The MSN degree is the next step for those who already have their RN training in the form of the ADN. Due to the shortage of qualified nurses in the US, you can easily become a registered nurse after only a year of professional training. There are traditional on-campus, online, and accelerated nursing programs for those seeking to embark upon the career in Healthcare fast. The demand for skilled, finely trained nurses is quite large in the US. So you could easily find a well-paid job easily. But there’s always that point when you start looking for more duties, responsibilities, and salaries. And that’s the exact time to start considering the MSN.
At some point during your career, you might want to go further, rather than spend time in the clinic taking care of patients while on your feet during the entire 12-hour shift. You might want to become a manager, supervisor, educator, or researcher. To do that, you’ll have to pursue the next academic qualification on the list – MSN education. It will teach you new skills not directly related to the daily nurse’s job. You’ll learn such skills as leadership, management, innovation, and many more. You could increase your paycheck by 20-30% within a year. And you could also obtain positions which are otherwise unavailable to RNs with ADN credentials alone.
There’s another crucial thing to keep in mind! Today most clinics and hospitals will hire nursing stuff with MSN Nursing training despite the fact there’s an acute shortage of training personnel in this area. Although you still could find a position as the ADN specialist, it’s much wiser and safer to shot for the MSN straight out of high school. Be prepared to take extra duties and responsibility on the job, as well as be a supervisor to other nurses, so your salary will get bigger and your career potential will be much greater.
Key Benefits of MSN Programs
Career Advancement. While an average ADN or BSN degree holder is hands down limited in terms of career options, you will have somewhat 40% more professional growth opportunities thanks to MSN programs. You could become a niche expert, such an anesthesiologist – a nursing expert with the highest salary in the field – up to $180.000/year. You could also explore such options as being an educator, influencer, mentor, or a manager with a greater salary and normal working hours. Speaking of which…
Less Working Hours. A regular nurse has 12-hour shifts, lower salary, and health problems due to constant fatigue, exhaustion, and back pains. After obtaining a managerial position in a hospital, you will enjoy a normal 40-hour workweek with a comfortable office and a nifty salary – about $97.000/year. And that is only the beginning – after the MSN degree comes the DNP, bringing even more opportunities and wealthier paychecks!
Flexible Schedule. Online MSN programs are available to let you choose your own schedule at work to be able to juggle professional life and education effectively. You won’t have to have 12-hour shifts any longer, which ADN specialists still will have to face. There will be more time-off for you, so you could study for your Master’s degree and still keep the nursing skills sharp working in a clinic when it’s convenient for you personally. Regular RNs don’t have such a commodity of flexible hours.
Bigger Salary. Speaking about salaries in Nursing, it increases immediately from nearly $65.000 a year to $97.000/year just as you shift from the ADN level nurse to the MSN. A Bachelor level nurse can count on solid $80.000/year, which is still a major involvement in comparison to the Associate’s degree. Moreover, the salary increases down the line as your experience grows, adding up to $10.000 per every 10 years of nursing experience you get. And finally, even with an MSN online degree, you could already pursue a career in anesthesiology to start earning impressive $150.000/year or even more.
More Respect. MSN Nursing education will give you prestige. With more money and less working hours, you will also have more respect from patients, peer nurses, and Doctors. In fact, if you carry on pursuing the degree of a DNP, everyone will call you a “Doctor” too. Needless to say, you could take part in discussing and solving healthcare-related problems on a nationwide scale if you choose to.
Longer Career. Having an Associate’s or even a Bachelor’s degree is having a good job which will keep you fed. But having a Master’s or better Doctoral credentials is having a career, a long-lasting one. It will unlock the means of fulfilling your life plans and career goals, those you’ve been dreaming about. Would you like to make a change in the US healthcare system? Would you like to make patients’ experience better statewide? Get your Master’s degree first and you’ll be able to!
MSN Online vs Accelerated vs On-Campus
The demand for skilled, trained nurses is high in the US. That’s why universities offer different programs to cover the needs of as many applicants as possible. If you choose an MSN online training, you’ll be able to cover the entire curriculum without the necessity to visit campus often. What are its benefits? This will give you a chance to mix working as an NR and learning for your degree all at the same time. You’ll be able to pass the nursing examination on equal terms with everyone else, including those students who chose more traditional on-campus training.
Even the best online MSN programs won’t give you the feeling of studying in a university, attending classes, and communicating with professors. On-campus tutoring gives you an opportunity to learn from the best and truly delve into every subject A to Z. On-campus programs are the best fit for those students who seek to earn the Master’s or Doctoral degree right from the start without any stops and hiatuses. This is the best option for those students who have the money and desire to pursue the terminal degree step by step – from an Undergraduate to a Doctor.
The best of two worlds, accelerated MSN programs mix online and on-campus training to secure the optimal quality of education within a short period of time. An average accelerated course will last 12 months and suggest some really intense training. Are you ready for a daily grind for as long as one year to have your MSN? Then choose an accelerated Nursing Master’s level course! Although it will be quite hard, you’ll still be able to work as an RN alongside studying for the MSN.
10 Best Online MSN Programs
Here’s the list of best entry-level MSN programs which will help you get quality, cheap, and swift Master’s level Nursing training in the United States.
- American Sentinel University
- Capella University
- Duke University
- Georgetown University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Ohio State University
- Simmons School of Nursing and Health
- University of Central Florida
- University of San Francisco
- Vanderbilt University
What Are Direct Entry MSN Programs?
The need for qualified nursing workforce led the path to direct entry MSN programs – degrees for those students who came from other areas, such as MBA and Humanities. These programs are usually 1-2 years shorter than classic MSN courses and cost less. Why? The idea is to give students with basic higher education in another academic field the opportunity to master nursing skills on an accelerated basis. This is a relatively new initiative from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) which aims to increase the number of trained nurses in the healthcare system.
Given that a nursing job offers many openings across the country with solid salaries and stable work environment without layoffs and wage cuts, a direct entry MSN stands as a sound alternative for students with Literature Majors who eventually failed to find a good job after college. If your scores are good and the admissions papers are in check, you could apply for a direct entry Nursing degree without a hitch.
Get Help With Essays and Your Capstone Today
From an admissions essay to a capstone, Nursing students also have to do papers in order to ace a certain course. Why does a registered nurse need to write essays in the first place? That’s a really tough nut to crack! Still, doing homework is required for students despite the form of education – on-campus, accelerated, or online. If you don’t want to trouble yourself with essays, recruit a real human academic writer from payforessay to do papers for you. An essay, capstone, you name it – we could do work today from scratch!
Having to write an essay after a 12-hour shift in a hospital doesn’t sound attractive at all. Order any essay now, and a subject-savvy Healthcare writer will fulfill your task in less than 3 hours.