Understanding Master's degree?

[Nurse2Bforever]

I'm a BSN student, and I'm ready to apply for my Master's program. But there are so many tracks of MSN that it is getting very confusing. How long does it take to be a Nurse Practitioner? What is the difference between a Nurse Practitioner's education and a general MSN education? For example, my school is offerering a Execute Track MSN program next year. I don't even know what that is. I asked the counselor and he said there's no information on that particular concentration. I surfed the web, but mostly it just said that the Executive Track is mostly for administrative position. But my question is, what exactly do you do as an Administrator? Do you manage the nurses on the floor? Or do you manage financial costs, i.e. what brand of equiptment to use, and things like labor?

I'm very confused. I would like to apply for a Master's Program, but I hear different stories from different people. For example, my clinical Preceptor, who is a Nurse Practitioner specializing in Women's Health, told me that the MSN program she was in took 3 years. Another teacher, who is a Family Nurse Practitioner, told me it took her almost 4 years. If the MSN program takes that long, then it just might be worth it to go to Medical School.

Please help me understand this! Yes I did surf the web for more information but it only made things complicated!

:-(

[Riles241]

I'm not in a master's program, so I may not be 100% right about this, but I'm thinking the teachers you spoke with got their master's part time, which is why it took 3-4 years. A lot of RN's go on to get their masters while the hospital they work at will pay for it, so I imagine it's difficult to handle more than a few classes a semester while working full time.

It also depends what kind of program you're in. I know to be a Nurse Anasteistist (totally butchered that) a lot of programs are full time for a year - meaning you're unable to work at all. If you're not working I imagine you could get any masters in 1-2 years, but part time it probably takes about 3 years.

[elkpark]

I would suggest (and I don't mean this as a criticism at all) that, if you have all these questions, you're not "ready to apply for a Master's program."

Generalist (undergrad level) RNs can move relatively easily among specialties when they choose, but most graduate degrees lock you into a specific career track and/or specialty. On the other hand, the more recently developed "generalist" MSN degrees don't prepare you for any of the advanced practice roles, and you have to go back to school for further education if you decide later you want to go into advanced practice. IMHO, it's important to have enough experience within nursing to have a clear idea of where you want to go with your career before you invest the "blood, sweat, and tears" (not to mention $$$) into taking a graduate degree. When you know what degree you want, and why you want it, then you'll be ready.

Best wishes for your journey! :)

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

The generalist MSN degrees are for those changing careers into nursing who have a non-nursing bachelors. If you're getting a BSN already, you don't want one.

As for the others, an MSN in Nursing Education qualifies you to teach - which is something my state will pay for you to get, but the pay as a nursing instructor isn't great, so don't do it for the money. Any sort of APN position also requires an MSN. Full-time, they take about two years to complete (or, they do at my school, at least). Part time can take longer, as your instructors have already told you. The most generic APN is the FNP, if you're looking to maintain as much flexibility as possible.

I have to agree with elkpark - if you're this confused, then you're not ready yet to decide on anything. If you're a traditional undergrad getting your BSN, med school may be a viable option for you - you'll have time for the 7 years of more hard work it'll take before you become an autonomous, licensed physician. However, it's up to you to decide what you want to do.