MSN: Nursing Management & Executive Leadership Specialization
Serve as a MSN-Prepared Nurse Leader to Improve Health Care
CCNE Accredited
Stand Out With a Specialization
No Campus Visits Required
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- Duration 2 years
- Cost per Credit $695
- Credit Hours 36
Program Benefits
- Advance your career in a rapidly growing field
- Gain leadership expertise
- Attend class when and where it’s convenient
- 100% online coursework
- International Study Abroad experience available
Hospitals and Clinics Need MSN Leadership Skills
The nursing occupational outlook is positive, with plenty of roles for CNOs, directors of patient care and nursing administrators. Whatever your plans are, SHU’s online MSN degree in Nursing Management and Executive Leadership develops within you the sought-after skills to become an effective nurse leader who can improve processes and ultimately affect patient outcomes.
Enjoy a generous MSN nurse salary and an advanced education that opens doors to higher positions. You can lead a team, department or facility.
Apply integrative expertise in strategic planning, quality improvement, workforce development, research and ethics, and human resource management. Courses on budgeting and process will also help you lead with expert insight in your new, advanced role.
Career Outlook: Faster Than The Average of All Occupations
Every industry needs strong leaders, but health care — where people’s lives and well-being are at stake — needs them most of all.
The demand for medical and health services managers (a category that encompasses nurse managers and administrators) is projected to grow 28 percent through 2031. That’s much faster than the average of all occupations1 and 15 percent more than healthcare occupations overall.2
Nursing administrators are most commonly employed at hospitals, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, outpatient clinics, community-based health organizations and a wide variety of other institutions.3
Chief Nursing Officer:
$135,223/YEAR
As Chief Nursing Officer, you’d be your hospital’s lead executive in charge of nursing operations. Your daily responsibilities might include managing staff levels, creating hospital and department budgets, acting as a bridge between physicians and nurses, and more.4
Director of Patient Care Services:
$103,407/YEAR
As a Director of Patient Care Services, you’d ensure patients across your hospital’s departments receive the highest-quality care. You’d work with department leaders, ensure operations run smoothly, and speak with patients and their families about health care needs and care plans.5
Careers and SalariesCurriculum: Transformative Leadership
Through seven specialization courses, learn to motivate others, build trust with your team, and effectively communicate across your organization. Graduate with the big-picture skills you need to become a transformative nursing leader.
The Nursing Management & Executive Leadership specialization includes 120 clinical practicum hours. These practicum hours put your new skills to work with supervision from an identified preceptor in your community.
You also have the option to expand your worldview and pursue your passion for nursing by taking a 2 week term at SHU’s Tralee, Ireland campus. MSN Nurse Management & Executive Leadership students can complete part of their capstone hours while being mentored by nurse leaders at University Hospital Kerry, in nearby city of Tralee, Ireland. Opportunities include collaborating with Irish nurses, administrators, physicians, and other members of the healthcare team and learning about the local Irish culture.
Course Spotlight: NU 521 – Creating a Professional Work Environment
Create a positive work environment for both nursing staff and interprofessional teams. You’ll learn about adopting the tenets of Magnet hospitals, supporting quality and safety, fostering high performance in your staff, and improving nurse satisfaction.
Preview CoursesCourse Spotlight: NU 576 – Management of Financial Resources
Explore the budgeting process in the health care setting, including the building blocks of developing sound financial projections. You’ll also review multipayer systems and their impact on the financial picture of health care organizations in this nursing management course.
Graduate Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of the program, the student will be able to:
- Translate into action knowledge from the philosophical and theoretical traditions of nursing science and other disciplinary perspectives to facilitate the ethical integration of evidence-based practice to advance nursing scholarship.
- Lead collaboratively within the interprofessional team to develop and evaluate plans of care with evidence-based, person-centered care principles promoting quality and safety outcomes.
- Collaborate with strategic partners to implement health policy while advocating for equitable and sustainable population health care.
- Collaborate with strategic partners to implement health policy while advocating for equitable and sustainable population health care.
- Collaborate with strategic partners to implement health policy while advocating for equitable and sustainable population health care.
- Demonstrate professional behaviors reflecting current regulations, policies, and practice integrating professional concepts including ethics, compassion, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Model leadership within the nursing profession that embraces self-care, a spirit of inquiry, advocacy, change, mentorship, and service to others.
More Options for Your MSN
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question we don’t cover here, request more information or call 877-791-7181.
Sacred Heart University’s online MSN program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The CCNE is an autonomous accrediting agency that ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate, and residency programs in nursing. It demonstrates to potential students and future employers that their school meets specific high standards and adequately prepares nurses for practice at a particular degree level.
For nurses who are evaluating prospective programs, the accredited status tells them that the education they receive will provide them with the knowledge to practice at the next level in their nursing career. It’s also significant for students who may want to continue to further education, as most master’s degree programs will not accept candidates whose BSN has not been conferred from an accredited university or program.
The deadline is four weeks prior to the start date unless the program has reached capacity. We encourage you to apply early and secure your spot in the program if you’re considering the upcoming term.
There is no licensure for this program. The online MSN in Clinical Nurse Education will make you eligible to sit for the Nurse Educator Certification from the National League for Nursing.
You’ll complete 36–39 credits to earn your MSN, depending on the specialization you select.
We like to keep our class sizes small. Sacred Heart’s nursing programs typically have 15-28 students per online course.
You can earn a Master of Science in Nursing with Sacred Heart University within two years.
Sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019 September 4). Medical and Health Services Managers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm#tab-1.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019 September 4). Healthcare Occupations. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm.
- All Nursing Schools (n.d.). How Much Do Nurse Administrators Make? Salaries, Job Growth & Career Advancement. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://www.allnursingschools.com/nurse-leadership-administration/salary/.
- Payscale (2019 September 18). Average Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Salary. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Chief_Nursing_Officer_(CNO)/Salary.
- Payscale (2019 August 24). Average Director of Patient Care Services Salary. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Director_of_Patient_Care_Services/Salary.