Which graduate nursing education path should I take?

Hello all,

I am an associate's degree RN with a prior BS in psychology and MS in Marriage and Family Therapy. I am working on a NICU currently and just graduated in May. I want to go on for my MS in nursing but not sure what to pursue. I would like to do something in education whether it be at a nursing program, patient education, or staff education and training. What graduate degree should I pursue? I have not completely ruled out NP as well because I enjoy working with patients. I just want to work m-f 8-5 no holidays or weekends and be a normal person. I loathe the hospital hours.
If you decide to go the NP route, you might want to think about Pediatric NP and not Neonatal NP. Working in the NICU you obviously like kids, but with a NNP you are almost certainly going to be stuck in the hospital. With a PNP, you should be able to get a job in a doctor's office M-F. If you decide to get your PNP, you should look at finding a job in peds while you are in school. I know several NICU nurses who have gotten their PNP and had a difficult time finding jobs after graduation because of their lack of peds experience.Good Luck to you!

Thanks for the feedback. I work with NNP and a lot of them have said the same thing about doing peds NP vs NNP.

I don't know about the market in your area, but a Clinical Nurse Specialist might be a good choice too. If you are attending a local university, ask for an interview with the Dean of graduate students about choices in your area. I did that before applying to the school. Later I learned it was a little unorthodox, but I got the help I needed and the Dean and I became friends. We still communicate thru Sigma Theta Tau meetings. PLUS, her secretary made sure I got all the financial help I needed. My graduate degree was almost free.

If what you're looking for is "normal" working hours and you like doing education, you may not need to go on for an MSN at all. You could be a lactation consultant, or a PHN doing mom/baby home visits. To be a PHN in most states you need a BSN, but you might not have to do all that much coursework to get the BSN, given that you already have a bachelors degree in another field.

You need to figure out the type of work you want to do before you can hope to pick the right educational program for you. Assess yourself (strengths/weaknesses, likes/dislikes, etc.) to narrow down a career path. Then choose the educational program that will best prepare you for that type of work.

How about going Holistic's Yes you can do that. Pisst not only am i a LPN ( looks both ways ) and whispers I'm also a Cirtified Hypnotherapist and Massage Therapist. I know Herbology and Oils and I'm currently taking classes to go further in to that field to be come a Herbalist. I know and have been taught and have my certificates in Quantum Healing, Reiki, and Tantra. I believe in treating the person as a whole not just the symptom that got to where they are. Something to think about you already have psych down. these are my thoughts use them as you wish.

<hand waving excitedly> oooh oooh Pick Us! Pick Us! Choose Education!!! My MSN was CS in Critical Care & Education. Srsly, there aren't enough qualified nurse educators to go around. I know that academic salaries are pretty much a joke, but that is definitely NOT the case in workplace education. If you are concerned about financing your graduate education, there is Fed $$$ out there at most state universities as part of the initiative to increase the ranks of nursing faculty. Go and talk with someone at your local uni to get a better idea of how this works. Best of luck to you, whatever path you choose.

Great feedback. Thanks for the posts so far. A lot of things I haven't considered have been mentioned. Keep the ideas coming

Sounds like a MSN in Nursing Education would fit what you want to do.