Why Begin Nursing with an MSN?
As an MSN-qualified nurse, you’ll enter the nursing profession with graduate-level knowledge and skills. Many new nurses entering the profession have a diploma, associate or a bachelor’s degree, so when you earn a direct entry master’s of nursing (MSN), you can elevate your profile with employers.
Stand Out in Your Career Search
In 2010, the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Family Foundation released a report calling for 80% of RNs to have a bachelor’s degree by 2020.i Although nursing workforces are unlikely to meet this target, the number of BSN-prepared nurses has been rising. Only 44% of nurses held a BSN degree in 2004, but by 2013 57% of nurses were BSN-prepared.ii
As a result, a bachelor’s degree in nursing is increasingly seen as an entry-level qualification, especially at selective Magnet hospitals and with government employers such as the Veterans’ Administration.iii Earning a master’s degree helps you stand out from BSN-prepared nurses and signals to employers that you have the critical thinking and research skills necessary for leadership-track roles in the future.
Prepare for Leadership and Practice Specialties
The benefits of earning your direct entry masters of nursing (MSN) means you are prepared to provide superior clinical care. It also means you will understand advanced concepts in nursing administration, the health care system and treatment of special patient populations that can equip you to pursue management or research roles.
After you earn an MSN, you can also continue your education to pursue additional certification. At La Roche University, you can return after your MSN to take courses toward certification as a Clinical Nurse Leader, or as a Family Nurse Practitioner, in Nursing Administration or in Nursing Education.
Develop Skills for Impact Beyond the Bedside
Our Entry Level MSN challenges you to analyze, conduct and apply nursing research. This scholarly foundation prepares you for professional impact that could reach far beyond the patients in your direct care.
You can contribute to the nursing profession through research into nursing methods, providing community or public health education, training the next generation of nurses or even acting as an advocate for health care policies that reshape the health care system so it is more affordable, equitable and just for everyone.
Get Started and Earn an MSN?
Take the next step toward your new profession: nursing. Contact La Roche University about the Entry Level MSN program today!