Nurse Educators Needed: Study for Your MSN Online at Walden University
| School Overview | |
|---|---|
| Serves: | USA/Canada |
| Accredited by: | HLC |
| Enrollment: | Frequent |
| Financial Aid: | Yes |
| Scholarships: | Yes |
RNs and BSNs Welcome
Walden University's online Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) program is designed to bridge the educational gap for professional nurses with a completed Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, as well as for RNs with Associates or Diploma degrees. This latter "track" is often called an RN-MSN program and offers RNs a fast track to their MSN in Education degree.
Why Earn a MSN in Education?
Even though the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree has become the latest industry standard, there is indication that increasing numbers of BSNs are actively or considering pursuing their MSNs. The nursing industry is suffering from an alarming nursing shortage at all levels of the nursing spectrum. Jobs are open across the country and RNs may go almost anywhere and find lucrative salaries. But one of the primary factors in the worker shortage is a lack of nurse educators. In response to the growing nursing shortage the cry for new recruits has gone out. And droves of new nursing students have applied to all kinds of programs across the country. In many areas, new students have been wait-listed for up to two years. The problem? Not enough well-qualified nurse educators to train them all and not enough facilities.
Requirements for the Dual Track MSN in Education
Depending upon current nursing degree, there are various prerequisites for the program:
- RN-MSN track requires applicants to have valid RN licenses and either completed nursing diploma or Associates in Nursing degree. Candidates are expected to have also completed a number of General Education courses before being accepted.
- BSN track requires applicants to have valid RN licenses and completed BSN degrees.
Curriculum
Students admitted to the BSN-MSN track undergo a grueling 41 semester hours of intensive coursework toward the Education degree. The first 19 credit hours are made up of the foundational coursework: healthcare and diversity, nurses as leaders, health care organizations, and evidence-based nursing practice. Specialized curriculum includes topics related to: technology in the classroom, teaching paradigms and strategies, learning skills of students, and design, development, and evaluation of nursing curriculums.
Students fast-tracking the RN-MSN degree must spend an additional 25 credit hours completing a set of Foundational courses that essentially provide the BSN coursework that RNs need before progressing onto the Masters level courses outlined above.
Faculty that provide instruction for the MSN courses are culled from healthcare and medicine around the country. Almost all have their Nursing PhD and remain working within their fields.
Career Opportunity
Nurse Educators are not only employed in academic positions, but they are also used in many other healthcare structures:
- Hospitals
- Community Health agencies as healthcare education coordinators and administrators
- Occupational Health
Within academia, though, educators have plenty of options for teaching: there are community college situations that require educators for LPN and Associates programs, four-year colleges and universities that employ post-graduate and higher educators for their baccalaureate degrees, and university level Masters instructors. Nurse Educators that have career goals that take them into the upper echelons of teaching will be expected to earn their Nursing PhDs.
Walden University has been providing high-quality adult education since 1970, online graduate and post-graduate degrees since the late 1990s.
