Master of Science in Nursing online: Nursing Leadership Specialization
The landscape of healthcare is constantly evolving and there’s a growing need for nurse leaders to step up with the experience and know-how to manage and advocate on behalf of nurses everywhere. The Nursing Leadership Specialization has an additional 21 credits of courses that are focused on key topics that will help an accomplished nurse step into administrative roles with confidence and poise. Employing strategic and critical thinking, digging into ethics, policy, technology, and evaluating evidence-based contemporary management strategies, the master’s in nursing leadership online will prepare you to take to the boardroom.

Master’s in Nursing leadership skills
A career in nursing leadership is designed for a nurse professional to bring their experience from the frontlines of healthcare up to the executive level where critical decisions are made. Like many non-nursing management positions, careers obtained with a master’s in nursing leadership rely a lot on the ability to manage people, projects, and processes. In these roles, you can have influence over day-to-day operations as well as long-term strategic decisions. The OCU online master’s in nursing leadership curriculum will help prepare you to take on these types of leadership roles.
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MSN Online: Nursing Leadership Specialization curriculum
Designed to prepare nurses to serve in middle- and upper-management roles, including executive leadership positions within healthcare organizations, the MSN Leadership Specialization from Oklahoma City University provides students with the valuable management skills to take on top roles in healthcare settings.
NURS 5202 Technology Management in Nursing Leadership (2 credit hours)
NURS 5302 Quality Improvement and Safety in Nursing Healthcare Leadership (2 credit hours)
NURS 5804 Leadership Ethics, Law and Healthcare Policy (4 credit hours)
NURS 6303 Contemporary Healthcare Organizations (3 credit hours)
NURS 6314 Healthcare Economics and Financial Management (4 credit hours)
NURS 6403 Evolving Healthcare Systems (3 credit hours)
NURS 6413 Emerging Complex Healthcare Systems (3 credit hours)
Master’s in Nursing Leadership FAQ
What is a master’s in nursing leadership?
What can you do with an MSN in Leadership?
- Chief Nursing Officer
- Care Management Coordinator
- Director of Nursing
- Executive Director
- Health Director/Medical Director
- Nurse Consultant
- Nurse Informatics Specialist
- Nurse Manager
- Patient Care Director
- Quality Improvement Manager
- Risk and Safety Manager
In a nursing leadership role you might:
- Create schedules and manage talent distribution
- Solve urgent problems related to technology, staffing, or resources
- Collaborate and work with interdisciplinary teams across a healthcare organization
- Recruit and train new nurses or other clinical staff
- Collect and assessing data sets and anecdotal evidence to find gaps in processes and develop strategies to overcome them
- Maintain records and report statuses and results to other members of the leadership team
- Advocate on behalf of your teams of staff or patients using evidential data and your prior experience as a nurse
- Establish and maintain policies for safety
- Perform quality assurance assessments
Is a master’s in nursing leadership worth it?
MSN leadership careers are often some of the highest paying in the field as well. If you enjoy working with new technology or are especially adept at working with electronic health record systems, you could consider becoming a nurse informatics specialist and potentially earn an average of $100,000 a year.1 Nurse administrators can earn an average of $88,621 per year2 and working as a nurse consultant for an insurance company or law firm you could make a median salary of $87,520.3 In that role you might review medical records in court cases, providing insight with your medical knowledge about costs and damages, whether patient needs were met, and more. If you work your way up to becoming a chief nursing officer, you could make as much as $134,6524 a year managing a nursing workforce, evaluating organizational performance, and making strategic decisions about technology, organizational mission, finances, and more to ensure an organization’s long-term success.
Shape the future of nursing with an MSN specialization in Leadership.
Shape the future of nursing with an MSN specialization in Leadership.
Prepare for a dynamic leadership role
Whether you have an eye on a seat at the executive table, want to pivot to a career as a nurse informatics manager, or are interested in gaining the leadership skills to head your own nonprofit health organization, consider the Online Master of Science in Nursing with a Leadership Specialization.
- Prepare to think bigger and with an eye on strategy
- Master leadership ethics and get familiar with health law to become a multifaceted nurse consultant
- Build up your understanding of large institutional budgeting, finance, technology, and management to walk confidently into the boardroom to make a case for yourself as a chief nursing officer
- Learn about safety policies, emergency preparedness, and more to become a quality assurance manager or director of risk and safety management
Sources
- Retrieved on March 16, 2022, from himss.org/sites/hde/files/d7/2017-nursing-informatics-workforce-full-report.pdf
- Retrieved on March 16, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Nurse_Administrator/Salary
- Retrieved on March 16, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Nurse_Consultant/Salary
- Retrieved on March 16, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Chief_Nursing_Officer_(CNO)/Salary