RNs In Healthcare Systems Management: Nursing Schools and Degree Programs

Healthcare Management is a big new field for professional RNs AND one in which they are direly needed. Never before has there been such an urgency to integrate nurses into upper-level and mid-level management roles. Armed with direct patient care experience and management and business skills to boot, RNs educated in healthcare management are positioned to help sculpt new practice and management paradigms.

Nursing management positions are abundant and available in a wide range of environments. RNs at the Management level may work in:

  • Hospitals
  • Nursing homes and long term care facilities
  • University nursing schools
  • Insurance companies
  • Medical supply companies
  • Pharmaceutical companies
  • Corrections
  • and more

Going to School for Nurse Management Education

If your career sights are set on working your way up to management level nursing then start your career with a solid foundation in an undergraduate degree program. Both the Associates in Nursing and the BSN are considered undergraduate and prepare you for the RN license, but you’ll need your BSN for any advanced degrees you choose to pursue, which includes Healthcare Management.

Prerequisites for Nurse Management degree programs:

  • BSN and some nursing experience
  • RN license

Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) Health Systems Management

A variety of Masters level nursing management programs exist so research the various technicalities before you sign on. At the MSN level you’ll be required to complete your core Masters in Nursing courses first—such as Advanced Nursing Theory, Advanced Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Advanced Statistics and Clinicals. Following successful completion of this core curriculum you are then introduced to the Healthcare Management modules.

Coursework for Healthcare Management RNs could include some of the following:

  • Issues in Contemporary Healthcare Systems
  • Biostatistics
  • Healthcare Ethics and Law
  • Healthcare Innovation
  • Advanced Research Strategies
  • Teambuilding in Healthcare
  • Healthcare Economics
  • Negotiation and Strategizing in Healthcare Business
  • Information Management
  • Operations Management

Learn how to mediate groups, negotiate on behalf of patients, nurses and team members, build efficient development teams, create viable and innovative practice paradigms, resolve conflicts, control finances, and more strategies traditionally the realm of non-nursing healthcare administration.

MSN/MBA in Health Systems Management

This has become a hot “joint” degree track that loads RNs with all the core curriculum of a nursing masters AND then loads them with Masters in Business Administration coursework. Talk about a well-armed professional.

Nursing MBA courses could include:

  • Healthcare Finance
  • Healthcare Economics
  • Human Resources
  • Medical Systems and Complex Organizations
  • Corporate Ethics
  • Management Strategies
  • Negotiation Strategies
  • Business Communication
  • Patient Care Management
  • Biostatistics
  • Global Business Economy
  • Managing Healthcare Outcomes
  • and more

See how this coursework combined with the MSN curriculum could build a crackerjack RN manager?

Study MSN HCSM Online or On-Campus

Many of the MSN Healthcare Systems Management/Leadership degrees are now offered via sophisticated distance teaching environments—carbon copies of the campus-based curriculums, but packaged for online delivery. Any clinical, practicum, or internship requirements can be easily scheduled either on campus or at a facility local to you.

Explore Your Nursing Degree Options Today!