You have worked hard to obtain your MSN degree. This type of degree takes a lot of time, both in the classroom and outside of it, and you deserve the distinction that it gives you when everything is said and done. As you work through the degree program though, you may be curious about the types of jobs that are available when you complete your MSN.
There are a lot of great opportunities that are available to professional nurses with an MSN compared to those who have a BSN or lower. This can help to not only increase the salary that you earn, but also the unique career that you can enjoy. Some of the different types of jobs available for those with a master’s in nursing degree include:
Nursing Consultant
Once you obtain the MSN degree, you can become a nursing consultant. Many healthcare facilities will hire a nursing consultant, so you will have your choice of where to work throughout the country. These consultants can help with a number of tasks including:
- Improve risk management
- Help with costs
- Communicate between different medical professionals and the patients,
- Work with insurance companies
- Manage a county or neighborhood clinic.
The exact work that is done will depend on where you decide to put your skills. There are many facilities who are going to look to hire one of these professionals, so the workload can be varied, which makes this a great career.
Research Nurse
If you have always dreamed about doing a lot of research that can change the patient care and even help come up with new treatments, then an MSN degree is going to be one of the best options for you to choose. With your MSN degree, you will be able to start a career as a research nurse.
A research nurse will frequently work more as a clinical nurse specialist who will focus on research-oriented tasks more than others. They can work in many fields, but their job is to gather and evaluate the data they receive, examine statistics, and carry out some of the other tasks necessary as part of the research team in that facility.
Nurse Educator
When you get your MSN degree, you can even become a teacher. Someone has to bring their experience and knowledge to the classroom in order to teach and train the future nurses who will go out into the field. And if you have taken the time to get your MSN degree, you can choose to teach this next generation of nurses as well.
As a nurse educator, you will work as a professor in a variety of institutions. This can include community colleges, business schools, and major universities. Some of these professionals will work in medical centers and hospitals as they will train nursing students and new nurses on how to do well in that specific facility.
Clinical Nurse Specialist
A clinical nurse specialist is going to be able to choose which specialty they would work on, based on their needs. They can choose this specialty by the types of care, the population they decide to serve, or the diseases they would like to treat. This gives you more control over the type of work you would like to do.
The clinical nurse specialist will be different than the nurse practitioner because the clinical nurse specialist focuses on the specialized and expert care of the patient, along with mentoring the staff, versus primary care outside of a hospital setting. If there is a specialty that you would like to focus on in your nursing career, then becoming a CNS can be a great choice.
Nurse Administrator
When you want to get into more of a management role as a nurse, then an MSN degree can help you get that done. And one of the roles available to you is a Nurse Administrator. These professionals will spend their time overseeing nursing teams and nursing facilities. This can include a variety of different tasks like:
- Scheduling employees
- Hiring and firing
- Running the facility
Depending on the facility that the professional chooses to work in, there can be a higher salary for all of this work. You need to have the right MSN degree and an aptitude for managing teams of nurses to provide the best care of the patient.
Nurse Anesthetist
After you get your MSN degree, you can become a nurse anesthetist. This will allow you to administer anesthesia to the patient to help aid in procedures and surgeries. You will often need to work within a team of other medical professionals to help provide the right amount of medication at the right time.
IN this role, you will need to conduct evaluations of the patient to figure out the amount and the type of anesthesia that will work best on them and not cause allergic reactions. You can discuss medications, health issues, and existing allergies with the patient to make sure that all risks are known and the patient will stay as safe as possible.
Nurse Midwife
For those professionals who would like to work with expectant mothers during childbirth, becoming a nurse midwife can be a fun career choice. This professional is going to attend and assist with the births of their patients and can administer the necessary counseling. They can help with different parts of the pregnancy as well.
These professionals will need to stay up to date through annual exams while also getting specialized training in the field to help out in case some of their patients have complications during the birthing process, keeping the mother and baby safe along the way.
Choosing Your Career
When you are looking for an exciting career that allows you to help patients, puts you in the driver’s seat of your career and pays well, then obtaining your MSN degree is one of the best decisions you can make. Take a look at some of the different types of jobs available with a master’s in nursing to help you succeed.
