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Like any other professional career, you need to have proper education and experience for advancing your nursing career. Many nurses begin their careers as a registered nurse or as a licensed practical nurse. However, in order to progress into leadership roles, you need an advanced degree. Moreover, you can specialize in a number of areas and become a nurse practitioner with the degree. Therefore, if you wish to seek such opportunities, a master of nursing degree is the right and the best way. With the help of this blog by All Assignment Help, you will get to know why investing in an MSN is worth it and what opportunities it brings.
What is a Master’s in Nursing Degree?
For professionals in the field of nursing, an MSN or a master of science in nursing is a graduate degree. Moreover, you can pursue it only if you have a bachelor’s degree in nursing or you are a registered nurse. Furthermore, the degree offers practical and theoretical learning with which you can develop your skills and specialize in an area of nursing of your choice.
Types of Master of Nursing Degrees and Specialties
There are a number of masters of nursing degree with which you can learn to apply safe hygiene health and work practice, leadership roles, and a lot more. Moreover, it offers a registered nurse an opportunity to advance their clinical career roles. Furthermore, certain degrees also prepare them for non-clinical roles such as nursing informatics. Some major types of master of nursing degrees are as follows.
Healthcare Administration Master’s Degrees
- Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA)
- MBA in Healthcare Management
MSN Degree Specializations
- Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL)
- Nursing Informatics
- Public Health
- Nurse Administrator or Executive
- Nurse Educator
- Nurse Researcher
APRN Master’s Degrees
- Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
- Nurse Practitioner (NP)
Dual Master’s Degrees
- MSN/MPH
- MSN/MBA
- MSN/MPA
- MSN/MHA
Other degrees are Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM).
What students can expect from these programs?
Given below are some major outputs of the above-mentioned degrees.
- With the help of the degree’s framework, you would understand the aging adult and human development.
- You will be able to use research and critical thinking ability to distinguish all the factors that can lead to illness and its results.
- Each student will be able to aid the physical or mental weakness of the patients using their strengths and positives.
- You can offer a positive environment.
- With your work through research, you will be able to learn from the present and past treatments so that you can help patients in their health improvement.
Value of Master of Nursing
Once you are done with your bachelor’s degree in nursing, the next step is to get a degree in master of nursing. Moreover, as discussed above, a post-graduate degree will help you advance your training and specialized skills. Furthermore, you can work in several areas within nursing. All these factors together make master of nursing a popular degree. Below, we have outlined some of the major benefits of a master of nursing degree.
- When you pursue a master of nursing degree you expose yourself to opportunities of earning higher salaries.
- It provides you with access to advanced career opportunities.
- The degree will allow you to work for fewer hours at a similar or increased salary.
- For students willing to concentrate on a specific area, a master of nursing degree is a great option.
- In addition to a higher base salary, a master of nursing degree also provides you with an opportunity to enhance your annual salary over time. Furthermore, you can seek law and ethics nursing assignment help in case you face complexity during your academic years.
- Several health organizations, universities, and medical and government institutions help students with funds and scholarships.
- As a part of various professional development programs, many employers fund tuition for their employees.
- In comparison to graduate nurses and registered nurses, students pursuing a master of nursing degree have better leadership opportunities.
- There are several schools offering flexible programs to help nurses who are working full-time alongside their master of nursing degree to accommodate working schedules.
- Clinical nurse education prepares nurses to become teachers, many of them pursuing a master of nursing degree choose to become educators in universities.
Other additional benefits
- The degree offers students with further educational pursuits. For example, after a master’s, you can pursue a doctorate degree and be a part of research processes.
- It provides nurses with a sense of achievement and personal satisfaction.
- With the expertise you learn during your master’s degree, you can help nurses with limited experiences and offer them mentorship.
- The degree provides you with unique opportunities to travel and offer services to unserved communities.
- You learn new skills and promote your professional development.
- With a master of nursing degree, you can fill the critical gap in the sector of medicine. Moreover, you will be able to provide the public with better healthcare facilities.
- The degree provides you with more career stability.
- You can have greater influence within healthcare organizations with a master of nursing degree.
Also read: Nursing Research Topics to Explore by Students
Master of Nursing: Admission Requirements
Universities all around the world have different processes and requirements for a master of nursing degree. However, some common requirements are as follows.
