what`s the difference?

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jul 20, 2011

Moved to the post-grad forum (vs. the GN forum) to encourage responses.

Moogie · Jul 20, 2011

What are your interests? Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? When you retire?

An MSN in nursing administration will prepare you to be a nurse manager in a hospital setting. Some hospitals require nurse managers to have MSNs, some don't. If you want to progress past the initial nurse manager level and get into senior management positions, you will likely need an MSN.

An MSN in nursing education will prepare you to teach in a school of nursing, usually at the community college level. Many BSN programs will hire master's prepared faculty but more are starting to require those instructors to go back for a PhD. Some will allow DNPs to teach. Many nurse educators who have MSNs work in staff development.

Clinical Nurse Leader is a new role, geared toward the nurse who wants to remain at the bedside. The CNL works to coordinate care and is a managerial/educational/resource type of role.

You're wise to know your career goals prior to starting a MSN program. You can take some courses (usually stats, theory, research, health care policy and finance, and pathophysiology) at most schools without declaring a track but you will want to figure out what you want before you get too far into a program. An MSN is a lot of work and you don't want to get into a track that is incongruent with your goals. You don't want to, say, get almost done with a NE program and then realize your heart is in administration.

I wish you the best in your decision and good luck with your educational journey!