For some individuals who have achieved their RN status, this level of education and job opportunities proves fully satisfying. But for those seeking higher salaries and new opportunities and challenges, becoming an MSN as an RN is possible without leaving a current job to go to school full time, thanks to excellent online educational degree programs. Many healthcare employers today have a preference for hiring RN to MSN candidates because they demonstrate a higher level of quality on the job in addition to decreasing the amount of errors and mortalities that occur at the hospital, clinic and nursing home environments.
Registered Nurses who successfully pursue their MSN degrees through online RN to MSN programs are prepared to pursue healthcare nursing positions requiring advanced study, including Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Practitioner, Certified Registered-Nurse Anesthetist, or Certified Nurse Midwife. Going beyond the baccalaureate level of study in the nursing field makes an RN much more desirable in such high-demand healthcare opportunities as research assistant, clinical educator, nurse executive, nurse administrator, health policy consultant and clinical educator.
Nursing students who have not yet started a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program can opt for an accelerated nursing program, known as a fast-track BSN to MSN, program that takes about five years to complete. This enables the student to earn both her BSN and MSN degrees by the time the coursework is completed and prepares her to enter the healthcare workforce better educated and ready to fill many high-demand positions.
RN to MSN online degree programs prepare registered nurses to advance beyond performing only the day to day patient care that an undergraduate degree has prepared them for. This coursework is available through several accredited online schools, and by pursuing an RN to MSN nursing degree online the student is better prepared after graduation to pursue positions requiring administrative and leadership responsibilities.
At the graduate MSN level, the RN can also decide to refine their career focus by gaining specialization in a specific area of healthcare, such as pediatric nursing, women's health, neonatal nursing, acute care nursing, geriatrics, family nursing or adult care nursing.
Coursework offered within the RN to MSN curriculum include such topics as Young Family Healthcare, Healthcare of the Child-Bearing Family, Adolescent Health Care, Health Care of the Aging Family and Geriatric Patients, and Psychosocial Health Care Issues.
Those who complete the RN to MSN program can expect to earn between $70,000 and $90,000 annually, depending upon whether the position is in a practitioner or a supervisory role.