Masters Degree in Nursing Education

Why Take a Master’s Degree in Nursing Education?
A recent study by the American association of colleges of nursing has indicated that there is an average of 71% shortage of nurse educators in all nursing faculties.  This has further implicated on the observed shortage of nurses in many US states.  Lack of nurse educators is resulting into few admissions in many nursing schools, hence, the lack of registered nurses.

With a MSN in education, you will get the skills of being a faculty member and fill the ever wanting situations of nursing schools and university hospitals. This is a rewarding career to see nurse students excel under your tutorship. It will fulfill your need for an ideal career with good returns as nurse educators are some of the highly paid nursing professionals.

Masters Degree in Nursing Education

This is a two year study program that will develop your clinical skills as well as give you an opportunity to take a clinical specialization. In addition to advanced clinical experience, you will learn important skills of curriculum development and student evaluation. You will also have the opportunity to get trained on curriculum delivery, nurse educator teaching methods and modalities of learning strategies.

Prerequisites for Admission into MSN Education Programs

This program is for Registered Nurses (RNs) who already have at least two years of clinical experience under their sleeves. They must also have their nursing licensure by taking a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Most nursing schools also ask for a clean, unencumbered or non-revoked RN license. It is also common for nursing schools to ask for satisfactory GPA and GRE scores.

Coursework for MSN in Education Program

Student enrolled for masters in nursing education must be prepared to handle both clinical practicum and theory classes. The number of total credits required for full course coverage varies between schools and states. Generally, students will take an average of 30 credits with some nursing schools having as high as 38 credits and others as low as 26. Courses will be in the brackets of:

i)        Masters of Science core courses

These are the general core nursing courses applicable to all masters programs in nursing and are usually more than the specialty courses. They include:

  • Research methods in nursing
  • Pharmacology for advanced practice nurses
  • Practicum in nursing research
  • Evidence based nursing practice
  • Nursing ethics
  • Contemporary service delivery in  health care
  • Population based health promotion
  • Nursing theories
  • Pathophysiology for advanced practice nurses

ii)      Nurse Educator Specialty Courses

These are the courses that equip the nurse with teaching methods to fit as a specialist nurse educator. Such credits include:

  • Curriculum design and development

This trains the nurse developing an all inclusive curriculum to be used for teaching purposes in other nursing training programs like bachelors, diploma or associates degrees.

  • The art of teaching/ Teaching methods

In this course, nurse educators are trained on effective and timely curriculum delivery. They are trained on classroom interaction skills and how to create conducive learning environments for students.

  • Evaluation in nursing education

This course covers the aspects of testing and nursing students assessments. The MSN students must learn the skills of setting up-to standards tests and assignments. They must also be in a position to test the general understanding and application of learnt knowledge on diverse areas of medicine other than the nursing profession.

Practicum lessons for MSN students

In addition to theory classes, students are expected to have supervised clinical rounds. This section for nurse educators is not very intensive and only takes a small fraction of the two years of study. At the end of the masters’ degree in nursing education, the nurse educator is usually in a position to work in community-based settings, academic settings or hospitals environment. They work as competent health care educators to the public, other medical staff or completely fresh nursing students.