will I advance with an MBA??

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Hi all! I have been an RN for 8 years. I have a BS, but it is not in nursing. My BS is Environmental Health and my nursing degree is ADN. I am considering enrolling in an MBA program with concentration in Healthcare Administration. I originally considered this route because colleges in NC have done away with the RN-MSN option. I am trying to build on the BS that already have and avoid getting the BSN. I have noticed there are many job opportunites for someone with an MBA/Healthcare Administration. My worry is that I will be looked down upon or won't have the proper stepping stones to use the MBA without obtaining a BS and becoming a Nurse Manager first. Do ya'll think I should be worried or will I have a good chance at getting jobs with the years of nursing experience plus the MBA? All advice is welcome

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Specializes in OB, Women’s health, Educator, Leadership.

Before I comment, can I ask what it is that you want to do because it seems like you are on different paths right now. Without worrying about building on your degree or what kind of programs are being offered in your city, what kind of nursing career do you want to pursue?

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Long term, I want opportunities that are don't involve clinical work. I work in a large hospital and would love to learn about finances. There are so many ways to help a hospital (and a patient) get fair reimbursement. I think nurses have some impact on charges but are taught to not worry about patient charges. Documentation and proper practice(foleys, site care,etc) have a big impact on reimbursement. That is my interest. That is initially what comes to mind when I am asked what I would like to do, but I don't know if it is an obtainable goal. Hopefully this gets my idea across.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

If you had a BSN, I'd say go for the MBA.However, if you want to go into leadership as a nurse, magnet requirements demand a bachelors or higher in Nursing Science. BSN, MSN, DNS...doesn't matter, but you need one of them.

http://educationcareerarticles.com/education-articles/higher-education-articles/credentialing-requirements-for-magnet-status-hospitals/

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Side note: The documentation--> reimbursement link is being managed via informatics these days -- "forcing" documentation via required fields that link automatically to reimbursement. So, the olden days of focusing on changing behavior are becoming less relevant.

Agree with PPs - if you are aiming toward any type of clinical leadership, or positions that require a nursing license, you need to move ahead with an advanced nursing degree - even if it is in a functional area rather than a clinical one. My organization requires MSN for any position that requires a nursing license & has 'leadership' or 'directional' responsibilities. This includes directors of functional areas such as Informatics, Quality, Patient Safety, Risk Management, Education, Process Effectiveness, etc. The only exception are the nurse-lawyers employed in Legal and Risk Management... they are BSN, JD.

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Specializes in TCU, Post-surgical, Infection Prevention.
Long term, I want opportunities that are don't involve clinical work. I work in a large hospital and would love to learn about finances. There are so many ways to help a hospital (and a patient) get fair reimbursement. I think nurses have some impact on charges but are taught to not worry about patient charges. Documentation and proper practice(foleys, site care,etc) have a big impact on reimbursement. That is my interest. That is initially what comes to mind when I am asked what I would like to do, but I don't know if it is an obtainable goal. Hopefully this gets my idea across.

The bolded sounds like Infection Prevention. This is what my bosses focus on daily, in addition to other responsibilities. My boss is a director, so she is directly appraised of all fiduciary aspects of the hospital. I have learned so much since beginning work months ago. It is a great opportunity, as both my bosses are RNs and are more than helpful in my present journey through nursing school.

My big boss is an epidemiologist/ICU-CCU and the other boss is a NICU RN, so their combined experience is pretty awesome.

So, I say found out more about the field of Infection control/prevention in your hospital. But you don't necessarily want to do employee health as well.:down:

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