Ready to be a Nursing Leader? Here’s How a Master’s Degree in Health Administration Can Help You
Nursing is one of the most in-demand jobs today, and the need for nurses is expected to grow 12% over the next decade, which is much faster than other industries.1 With this large growth in the field, there will be a wide need for leadership in nursing. Nurse leaders are professionals who manage nurses and smoothly move patients across complex health systems. Already, registered nurses make up a large component of a healthcare institution’s managerial and executive workforce, and this number is poised to grow in the coming years.
For nurses who are ambitious and looking for the next step in their career, becoming a nursing leader is a natural step forward. However, despite how critical nurses are to leading health systems, many do not receive the management and leadership training in nursing school they need to take this next step. For those nurses, a master’s degree in Health Administration can help prepare them to move up in their careers while they continue to work in their current roles.
“Nurse leaders direct the activities of registered nurses and other healthcare providers at the bedside and in ambulatory settings, coordinate clinical care programs, monitor care delivery, measure clinical performance, guide performance improvement activities, manage patient and staff education, and serve in senior leadership positions,” says Professor John Donnellan. “NYU Wagner’s Online MHA program provides nurses in leadership roles with managerial competencies that complement their clinical competencies and which are necessary in healthcare organizations today and tomorrow.”
These managerial competencies are wide-ranging and combine to form a well-rounded leader who is ready to meet the challenges healthcare faces today. “The program is designed to provide students with an understanding of today’s healthcare environment and delivery systems as well as the ability to govern and lead complex health systems, to monitor and measure performance, to manage human resources, to manage finances at a unit and a system level, and to strategically plan in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape,” says Professor Donnellan.
Managerial Competencies for Nursing Leadership
NYU Wagner’s Online MHA offers students courses that help them build skills in four key areas, each of which is vital to a nurse leader’s success. Learn more about these key competencies, and which courses best help students build them.
Understand Today’s Healthcare Environment
Wide-ranging leadership in nursing requires many different attributes, including a deep understanding of the healthcare sector across functions.
- Health Policy & the Health System I and II
- Advanced Topics in Health Policy
- Healthcare Law, Governance, and Ethics
- Continuous Quality Improvement
Govern and Lead Complex Health Systems
Understanding how to manage a team is vitally important for any leader, but for nurse leaders, it’s key to support nurses who face daily stress in life or death situations.
- Managing Healthcare Organizations
- Principles of Human Resources Management for Healthcare Organizations
- Strategic Management for Healthcare Organizations
- Operations Management for Healthcare Organizations
Manage Finances at a Unit and System Level
Budgets are complex, whether for an entire institution or a single department, and nurse leaders need to understand the accounting that goes into them.
- Accounting for Healthcare Management
- Capital Financing & Advanced Issues in Financial Management
- Introduction to Health Economics
Strategically Plan in a Rapidly Changing Healthcare Landscape
Being able to analyze data and envision the long-term results of decisions is key to making the right choices as a nurse leader.
- Analyzing Data for Healthcare Management
- Entrepreneurship for Healthcare Organizations
- Healthcare Marketing and Strategic Communications
- Advanced Topics in Data/Evidence for Healthcare
Because students work while they complete their degree, they can apply the new skills they are learning every day in their nursing roles. In addition, Professor Donnellan clarifies that the program is more than just designed to fit the busy life of a working healthcare professional, “Unlike many online programs, NYU Wagner’s Online MHA offers connections to the entire school and university-wide community including faculty, students, and a wide array of special events and activities,” he says.
In the fast-paced field of healthcare, nursing leadership skills are key, especially for nurses looking for their next step. “Registered nurses have a passion for healthcare delivery and a passion for patients,” says Professor Donnellan. “Their experience and education have afforded them the opportunity to see the healthcare system from the bottom-up. More than most, they understand what works and what doesn’t, and in the end what counts–what best serves the person seeking care.” Taking this understanding and applying it in a leadership role is key to a nurse’s success, and after their intensive coursework, learning simulations, and in-person immersion experience in New York City, NYU Wagner Online MHA students excel as nurse leaders.