraging stories or advice for me?

I plan to get the MSN and probably will not go further. Is this concern over accreditation only having to do with schools accepting your qualifications for admittance to a program for a more advanced degree? I'm wondering if I'm spending a lot of time worrying about something that doesn't matter in my situation....