The MSN in Nursing Leadership is a quickly emerging program that seeks to prepare learners for administration and management positions in the nursing field.
What is Nursing Leadership?
A MSN in Nursing Leadership program can also potentially prepare students for careers in public health and safety as well as governmental positions involving health care efficacy and provider practice management. Throughout this program, students can take in the various internal properties of the healthcare field and management techniques that can mold them into able and profitable assets for healthcare-oriented facilities.
Theories of focus for this program are financial management, complex healthcare systems education, organizational theory in medical practice, and the primary properties of successful leadership.
As you can see from the constituents of this degree program, nursing leadership is related to nursing administration is the underlying factors that set it apart from other applied healthcare positions. Both focus on the internal function of healthcare systems, with focus on management as administrative duties.
MSN in Leadership Curriculum & Courses
Nursing leadership programs focus on the important aspects of a well-functioning healthcare system. Take a browse below through some of the courses and topics that can be addressed during this degree program.
Organizational Management
Healthcare facilities are huge in terms of responsibility and inflow. With large numbers of patient, employees, and procedures, it is important that management is taught how to organize, plan, and implement treatment plans as well as record maintenance.
Various techniques and management strategies can be learned through the nursing leadership curriculum to better your understanding of how these sectors function.
Resource Management
In addition to standard organizational practices, nursing leadership may also touch on financial resource allocations and budget management. This is a large part of what keeps medical facilities functioning at manageable levels.
Nursing leadership professionals can possibly be responsible for overseeing human resources, patient billing, or supply purchases. The skills taught in this aspect of nursing leadership can contribute greatly to your knowledge of resource management in a healthcare setting.
Conflict Resolution
Being a leader in a healthcare environment can sometimes includes some unsavory responsibilities such as maintaining a conflict-free workplace and managing current conflicts between employees.
Nursing leadership programs try to provide students with the necessary skills to nullifying potentially conflicting attitudes and provide for a comfortable work environment for everyone.
Fast, Relevant, and Health Promoting Methods of Care
One of the primary goals of a nurse leader is to preserve and increase health promotion in healthcare settings. Increasing health promotion by means of providing faster point-of-care testing and procedures and risk reduction in healthcare facilities can provide for more efficient care than can benefit patients as well as healthcare professionals.
Mission of Nursing Leadership
Nursing leadership is the key to innovation in the delivery of healthcare. Professionals in this field may set their sights on the pursuit of better care for all patients, improved health outcomes for the community in which they serve, and lower costs for healthcare facilities and their patients.
Sample Courses for Master of Nursing Leadership Programs
- Managing Complex Healthcare Systems: This course places an emphasis on biological aspects of patients, managing care, professional behaviors, immunity, wellness/illness, caring interventions, healthcare systems, and quality improvement.
- Principles of Business and Finance in Healthcare: This course touches on the need for balance in managing or controlling costs in a healthcare environment while remaining open to investment opportunities. It allows students to learn about major issues involved in finance, budgeting, and strategic financial planning.
- Human Resources, Quality, Law, and Ethics: Students may be introduced into healthcare oriented laws and ethics that are applicable to everyday working environments. Human resources provisions, quality of services, and fair treatment of employees may be discussed throughout this course.
Job Roles and Career Outlook
Leadership positions in nursing and healthcare are great options if you have a desire to lead teams of employees in a busy and extremely important work environment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical and health service managers can potentially earn $94,500 per year on average through the United States (BLS; 2015).
Considering the need for qualified nursing leaders across the country is rising in relation to the growing healthcare system, the BLS also reports this field to grow at a rate of 17% over the next decade (BLS; 2015). If you are seeking a career that may only become more demanded over time, than this is a great option for you. Take a look at some of the roles associated with this degree program below.
Healthcare Executive
From hiring and training new employees to planning and coordinating healthcare services, these professionals are the foundation for excellent progress in healthcare facilities. These professionals are also responsible for a number of various factors including, but not limited to, finance and budgeting, patient billing, employee scheduling, and public relations.
Nurse Manager
Nursing managers are the forefront of nursing teams. These professionals work hard to ensure that their staff is up to date on training, providing quality care to patients, and follow all necessary protocol. If you become a nurse manager you may be responsible for hiring new nurses, working with doctors on treatments and procedures, family consultations, and healthcare finances.
Clinical Nurse Leader
Clinical nurse leaders are a relatively new concept in the nursing field. These patient-focused professionals are the key to the development of better quality and safety for patients. During a routine work day, professionals in this field may supervise orderly patient care, quickly assess situations and provide strategies, work to reduce risks in the healthcare environment, and increase teamwork abilities.
Job Duties to Expect
When you have decided to pursue a career in nurse leadership, it is important to note the different tasks and environments you may come in contact with each day. Work environments for this career include hospitals, ambulatory clinics, residential care facilities, and group medical facilities.
Responsibilities can vary depending on where you choose to work, but have a general scope in terms of focus throughout. Our experts have provided you with a list of potential duties for you to review below.
- Hire, train, and manage staff members
- Records maintenance consisting of patient population, rotations, and duties
- Create budgets, manage finances, and monitor spending
- Properly organize work schedules for staff
- Create department-wide goals
- Increase quality of healthcare delivery through strategy and teamwork planning
- Work with nurses or doctors to plan and organize treatment and procedures for patients
