Blending your passion for healthcare and education can be both personally satisfying and professionally rewarding. And without stretching too far, we can say that it can also help solve some of the nation’s problems. Seriously! Did you know that between now and 2030, one million RNs will retire? This is due to a parallel trend of baby boomers coming into retirement. In 1990, baby boomers made up approximately 66% of the total RNs in the country. As they age out of the workforce, it is the next generation’s duty to fill those positions. Though new nurses are entering this career at a strong rate, by 2025, the number of retirees to new nurses is still predicted to leave a gap in demand of 128,000 nurses.
Without getting too grim, it will be necessary to fill that need so that intrepid baby boomer nurses may receive the same level of care that they themselves have spent their lives providing to others. Besides a dip in quantity of care available, such a loss of wisdom and seasoned expertise won’t be easily replaced, and there is a true risk that quality of care will also suffer.
Who do you think is best positioned to help level-out this rising curve? Nurse leaders. Earning your Master’s in Nursing (MSN) now will give you the ability to make an exponential impact on the lives of patients and nursing teams in the future.
A Master’s in Nursing education ensures that you have the required clinical background to lead nursing teams, educate aspiring nurses, and be an example of excellent patient care. All the while, an MSN education also ensures you have the management experience needed to run high-quality operations, and ensure nursing staff are well-prepared to provide the best care possible.
Over the course of 20 months, you can complete your MSN education online and part-time, through innovative and flexible programs like Goodwin University’s MSN degree. Nurse leaders and educators must be:
- Strong communicators, in order to convey important information to patients and nurses
- Adaptive and attentive to changing conditions, research, and treatment
- Team players, as collaboration with colleagues and clinicians is essential
- Committed to, and passionate about, the field of nursing
Checking off these requirements means that you might have the qualities to be a great leader in the nursing field. This may be in the form of a Nurse Manager or Nurse Administrator, two positions that allow you to oversee nursing operations, teams, and care. With an MSN education, you may also be equipped for positions as a Nurse Educator or Nurse Practitioner – All of these are advanced positions within the nursing field. In any of these roles, your personality and leadership skills will come into play as you encourage others to become the best possible nurses they can be.
The MSN curriculum at Goodwin University, including courses like Pharmacology, Physical Assessment and Pathophysiology for advanced nursing practice, will ensure that you are well prepared to provide care, and therefore to lead others providing care. The courses Policy, Politics and Organization of Healthcare and Healthcare Quality: Communication and Informatics will help you understand the intricacies of how nurses work within the greater healthcare system, how change is affected, and how data is gathered and interpreted.
One of the major advantages of becoming a nurse leader, is that this career path can allow for a longer employment than physically demanding clinical career paths. It can also be a pivot option, later in one’s career. When 14-hour shifts on your feet and bending and lifting patients and equipment become too trying for your pace of life, turning to nursing administration or education could be an excellent plan.
No matter which career you pursue, the financial payoff is attractive for those with a Master’s in Nursing education under their belts. For example, Nurse Managers can expect to make almost six figures ($99.7k) annually. Nurse educators can make a median salary of more than $81k per year.
Nurse leaders are often deeply involved with professional development – meaning even after your MSN education, you can look forward to continued learning and growth opportunities. For many advanced practice nurses, this is a fantastic opportunity to dig into areas of personal interest in the field. For instance, you’ll be encouraged to conduct your own research, write grants, publish, engage in conference speaking, and potentially act as a consultant. The American Association of Colleges of Nurses offers a wide range of professional development ideas to keep your skills sharp and knowledge up-to-date.
As one New York Times writer reflects on her journey through ovarian cancer treatment since 2008, Susan Gubar has witnessed firsthand the increasing shortage of nurses in hospitals. This under staffing problem often means that nurses need to care for an increased number of patients at once, and that patients may have to wait a long time to receive even basic care. This rings true now especially, amidst the COVID-19 public health crisis. Consider the difference that you can make, both in patient’s lives, and in lightening the load on the shoulders of other nurses, with a Master’s in Nursing. With an MSN in hand, you will be prepared to lead and teach other, younger and eager nurses through the doors of hospital HR departments. Learn even more about the value of a Master’s in Nursing education through Goodwin University online today.
Goodwin University is a nonprofit institution of higher education and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), formerly known as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Goodwin University was founded in 1999, with the goal of serving a diverse student population with career-focused degree programs that lead to strong employment outcomes.