Nursing Administration (MSN)

What is A Nursing Administration (MSN) Degree?

Nurses treat the sick and injured.  In today’s world, using an evidence-based approach is widely accepted, with nurses being trained to use documented research results, best practices, and patient desires to decide on the best treatment strategies.  It’s important that expert nurses be in charge of managing the complex task of providing round-the-clock care to patients in need.

The Master of Science in Nursing degree in Nursing Administration is a program designed to prepare practicing nurses who hold the RN and BSN degrees with the management and leadership skills to lead teams of nurses in work distribution, treatment and protocol strategies, and evaluation of nurse effectiveness.  They may also work with patients’ and their families to explain procedures and possible outcomes, so that patients can make the best decisions about their own treatment.  This Master’s degree program is just one of several possible specialties that could be studied at the graduate level.  But, this is the one that prepares the leaders in the fields—the nurses who help all nurses in an organization to function at peak levels.  Many programs have options to continue working in the field while pursuing the degree part-time, although it may take a little longer to complete the program that way.  It’s likely that, in addition to classroom or online instruction, some courses will involve hands-on experiences in field work.  In the program you’ll study nursing ethics, health laws, and healthcare economics along with business courses like healthcare budgeting, management, and organizational theory.

The video below discusses a “typical” program, so it should help regardless of which school you are considering.