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Why Should I Pursue an Advanced Nursing Degree?

Posted: 29th August 2016 09:30

By the time you’ve earned your RN degree you already know just how fulfilling a career in nursing is. You are often on the front lines with patients as the liaison between the patient and the rest of the medical staff and it falls upon you to ensure that each and every patient you are charged with is getting the best care possible. Now it’s time to consider furthering your career, but should you pursue an advanced nursing degree? If you are interested in learning more about RN to MSN programs then why not look into the University of Arizona College of Nursing? You can study for yourMasters of Science in Nursing online and never need to take a day off work during the entire course of the program.

What You Can Do with a Master’s of Science in Nursing

Of course you know that an MSN qualifies you to work as a Nurse Practitioner, or a teacher of nursing and also in administration or management. But what can you really do with an MSN? The first thing you can do, which is always important, is make more money. The higher your degree, the further you can advance in your career and every advancement comes with a pay raise. There’s no question about that. However, once you have your Master’s in Science in Nursing you can also easily transition into high paying specialist fields where you get the most satisfaction from the skills you bring with you. However, the one thing that you achieve with an MSN is better job opportunities with more security.

Career Options Open to You

Management and teaching positions are what most RNs look at when pursuing an MSN but within those broad fields you have options also available to you. You could become board certified within the field of Nursing Professional Development which is a position available in every hospital around the country. Then you could also narrow your focus towards a position as a Nurse Executive or even as a Nurse Executive, Advanced. The point is, by studying for your MSN online, you open up doors that were never available with either an ADN or an RN degree. There are so many options that your choice of positions is almost unlimited.

Do I Need to Have a Bachelor’s Degree to Pursue a Masters in Nursing Online?

There was a time when most universities around the country would only accept students into a Master’s Degree program if they had a Bachelor’s Degree in Science but that is no longer the case. Schools like the University of Arizona now have ADN to NP programs with the only difference being the amount of time it takes to complete the program. Typically, a BSN to MSN takes 15 months whereas an ADN to MSN will take about 24 months. Then if you want to specialize as a Nurse Practitioner you can literally bypass the need to have that BSN in hand. Simply start where you are with your Associate’s degree and move on up the ladder from there towards your Masters of Science in Nursing.

Imagine a significant pay raise immediately upon getting that advanced degree and the doors to career options opened that much wider. All courses can be taken online without the need for a practicum and an online degree from a fully accredited and renowned university is just as powerful as one where you need to study on campus. Why should you pursue an advanced nursing degree? The answer is simple. With an MSN you can do and earn so much more and will never be stuck in a dead end job. Looking to advance in your career? That’s why you need an MSN, plain and simple.