| School Overview | |
|---|---|
| Serves: | Worldwide |
| Accredited by: | HLC |
| Enrollment: | Rolling |
| Financial Aid: | Yes |
| Scholarships: | Yes |
Nurses that really expect to dig down into the business aspect of nursing management and take part in the decision making process of a healthcare organization may find the Master of Science in Nursing/Masters in Business Administration in Healthcare Management degree a bit heady, but every bit worth the challenge. This is a dual degree offered online through the University of Phoenix. The program is 65 credit hours long and is rather efficiently divided between advanced nursing coursework and business related curriculum.
The nursing field is wide open for professionals looking to migrate from clinical practice into mid-level leadership roles, as coordinators, nurse managers, and educators. In fact, nurses at this level have been among a slim population of professionals, a primary reason why the nursing shortage is so significant. RNs are being encouraged to seek advanced degrees, move into career spots where they are less likely to suffer burnout. The nursing world loses many good nurses around or before the age of 50 due to burnout.
The MSN/MBA degree program combines the core curriculum from a MSN degree with the basics of an MBA. Advanced nursing coursework includes: nursing research, issues in nursing management, nursing theory, healthcare populations, families and healthcare, and advanced practicum. Business coursework includes: organizational behavior, accounting and financial strategies, information systems management, law and ethics, and economics and marketing. Crossover topics include regulatory issues in contemporary healthcare environments, and law and ethics for healthcare.
Historically nurses have had a glass ceiling that has kept them from advancing above mid-level management, but this is no longer the case. Now there is nothing stopping a nurse with this type of degree from riding a career all the way into an executive's spot. What better way for the nursing world to get the resources and boost it needs than from those with firsthand experience as staff nurses?
Nurses with this advanced degree duo are poised to choose a number of different leadership situations. Healthcare settings that would require this level of nurse/business person include:
And there are others. In fact, nursing professionals with an MBA spin to their resume may win jobs quicker than their more expensive counterparts in business simply because many nurses have not held positions like these. Why employ a high-priced business exec, when you can have the best of both worlds?
Online programs offer professional nurses the most convenient way to earn a degree. The University of Phoenix was one of the first to offer online degrees and they have certainly been one of the first to develop innovative and flexible education for professional adults.