Access the Next Level of Your Nursing Career
Whether you’ve already obtained your bachelor’s degree in nursing or starting on your nursing education path, working toward your Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree can help open doors to a meaningful career and exciting leadership roles.
The MSN degree unlocks many career opportunities as a nurse leader or educator, including high-level nursing jobs in specialized healthcare areas. As a nursing student, you can grow well beyond your RN or BSN degree and position yourself to influence processes and decisions impacting inpatient care.
To begin, consider which schools and programs will maximize your time, fit your schedule and values, and offer you ample support to meet your goals. Outlined below are more details about the MSN degree to help you determine if this degree is right for you!
The Value of Earning Your MSN
The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree is the next step for development and growth after obtaining a bachelor’s in nursing. This career-boosting degree will sharpen your skills and help you advance in leadership roles and earn a higher salary, too.
In your journey to obtain an MSN degree, you will specialize in a specific area. Your specialization will give you the professional proficiency needed to lead with confidence while equipping you with the skills to tackle an upper-level job within the nursing field. Be sure to consider your passions as you choose your concentration.
As you consider the concentrated area you’d like to pursue, take time to identify your strengths, work-setting preferences and sphere of influence you feel most called to, such as patients, healthcare administrators, decision-makers, or your local community.
Salaries within the nursing profession vary based on your location, level of experience and specialized area. However, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that MSN-prepared nurses make, on average, $42,000 more than RNs.
Choose the MSN Concentration that Fits Your Career Goals & Interests
Nurses with MSN degrees are in high demand in various healthcare settings, such as hospitals, private practice, nursing homes, doctor’s offices, surgical centers, behavioral health treatment facilities, laboratories, and more.
With your MSN, you’ll be qualified to serve in these types of settings as a nurse leader or educator. You’ll also have a competitive edge to secure advanced nursing roles in highly desirable departments like cardiology and pediatrics.
Regent’s offers two MSN concentrations: Nurse Educator and Nurse Leadership.
Do you have a passion for teaching others the best practices in nursing and helping to implement new ideas? The Nurse Educator concentration will equip you with skills necessary to properly teach nursing students—advancing their knowledge in both education and nursing. It will also train you in the fields of physiology, pathophysiology, and education, among others. This specialty equips you with the skills to foster the development of new nurses. You will develop and implement your own curriculum for nursing students and be given the tools you need to sit for and pass the National League of Nursing’s (NLN) Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) exam. If you select this concentration, you will have career opportunities as nursing instructors, administrators, and patient educators.
Are you eager to influence real change in policies and administration? The Nurse Leadership & Management concentration further develops a nurse’s leadership, administrative and financial skills. These skills will help you improve policies that enhance patient outcomes and staff relations. This concentration teaches students how to solve problems in the nursing field through leadership and data analysis. If you choose this concentration, you can become managers and administrators in various medical organizations and locations.
Explore which MSN concentration is right for you:
Dual-Credit RN to B.S. in Nursing & MSN Fast-Track Graduate Pilot
One of the admissions requirements for the MSN program is a bachelor’s degree in nursing (B.S. or BSN). However, through an exciting pilot created to accelerate your degree completion, you can earn both your bachelor’s and master’s in just five years. Imagine the time you’ll save earning your MSN degree while working on your bachelor’s! Plus, you can obtain two degrees at a lower cost than taking them separately by choosing this route. To learn more about this innovative opportunity that equips you faster for your remarkable career, visit regent.edu/nursingpilot.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to earn your MSN degree?
Regent’s MSN degree is 36 credit hours broken into 8-week courses. The total amount of time these credit hours translate into changes depending on how long per day the student can put into the degree. Choose part-time or full-time study, based on your other responsibilities. Regent’s staff work with a wide variety of schedules and our courses are taught by nurses who have been in your shoes. Part-time students can complete the degree in two years by taking six credit hours a semester for all four semesters (spring, summer, fall, and winter).
Does Regent offer a fully online MSN degree program?
Regent’s MSN program, delivered entirely online, allows you to obtain all the necessary skills to perform well in your field while balancing the other important areas of your life. You can complete many of your assignments independently, and you’ll experience unbeatable academic and personal support at every step along the way.
Is Regent’s MSN degree program accredited?
Yes, Regent’s MSN program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).* This accreditation means that our program has been scrutinized and found to live up to the commission. Additionally, Regent strives to continually update and maintain its nursing program to live up to the commission’s strict standards. Regent University is also a leader in online degrees and ranked the #1 Accredited Online Schools by Study.com, 2020.
*The master’s degree program in nursing at Regent University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.
Experience the Regent Difference
As an MSN in Regent’s School of Nursing, you’ll enjoy these benefits and more:
- Fully Online 8-Week Courses
- Competitive Tuition & Generous Transfer Credit Policy
- Minimum Practicum Requirements
- Streamlined admissions process (2.0 GPA or higher required for RN to B.S. in Nursing, 3.0 GPA or higher for MSN)
PLUS, Regent’s School of Nursing offers a free Healthcare Hero support group for nurses to help develop healthy coping strategies. To learn more, call 757.352.4488.
Knowledge & Faith Together
With any educational journey, you and your university must have the same values. This alignment helps you become the person that you want to be. Regent, founded on a strong Christian foundation, is dedicated to helping its students serve Christ and their fellow man as best they can through bettering themselves with a principled education.
While an MSN degree can be challenging, you can achieve it with hard work. It is very worthwhile to put in the effort to advance your career and get the satisfaction of conquering a challenge. Regent is here to support you in your academic journey and equip you with the tools you need to succeed.
APPLY TODAY!
757.352.5919 | regent.edu/nursing
healthcare@regent.edu
Written by Christian Vaughan – Student Writer