- Degree requirements: you must submit a graduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education.
- GPA requirements: your GPA must be 3.0 or better cumulative GPA.
- Letters of recommendation: you need to submit three letters of recommendation. There should be one reference from a past employer or current employer. Moreover, you need to have 2 letters of recommendation from prior institutions where your instructors can address your ability to complete your studies.
- Resume: next requirement to pursue a master of nursing degree is a CV or resume with detailed relevant experience.
- RN licensure: you also need to submit proof of active RN licensure.
- Experience hours: eventually, you must provide documents that prove your experience of direct patient care.
Also read: On-Demand Emergency Nursing Dissertation Topic Ideas for Students
2023-2024 Top Universities for a Master of Nursing Degree
Based on a survey report, given below is the list of the top 30 universities for a master of nursing degree.
- Harvard University
- University of California – San Francisco
- Johns Hopkins University
- University of Toronto
- University of Washington – Seattle
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
- University of Manchester
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of Sydney
- King’s College London
- University of Sao Paulo
- RMIT University
- University of California – Los Angeles
- University of British Columbia
- The University of Queensland
- University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
- University of Alberta
- McMaster University
- University of Melbourne
- The University of Nottingham
- University of Pittsburgh
- Yale University
- Monash University
- Columbia University
- University of London
- University of Sheffield
- University of Cambridge
- University of Wisconsin – Madison
- University College London
After working 2 years with a graduate degree in nursing, I decided to advance my nursing career. Hence, I enrolled myself under master of nursing degree from Yale University. The degree helped me gain knowledge and excel in the field. It opened a new career opportunity for me. However, it became a challenge for me to balance my schooling and work. So, I decided to pay someone to take my online class for nursing. It helped me study at my own pace and on my own schedule. And my education effectively fits into my busy life. – Sophia Rossi
Career Prospects after Master of Nursing
There is a wide range of careers available. Following are some of the options that you can pursue:
- Registered Nurse
- Nurse Practitioner
- Travel Nurse
- Nurse Anesthetist
- School Nurse
- Psychiatric Nurse
- Nurse Educator
- Flight Nurse
- Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse
Is it Worth Studying Master of Nursing Online?
For a number of registered nurses who want to keep their full-time jobs or part-time jobs, online nursing programs are the best and only option available. Moreover, when you have a family to take care of and a few free hours in a day to study, then online master of nursing programs offer you great flexibility. Hence, you can seek an online degree from any corner of the world as long as you have stable internet, mobile device, computer, or tablet.
Comparatively, there is not a huge difference between the tuition fees for on-campus programs and online degrees. However, you can still save a lot of money with no convenience charge. Moreover, you do not have to move abroad if you choose a degree outside your country.
In addition to this, securing placement can be a challenge here. Some nursing schools might help you but in big cities, there is a huge competition in clinical placement.
I faced fierce competition in clinical placement. Also, with numerous students for limited opportunities, it was challenging for me to find something to fulfill my needs and interests. However, an online degree from the University of California – Los Angeles helped me stand out. During the course, I had to ask experts to take my online class so that I can attain the needed discipline and self-motivation. So, if you are also thinking of setting yourself apart in the competitive world, consider online options. – Alexander Petrovitch
Additionally, you need to be disciplined to successfully complete a master of nursing degree online. The idea of lying on your couch and taking classes and exams in your comfortable pajamas might sound exciting. However, your coursework and assignments can be an exhausting sometimes. Overall, it is undoubtedly a convenient option. It’s just that, you need to seek the right advantage.
Conclusion
Nurses looking for a good master of nursing degree can choose from a variety of options available online and offline. Moreover, pursuing a masters’ degree would be a great way for nurses to advance their career and seek new opportunities. Furthermore, you can seek online degree when you have work and school life to balance. It will help you gain knowledge and skills to excel in your field.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Question: 1 What are some benefits of a master’s in nursing? Answer: 1 Master in nursing provides an opportunity to nurses to attain a higher level of medical aptitude. Moreover, it allows them to practice independently. Hence, we can say you can get a competitive advantage with your master’s degree in nursing and find a suitable job for yourself. |
| Question: 2 What is the role of a master of nursing degree? Answer: 2 In order to be a nurse informaticist, family nurse practitioner, nurse executive, nurse educator, and a lot more, the degree is a doorway for you. |