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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.

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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 Program Details Sheet

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Considering a nursing degree to take your career to the next level? Your journey starts here. Complete the form to get a program brochure for the Oklahoma City University MSN Online.

Get valuable insights into the OCU online experience, learn more about specialization options, and see where this degree can take you.

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)

Introduction to emerging technologies within healthcare organizations. Examines the usage, integration, and surveillance of AI and Smart Technology in healthcare settings from the perspective of nursing leaders.

NURS 5302 Quality Improvement and Safety in Nursing Healthcare Leadership (2 credit hours)

Principles and tools of quality improvement processes and programs. Gain knowledge, skills, and attitudes to construct a safe healthcare environment for clients, families, and staff.

NURS 5804 Leadership Ethics, Law and Healthcare Policy (4 credit hours)

Nursing and healthcare policy development from agenda setting, policy formation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation at the national, state, and local levels. Legal, political, and regulatory aspects of healthcare organizations and providers are explored, as well as critical issues encountered by nursing leadership. The influence of ethical issues on nursing leadership and policy development are examined.

NURS 6303 Contemporary Healthcare Organizations (3 credit hours)

Business and human relationship skills to guide the operation of contemporary healthcare organizations. Evidence-based practice management strategies to enhance leadership effectiveness in a variety of healthcare settings.

NURS 6314 Healthcare Economics and Financial Management (4 credit hours)

Management of financial resources in the healthcare industry, public and private healthcare funding, applied financial management, management resource systems, budgeting, and nursing resource allocation are examined and applied to modern health systems.

NURS 6403 Evolving Healthcare Systems (3 credit hours)

Explore innovation, accountability, relationship building, and leading change to function effectively in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment. Nurse advocacy is promoted by planning for the future while meeting current expectations. Prerequisite: NURS 6303.

NURS 6413 Emerging Complex Healthcare Systems (3 credit hours)

Critical insights from complexity science underpin examination of new ways of thinking about individual and organizational behaviors and performance. Traditional and contemporary management strategies will be analyzed from the perspective of complex systems theory.

Master’s in Nursing Leadership FAQ

What is a master’s in nursing leadership?
A master’s in nursing leadership is a higher education specialization option that prepares students for advanced decision-making roles in the field of healthcare. From familiarizing students with emerging healthcare technology and information systems management, to building their skills in budgeting and financial management, an MSN in leadership will prepare students for management positions in nursing.

What can you do with an MSN in Leadership?
Students earning a master's in nursing leadership could pursue roles such as:

  • 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?
Nurses who pursue the leadership specialization will find great opportunities for professional development, expanding their skills into new areas. The leadership skills you’ll develop at OCU can propel you through the advanced stages of your nursing career and the rest of your life.

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.

No matter what type of leadership role you’re interested in, you’ll likely be able to move on from 12-hour shifts to a more traditional work schedule as well as open up the opportunity to earn more and challenge yourself with new responsibilities while honing in on your personal areas of interest.

Shape the future of nursing with an MSN specialization in Leadership.

No matter what type of leadership role you’re interested in, you’ll likely be able to move on from 12-hour shifts to a more traditional work schedule as well as open up the opportunity to earn more and challenge yourself with new responsibilities while honing in on your personal areas of interest.

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
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Sources

  1. Retrieved on March 16, 2022, from himss.org/sites/hde/files/d7/2017-nursing-informatics-workforce-full-report.pdf
  2. Retrieved on March 16, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Nurse_Administrator/Salary
  3. Retrieved on March 16, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Nurse_Consultant/Salary
  4. Retrieved on March 16, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Chief_Nursing_Officer_(CNO)/Salary
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