How can my Masters in Health Admin help me?

Hi everyone,
I am 48 years old and am (cross my fingers) getting into Scottsdale Comm College Nursing program in August. I will be finished in December 2011 with an AD. I have taken all the co-requisite classes for a BSN, so I hope to finish that quickly. I got an MHA in 1989 and worked for 15 years in Health Strategy and Planning. By 2012 I want to move out of Arizona and start a new life as a nurse. I will have at that time, an A.D., BSN, MHA with six month experience as an R.N. My question is, will my Masters degree help me get hired or make me more attractive as a candidate? Will it help me if I choose to go overseas for example to Singapore or Australia? And finally, will my education increase my wage?
Thanks,
Marie
would not count on the Masters degree to help salary unless you are hired into a management position. If you get some experience as a nurse then the combined experience + degree will make you eligible for promotion. At the very least, while you are getting that experience you will be learning nursing culture and will be able to determine your path. Good luck. I think you have great potential!

If you ever want to get into Nursing Management, your masters degree will most likely help you. Your masters degree will most likely not help you with a pay increase as a floor nurse.

Have your considered a nursing program desiged for the non-nursing degreeed person who would enter into a BSN to Masters program. I believe it is called MENP (?). You would receive the same RN training for the first year or so and be eligible to take your NCLEX. You would continue on to receive your masters in nursing. Many with other bachelor or master degrees are going this route.

Thank you for the replies. I have heard of the nursing program you describe for the non-degreed professional. I decided to go the ADN route because it will be convenient, quick and relatively painless. I have a child who is a sophomore in high school and my husband travels, so I need some flexibility. Also, I only have to take the nursing credits, about 8 per semester, which will make school a little less intense, time wise. I talked to the folks at AZ State U and they said I could go right to the doctorate program after I get my BSN. I only have a few nursing classes to take because I have all the other classes for my BSN. I wanted to get the R.N. over with quickly, so I could start getting some experience. I was just curious if having a Masters degree would make me more attractive as a new hire, i.e., I have "potential" to go into management and experience in that area.I just wish I knew some possible career paths so I can keep my options open.What would you all pursue if you had my background?

Quote from indysmomThank you for the replies. I have heard of the nursing program you describe for the non-degreed professional. I decided to go the ADN route because it will be convenient, quick and relatively painless. I have a child who is a sophomore in high school and my husband travels, so I need some flexibility. Also, I only have to take the nursing credits, about 8 per semester, which will make school a little less intense, time wise. I talked to the folks at AZ State U and they said I could go right to the doctorate program after I get my BSN. I only have a few nursing classes to take because I have all the other classes for my BSN. I wanted to get the R.N. over with quickly, so I could start getting some experience. I was just curious if having a Masters degree would make me more attractive as a new hire, i.e., I have "potential" to go into management and experience in that area.I just wish I knew some possible career paths so I can keep my options open.What would you all pursue if you had my background?

As classicdame noted, do not expect your other degree to help you as a new grad, in terms of pay or getting more than an entry-level new grad position. As you get some significant nursing experience, it would presumably help you move into management positions, although nursing tends to value graduate degrees in nursing more than the generic "healthcare adminsitration" type degrees (those are generally taken by non-nursing people -- nurses tend to get Master's degrees in nursing (MSN) with a management/administration focus).

[quote=elkpark;4166305]as classicdame noted, do not expect your other degree to help you as a new grad, in terms of pay or getting more than an entry-level new grad position. as you get some significant nursing experience, it would presumably help you move into management positions, although nursing tends to value graduate degrees in nursing more than the generic "healthcare adminsitration" type degrees (those are generally taken by non-nursing people -- nurses tend to get master's degrees in nursing (msn) with a management/administration focus).[/quote]i agree with elkpark that anyone with a newly minted degree, in any field, will not be paid at the same level as a seasoned veteran. however, i disagree that nurses who receive a masters 'tend to get master's degrees in nursing (msn) with a management/administration focus. the focus of a masters in nursing has various tracks. from memory, there are a minimum of 5 nursing masters tracks--for example: clinical, administrative, education, etc. clearly, the training is far and above that of a bsn. the masters in nurse clinical specialist is an interesting track. nevertheless, the practice and focus of a master's prepared nurse is beyond that of an adn or bsn nurse.is there any master's degreed or track nurses who could add to our knowledge? best to all,g

