masters in nursing leadership programs

How to Pick the Right Graduate Degree in Nursing

An advanced degree in nursing requires significant time and money, so choosing the right program is key.

Pick the Right Advanced Nursing Degree

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Advanced practice registered nurses, or APRNs, typically hold a Master of Science in Nursing or a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Both focus on the clinical side of care.

Registered nurses play a critical role in patient care, performing physical exams, administering medication and helping to coordinate a team of health professionals.

But states across the U.S. have been facing a growing nursing shortage fueled by employee burnout, lack of training and a generation of nurses approaching retirement. Combined with a shrinking number of primary care physicians and an aging patient population that's living longer while often contending with chronic conditions, the need for nurses – and those with advanced degrees – has never been higher, many experts agree.

An advanced degree in nursing requires significant time and money, so choosing the right program is important for students to make sure their decision pays off in the future.

The Advanced Nursing Degree

Advanced practice registered nurses, or APRNs, typically hold a Master of Science in Nursing or a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Both focus on the clinical side of care. Nurses interested in academia or research can also opt for a Ph.D. program.

“Some may want to become faculty members. Some may choose to become research scientists. Some want to lead health care organizations,” says Beth Ann Swan, associate dean and vice president for academic practice partnerships and interim assistant dean for education at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Georgia. “It really varies, but graduate preparation is required to make that leap if they are interested."

Swan, who is a registered nurse with a Ph.D., says she’s had DNP students who have become vice presidents in large health systems, as well as chief nursing officer of a hospital and a policy adviser at the federal level.

For nurses who want to stay closer to their patients or are undecided if a doctorate degree is right for them, MSN nurses will still see boosts in their careers with opportunities for new and advanced roles, including teaching, as well as higher salary potential.

Master of Science in Nursing

At the master’s level, students who opt for an MSN train in one of four specialties: nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, clinical nurse specialist or certified nurse midwife. Within these specializations, nurses focus on specific patient populations, such as pediatrics and adult-gerontology.

The average MSN program takes two to three years full time to complete, although accelerated programs can be as short as 15 months. Students without nursing backgrounds also have the option to attend an accelerated nursing program and earn their bachelor’s degree, license and graduate degree in three years.

A nurse with a master’s degree will take on greater responsibility for patients, including prescribing medications, ordering diagnostic tests and developing plans of care.

“There are a lot of advantages in terms of being able to impact a person’s health being a primary care provider,” says Susan Renz, who has a Ph.D. and is a geriatric nurse practitioner and primary care program director at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing . "You’re at the same level essentially as a physician and tend to work side by side.”

Along with the increased responsibility come new challenges.

“It’s a lot of time with patients,” says Alexander Menard, an acute care nurse practitioner at UMass Memorial Medical Center whose typical 12-hour workday in the intensive care unit involves managing a busy workload. “I spend my entire day caring for patients and families, working with an interdisciplinary team, working closely with nurses and consulting services like physical therapists or social workers, and coordinating care and making sure all the specialties are weighing in for the best outcomes of the patient. It’s a tremendous amount of coordination of care.”

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Increased demands typically mean a higher salary. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage in 2022 for nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners was $125,900 per year, compared with $81,220 per year for a registered nurse.

Doctor of Nursing Practice

While a master’s in nursing will lead students to new job opportunities and increased salaries, nurses interested in taking a deeper dive into the policies that drive the health system and want leadership positions that directly affect those policies should consider a DNP, which offers more health policy training than an MSN.

Danielle McCamey, a DNP at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Maryland and founder of the national nonprofit DNPs of Color, says the DNP allows students to expand their scopes of knowledge and skills with both patients and policies.

“When you have this DNP, you’re still heavily based in clinical practice and you understand taking care of individuals and communities, but you have this additional skill set to disrupt certain systems that are preventing access to care or might be out of the latest trends of what’s needed to make reasonable changes in the health care system,” McCamey says.

Nationwide, the DNP program has steadily grown in popularity over the last decade, increasing from 156 in 2010 to 426 in 2022, with 70 more programs planned, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. The DNP may eventually replace the MSN altogether, as the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties has called for all entry-level NP programs to transition to the DNP by 2025. The AACN has also recommended that transition since 2004.

Menard, who is also a DNP and assistant professor at UMass Chan Medical School's Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing , is among those who favor this shift.

“The demands of the health care system require primary care providers to have advanced knowledge and leadership and the ability to translate evidence at the bedside and improve outcomes,” Menard says. “Patient care is the priority, but there’s so much more that impacts patient care, including policies, and the extra time in school and the emphasis of the DNP addresses that directly.”

Choosing the Right Graduate Nursing Program

Renz encourages nurses thinking about the master’s program at Penn to first gain real-world experience. "The more patient encounters you’re exposed to gives you a better idea of the population and the types of patients you’d want to work with after graduating,” she says.

And since an advanced degree requires students to focus on a specialty, Menard says it’s a good idea to talk with nurses in roles that interest students.

“You really want to have a good understanding of what an NP does with specific certifications and roles because you’re going to be investing a good amount of time, energy and finances to get to that goal, so it’s good to spend time talking to people in the roles you might see yourself in.”

With the growing number of programs offered at schools across the U.S., it’s important for students to weigh numerous factors before making their decisions.

Swan says they should consider whether the school they are applying to is accredited, along with its reputation and ranking. “And of course, most important, what the employment opportunities are. Where do graduates go and what kind of career services do they have?”

Considering that employment of APRNs is projected to grow 38% from 2022 to 2032, with about 29,200 openings each year on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, experts say students who choose to invest in an advanced nursing degree will be in high demand.

“Opportunities abound,” McCamey says. “And the beauty of nursing is that you can create your role anywhere, especially with technology and innovation making care more accessible. That’s why it’s so important to have an understanding of your goal, because there’s so much opportunity to take care of people and communities.”