One of the hottest areas to work in America today is healthcare. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted recently that the employment of healthcare workers will soar by 18% by 2026 with a total of 2.4 million new jobs added. As the aging US population grows in number and demands more advanced healthcare services to live a more productive life, there will be much more need for new healthcare facilities and healthcare workers to staff them.
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There also will be more demand for healthcare and nursing professionals with a strong business management background. Healthcare facilities are businesses just like any other, and must be run in an efficient manner to be profitable and competitive in the marketplace.
One good way to make yourself stand out from other workers is to earn a dual Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.
A nurse who has both an MSN and MBA is very well qualified to work in both clinical and business management roles in hospitals, healthcare practices and nursing homes.
Completing this demanding dual degree will give you the business management and nursing skills that are very in demand in executive healthcare positions.
Healthcare professionals with a dual MBA/MSN typically take one of the following career paths:
- Hospital finance: With a dual degree in business and nursing, you may find a highly paid position in finance or accounting in a medical center or hospital. See also best hospital management degree programs available plus online options.
- Hospital administration: Nurses with their MSN and five or so years of clinical experience usually are well positioned to be a nursing manager or administrator. Having your MBA will make you stand out from other applicants.
- Nursing home management: An MSN nurse with an MBA will be an excellent candidate for a top level nursing home position. These facilities must be run in an efficient manner and there is a lot of competition for people’s nursing home dollars today.,
- Public health management: You may be employed in a government or nonprofit organization that is focused on public health. Having business and clinical nursing skills can help you to provide very important roles in one organization.
- Nursing consulting: Nurses with a business degree can be an excellent healthcare consultant to hospitals or medical systems so they can be run more profitably.
If you are a healthcare professional and are considering your dual MSN MBA degree, below are some solid options:
#1 Kent State University
Kent State University offers a 100% online, dual Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Nursing that will ready you to assume many mid and upper level positions in many types of healthcare settings.
This four year program is offered in partnership with the College of Business Administration. The dual degree program is made for the experienced nurse who has a career goal of moving into a middle or executive management position in a health service agency, or in a healthcare company. Other students want to earn this prestigious dual degree to start their own business.
Some of the benefits of the online program at Kent State are:
- 100% online courses with no campus visits needed
- Students can start in either fall or spring
- Kent State University is known for its high academic quality, efficiency and affordable price
- Students can earn both degrees in at least a year less time than if they took each program on its own
Required courses for the dual MBA/MSN program include:
- Theoretical Basis for Nursing Practice
- Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare Management
- Marketing Management
- Financial Accounting for Decision Makers
- Professional Development
- Methods of Inquiry
- HR Management
- Managerial Finance
- Legal and Regulatory Management for Nurse Administrators
- Organizational Analysis
- Advanced Nursing Informatics
#2 Indiana Wesleyan University
Indiana Wesleyan University offers a dual Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Business Administration that prepares students to be a highly knowledgeable and principle-centered nurse administrator. This MSN/MBA program is fully online and will prepare each student as an ethically and fiscally sound nurse leader. The program emphasizes the application and integration of knowledge to the quantitative and qualitative skills that are needed in the modern healthcare nurse administrator.
Your required courses include the following:
- Evidence Based Communication
- Healthcare Principles and Policies
- Ethical and Legal Aspects of Management
- Management of Healthcare Delivery Systems
- Leadership and Organizational Change
- Nursing Leadership and Human Resources
- Accounting and Finance for Managers
- Business Economics
- Business Strategy and Policy
- Advanced Nursing Management
The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and the MSN program has been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or CCNE.
#3 Liberty University
Liberty University offers a 100% online Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Nursing dual degree that will provide you with the executive business practice skills that are so important to the healthcare field.
This online dual MSN/MBA will teach you to balance medical costs, economic factors of healthcare, strategy related regulations and vital ethical considerations to ensure the highest efficiency and use of medical resources. Students also learn how to be successful in any healthcare organization, how to manage operations and personnel, ensure high quality and maintain compliance with laws that affect all healthcare providers, organizations and administrators.
Some of the required courses in this four year program include:
- Financial and Resource Management for Nurse Leaders
- Nursing Administration – Organizational Leadership and Management
- Business Common Professional Components
- Global Economic Development
- Organizational Design and Structure
- Contemporary Issues in HR Management
In the MSN portion of the program, you can choose a specialty of nursing administration, nurse educator or nursing informatics.
#4 Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon University offers a dual Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Nursing: Nursing Leadership in Healthcare Systems. This program will prepare the experienced nurse with a BSN degree to develop the essential cross functional business management skills and leadership competencies in nursing that are essential to be successful in the healthcare space today.
The dual degree program is effective in integrating new healthcare theories with the latests business concepts to shape you as a successful executive that will be able to grow healthcare organizations of all kinds. Students are prepared to lead healthcare organizations or fulfill their entrepreneurial goals and start their own healthcare company or organization.
Some of the many vital topics that are covered in this dual online MBA/MSN program are:
- Leadership and management
- Quantitative methods
- Managerial accounting
- Managerial finance
- Operations management
- Leadership theory and application
- Accounting
- Economics
- Operations management theoretical foundations for nursing roles and practice
- Ethics in a healthcare environment
#5 Benedictine University
Benedictine University offers a dual Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Business Administration that will help you to become a servant leader in your healthcare organization who can guide your healthcare staff and whole organization through changes in the marketplace that inevitably occur over time.
The dual online MSN/MBA program is made for nursing professionals with several years of work experience who want a complete understanding of advanced nursing practices and the critical thinking skills that are needed to solve complex healthcare business problems, identify opportunities for business growth, and make good decisions within all healthcare settings based upon sound economics, operations, finance, management and marketing principles.
Students choose this dual degree program because they can earn two master’s degrees in less time and with fewer courses – the program typically can save you $14,000 and at least 10 months. Students will learn the following in the program:
- Show a high level of competence in the integration of nursing and related sciences that are required to analyze, design and evaluate nursing care outcomes in diverse populations.
- Use your leadership and decision making skills to ensure high quality and safe delivery of care to populations, communities and individuals in many healthcare delivery systems.
- Apply advanced research outcomes in a healthcare practice setting, implement best healthcare practices across many healthcare environments and communicate results that improve clinical practice.
- Demonstrate a strong understanding of microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts and tools used in healthcare and other types of businesses.
- Advocate for healthcare policies that enhance health outcomes for patients and also the quality of the healthcare system as a whole.
#6 University of Mary
The University of Mary offers an online Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Business Administration with a degree focus on healthcare administration. This three to four year program accredited by the CCNE combines cutting edge nursing and business courses so that you can qualify for a high level managerial position in a healthcare organization.
Graduates of this dual degree program in healthcare administration are able to integrate ethical policies and practices; synthesize business and healthcare information through data analysis and research; collaborate with many types of healthcare and business management teams; and effectively manage human fiscal and organizational capital.
Courses in the dual online degree program cover many business, administrative and healthcare subject areas, such as managerial finance and accounting; evidence based practice and healthcare decision making and nursing leadership.
Required courses are:
- Management and Organizational Behavior
- Human Resource Management
- Managerial Finance
- Executive Economic Analysis
- Managerial Accounting
- Marketing
- Current Issues in Healthcare Administration
- Healthcare Across the Population
- Critique & Design of Nursing Research
References
- Healthcare Occupations. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm
