Getting a masters degree in nursing is definitely an important step before landing a good and well-paid job. On the other hand, nursing is one of the professions – if not the top one – which is going to have the highest growth in the job market. And in spite of technology getting involved the human’s aid it won’t be replaced soon. So, if you choose to become a nurse, you’re guaranteed a safe future.
The job of a nurse includes different type of duties, like assisting the doctors, writing records, monitoring patients’ medication, psychological support to patients, administrative tasks, etc. Because there are many duties to complete and their complexity grew up, with time passing specific narrow specialization were developed. This is why as a health professional there is a broad array of careers you can seek in nursing. And there’s only one way you can achieve this: to get a superior education. Simply put you need a Master’s degree in nursing.
But the journey to this point is long and weary and you may appreciate having a detailed guidance up to that day. Through this article, you’ll find important information on applying process, different types of Masters in Nursery, future prospects etc.
What is a Master’s degree in Nursing?
If you’re willing to take your career of a nurse up to a higher level, obtaining a Master’s degree in Nursing is your only way. Without such degree, you won’t be able to work as a clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, nurse anaesthetist or any other advanced nursing job. A Master’s degree is a graduate-level education aiming to provide nursing students with advanced theoretical and practical knowledge.
During your master studies as a health professional, you’ll expand your undergraduate knowledge around core concepts. Or you can focus your energy entirely on a specified area where you would like to start a career.
Different types of Master’s degree in Nursing
While human knowledge around the medicine and advanced techniques concerning nursery established itself, many specific study areas stemmed along the way. In response to this, universities had to introduce new specific study programs and had to adjust current ones. Today they offer a wider range of master courses in the Nursery. In addition to traditional programs, they’re also offering dual-degree where you can choose a major subject as the central focus while also learning in another field not necessarily related to the nursing. For example, you may be specializing in Nurse Orthopedics, but at the same time, you may be seeking another degree in business administration.
There are many pathways, one student can take depending on their prior education level to get to the same destination: getting a Master’s degree in Nursing.
BSN to MSN Programs – This is considered to be the traditional way. At these master programs, universities admit students who hold a Bachelor degree in Nursing (BSN) in the first place. It usually takes two years to complete this sort of studying program consisting of 40 to 70 credit hours. Lectures mainly cover core concepts of nursing like health assessment, pharmacology or physiology.
RN to MSN programs – These programs are dedicated to students who have an associate nursing degree or to them who haven’t gained a Bachelor in Nursing yet. On this kind of master’s programs, courses may be arranged in several ways depending on your former education. Students may attend bachelor-level education and nursing courses. At the end of the program, you may end up holding just a Master’s degree in Nursing or a Bachelor and a Master at the same time.
Non-Nursing Bachelor to MSN programs – If you hold a Bachelor degree in a field rather than nursing, but still you would like to enter the job, there is still an opportunity to seek a higher education in Nursing. Such programs require fewer credits because its students already have a general bachelor education so they only have to take one to three preparatory courses before entering a MSN program. These programs are often referred as “bridge programs”.
Online Master’s in Nursing degrees
Like in every other study area you can find online courses in Nursing too. In fact, knowing the nature of the job, online programs in Nursing are more frequent in the nursery than in all other study fields. Most of the nurses that hold a job in a hospital or any other setting attend at the same time an advance course which quite often is covered by their employer.
Online courses in Master level of Nursing can be offered in part-time or in full-time. It’s up to you to choose. Usually, part-time studies last longer than 2-years full-time programs.
Nursing is such study field that gives a lot of freedom to universities on choosing the way a curriculum is set or how lectures will be arranged. Before you decide to apply in a university we advise you to look for a detailed procedure of application because if you miss a point you may end up on the wrong course. Why this?
There are online Master’s degrees in Nursing you can complete totally online, but there are also programs that include some particular lectures to be held on university’s campus. If you work full-time and the lectures schedule may not be in accordance with your working time it may deter you from attending that course. At some universities these campus-based lectures may be fewer, amounting sometimes in just 2 to 3 lectures through an academic year and in some may have a dozen of them.
How long does it take to finish a Master’s degree in Nursing?
Generally, Master programs in Nursing last for 18 months up to 24 months full-time. Part-time programs, on the other hand, normally last longer. Because a higher portion of people who hold an education in Nursing work in a healthcare setting that’s why most of them prefer part-time programs.
Entry requirements in a Master’s Nursing degree program
The application for a Master’s degree in Nursing normally carries a shorter list of documents compared to most of the study programs. As long as your bachelor education is good or you have a solid background in nursing ahead of application, you’re eligible to apply.
The documents required to enter a Master’ Nursing course are set by universities itself. So it’s advisable that when you decide to apply for one to contact personally or check the website of the University of your choice.
As mentioned above nursing master’s degree programs don’t necessarily require a nursing bachelor degree.
Letters of motivation and references may also be required. Since universities don’t discourage you applying for a Master in Nursing because of your prior education, your references, letter of motivation and experiences you can play an important role in your application. So try to spend more time on writing an excellent letter of motivation.
If you’re a native of a country rather an English-spoken country you must have a certain application that proves your language knowledge. Universities may also require you to have a prior knowledge in particular study areas, like human anatomy. For example, nurses anaesthetist may be required to have finished a course in biochemistry since it has a crucial importance in their field of specialization.
Don’t get caught by surprise if you notice that some universities may require you specific standard tests. Like almost every other program at postgraduate level, universities often require a standard test, mostly GRE or MAT.
If the university of your choice is tough to enter because of the competition your GPA at your bachelor education can make a difference. So always go for higher grades in Bachelor.
Is it worthy to have a Master’s degree in Nursing?
Holding a Master’s degree in Nursing is absolutely worthy. A successful career, a well-paid job and a safer future are what you’ll get at least.
The standards of living are getting higher, people are living longer and lifestyle has changed a lot so in the future healthcare professional will have a large employability. In many studies, it is said that nurses will be one of the biggest in-demand jobs in the near future.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US a nurse earned £68,450 in 2016. Nurses’ salaries may vary depending on the setting they’re working. There is a range of industries a nurse can find a job: General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, Office of Physicians, Home Health Care Services, Outpatient care centres, Farmaceutal and Medicine Manufacturing, Home Health Care Services, etc.
Referring to the BLS statistics between 2016 and 2026 Nursing will have a growth of 15% in employability more than the average. This is to say, by 2026 in the US there will be 438,100 additional nurses employed.