[quote=la_studentnurse;4167092]Quote from elkparkas classicdame noted, do not expect your other degree to help you as a new grad, in terms of pay or getting more than an entry-level new grad position. as you get some significant nursing experience, it would presumably help you move into management positions, although nursing tends to value graduate degrees in nursing more than the generic "healthcare adminsitration" type degrees (those are generally taken by non-nursing people -- nurses tend to get master's degrees in nursing (msn) with a management/administration focus).[/quote]i agree with elkpark that anyone with a newly minted degree, in any field, will not be paid at the same level as a seasoned veteran. however, i disagree that nurses who receive a masters 'tend to get master's degrees in nursing (msn) with a management/administration focus. the focus of a masters in nursing has various tracks. from memory, there are a minimum of 5 nursing masters tracks--for example: clinical, administrative, education, etc. clearly, the training is far and above that of a bsn. the masters in nurse clinical specialist is an interesting track. nevertheless, the practice and focus of a master's prepared nurse is beyond that of an adn or bsn nurse.is there any master's degreed or track nurses who could add to our knowledge? best to all,g

[quote=elkpark;4167400]Quote from LA_StudentNurse I'm sorry I wasn't clear enough -- I meant that nurses who want to go into administration/management get MSNs in administration rather than other types of adminstration degrees (non-nursing degrees). I certainly didn't mean to suggest that the only MSN concentration available is administration.(And BTW, I'm a child psych CNS -- I've been an advanced practice nurse and in and out of nursing education for many years.)

Again, thanks for the replies. This discussion is actually helpful to me, particularly to know the perspective of practicing nurses. I guess it does come down to the difference between a BSN with MHA or BSN with MSN. I feel like with an MHA, I probably know more about the healthcare system in general for example, finance, reimbursement and organizational positioning. On the other hand, I imagine an MSN prepared nurse would have significantly more knowledge of nursing implications of different types of care and how to manage nurses, which is a vastly different from general health administration.I guess I want someone to tell me that yes, as a new grad with an MHA, you will have an advantage in terms of getting hired, or an advantage in getting promoted. I don't expect to earn more as a new grad, well maybe a little, but not much. It is just so competitive out there for new grads, I would hope that my advanced degree would help me get hired.I don't really know what I want to do, but I would consider working overseas, maybe in Singapore or Australia. I would think my MHA degree gives me some credibility.I think it is funny, though, that most nurses don't think much of an MHA. I actually went through a real program with five full-time semesters (65 credits) and a thesis at a major university, as compared to a having a piece of paper from some online university. I did an internship and a fellowship, as well. I do think that most administrators don't have a clue what it is like to be a nurse, or a dietician or x-ray technologist or admitting representative or any of the down in "the trenches" jobs. This disconnect would certainly explain nurses' attitudes towards administrators.

Quote from indysmomAgain, thanks for the replies. This discussion is actually helpful to me, particularly to know the perspective of practicing nurses. I guess it does come down to the difference between a BSN with MHA or BSN with MSN. I feel like with an MHA, I probably know more about the healthcare system in general for example, finance, reimbursement and organizational positioning. On the other hand, I imagine an MSN prepared nurse would have significantly more knowledge of nursing implications of different types of care and how to manage nurses, which is a vastly different from general health administration.I guess I want someone to tell me that yes, as a new grad with an MHA, you will have an advantage in terms of getting hired, or an advantage in getting promoted. I don't expect to earn more as a new grad, well maybe a little, but not much. It is just so competitive out there for new grads, I would hope that my advanced degree would help me get hired.I don't really know what I want to do, but I would consider working overseas, maybe in Singapore or Australia. I would think my MHA degree gives me some credibility.I think it is funny, though, that most nurses don't think much of an MHA. I actually went through a real program with five full-time semesters (65 credits) and a thesis at a major university, as compared to a having a piece of paper from some online university. I did an internship and a fellowship, as well. I do think that most administrators don't have a clue what it is like to be a nurse, or a dietician or x-ray technologist or admitting representative or any of the down in "the trenches" jobs. This disconnect would certainly explain nurses' attitudes towards administrators.

You so misunderstood me! I wasn't being dismissive about MSN's, but about MHA's! Since I graduated in 1988, it seems there are a lot of "diploma mills" popping up and I can tell you it is not the same thing. As far as I know, there isn't an easy way to get an MSN! I do not expect my MHA degree to do much for me in the nursing arena, however, I am hoping it will help get me hired. In addition to 20+ years in health care planning and administration, I worked for 5 years as a CNA. I imagine that experience is more valuable from a nursing perspective!I do think that the MHA degree provides a better foundation in healthcare systems, as I mentioned, specifically in reimbursement, finance and planning. These skills don't help much on a nursing floor, though, do they? Obviously a nurse can learn on the job what he/she needs to be an administrator, but it certainly doesn't work the other way around which is why I am going to nursing school!If a nurse who becomes an MHA expects her nursing experience to count for something, shouldn't an MHA who becomes a nurse expect her MHA to count for something?