According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, there are more than 330 accredited master's of nursing degree programs available for registered nurses. These programs allow nurses to create a nursing career specific to their professional goals, while at the same time providing a core curriculum of advanced nursing coursework. Graduate-level classes cover family health and planning, health care ethics, finance and economics, mental health, health policy, community health promotion, research management and statistics.
One area of specialization that a master's degree in nursing prepares nurses for is health care and nursing administration. Nurses take courses to prepare them for careers as head nurses, directors of nursing or chief nursing officers, and as long-term care nurse managers. Master's degrees in heath care administration and joint master's degrees in nursing and business administration or public health are available and coursework includes biostatistics, ethical decision-making, complex systems theory, health care law, organizational behavior, advanced nursing research and leadership training.
Nurses who study for a master's degree in advanced nursing practice typically are interested in careers as nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists and nurse anesthetists. Nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists can further specialize and focus their training in women's health, acute care, psychiatry, pediatrics and gerontology, to name just a few. Nurses with a master's degree in advanced nursing practice have more clinical responsibilities and can offer primary care services that in the past could have only be done by physicians. For example, diagnosis of common health problems, prescribing medications, management of chronic health conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, and ordering lab tests and x-rays are all things that nurses with an advanced degree can do now as opposed to it being done by a physician.
A master's degree in nursing can also prepare a nurse for a career in nursing education. Nurse educators use their extensive practical nursing experience to train aspiring nurses at vocational schools, community colleges and universities. They may also lead community health care educational programs, develop curriculum for online nursing training programs or manage health care staff development. Their specialized master's training includes classes in adult learning, curriculum design, educational resources, learning assessment and classroom teaching techniques.
With the increased use of technology in nursing and health care, the need for experienced nurses who also are trained in computer and information technology (IT) has become apparent. A master's nursing degree in informatics prepares nurses to educate and offer technical support to nursing staff as new computer systems are incorporated into the health care facility's workflow. Nurse informaticists are also trained to develop health care technology, customize computer programs to meet the needs of their health care employer and to liaise between the nursing and IT staff.