50 Awesome Things You Can Do with a MSN Nursing Degree

Nursing degrees are very popular and for good reason. They lead to jobs in which you feel you can really make a difference to people who need help. The fact that they come with interesting salaries and a lot of job security is also very beneficial. If you have been considering getting a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, you will be glad to know that there are many opportunities available to you after graduation.

So what are some of the things that you can do with this type of degree?

1. Physician’s Office Nurse

Work directly with patients, usually during regular office hours.

2. Nurse Case Manager

Manage various other Registered Nurses, ensuring their cases are properly maintained.

3. School Nurse

Work with children within school settings. One of the greatest benefits of this job is that you won’t have to work during school holidays.

4. Research Nurse

Sometimes, holding a doctorate degree is better for this job, particularly if you want to do independent research. However, even with an MSN, you can develop new tools, techniques, and strategies to improve the workforce and health care delivery of tomorrow.

5. Cruise Ship Nurse

This is an exciting job that allows you to see the world. As the name suggests, you will be employed on a cruise ship to deal with passengers who fall ill during their travels.

6. Legal Consultancy Nurse

Manage medical malpractice cases, providing evidence and information.

7. Camp Nurse

This is another exciting role in which you get to work in fantastic surroundings, spending time with children during summer camps. There are also health related camps, for instance where people go to lose weight, which run all year round.

8. Staff Nurse

Sometimes, a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) is sufficient for this role, but if you do have an MSN degree, you can take on more responsibilities.

9. Parish Nurse

Parish nurses work for churches and they are able to integrate a spiritual side to their profession. Sometimes, this means being sent abroad on missionary work as well.

10. Insurance Firm Nurse

Help to assess the validity of claims.

11. Access to a Doctorate Degree

If you complete your MSN, you don’t have to be part of the workforce straight away, You can also use your degree to continue your studies and obtain a terminal doctoral degree.

12. Prison Nurse

This is a challenging and demanding role in which you will work with offenders with a range of different health concerns. A lot of the work you do will be around managing substance abuse, but you may also have to provide first aid following prison riots. Additionally, prisoners often try to fake or worsen illnesses in order to have time out of their cells, and this means you have to be very confident and assertive as well.

13. Learning Disabilities Nurse

Many people who have learning disabilities also have complex health needs. Additionally, when they have an acute health need, they often require different forms of treatment due to issues such as fear of human contact.

14. Work Abroad

As a nurse, you can find work in a variety of health organizations. The MSN is a recognized degree in many different countries, so long as you obtained it from an accredited institution. Besides working abroad for the experience, you could also work for NGOs, charities, or other programs like the Peace Corps.

15. Pediatric Nurse

Work with children, generally very young ones, although they can be up to 19 years old.

16. Public Health Nurse

Work on policy development and public health issues ensuring people within the community, are able to access health care. Additionally, you can help to address emerging needs and dangers, such as outbreaks of contagious illnesses.

17. Army Nurse

You will usually be sent out to combat zones to treat injured soldiers. You may also work in a national base, dealing with the aftermath of wartime injuries.

18. Pharmaceutical Nurse

If you want to move away from direct clinical work with patients, then a pharmaceutical nurse career may be for you. This is an interesting job in which you can still make a real difference to the health outcomes of people.

19. Home Health Nurse

Because health care is now delivered at home as much as possible, there is a strong demand for home health nurses. You will work inside of the homes of vulnerable people, ensuring that they can retain their independence.

20. Surgical Nurse

Work with surgeons, sometime with a certain surgical specialization, in order to provide assistance before, during, and after surgery.

21. Emergency Room Nurse

In this role, you need to be a quick thinker and you will be on your feet for long hours. You will deal with serious illnesses and injuries, and you need to understand triage to be good at this job.

22. Critical Care Nurse

When people present with an acute illness or complications from a chronic illness, they may require critical care. This is reasonably similar to intensive care, although generally for a longer period of time.

23. Dermatological Nurse

Work with people who have skin conditions, such as cancers, acne, or psoriasis. Your role is to make sure they are properly looked after before, during, and after dermatological procedures.

24. Managed Care Nurse

Managed care is made available to those who have terminal or chronic illnesses and need at home specialized care, or within a health care setting. They will require this type of care until they pass away.

25. Hospice Nurse

Many patients come to hospices to die, although some of them do survive and return home. Overall, however, the role of a hospice nurse is to provide compassionate end of life care to patients and to be empathic towards their families.

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26. Burns Unit Nurse

This is a job that is not for the faint of heart. Those who have suffered burns generally experience significant disfigurement and pain, and need extensive specialized care.

27. Plastic Surgery Nurse

Provide care to plastic surgery patients.

28. Rehabilitation Center Nurse

Assist those who have suffered injuries or traumas to their tissues or bodies, enabling them to regain mobility.

29. Oncology Nurse

Provide care and treatment to patients suffering from various forms of cancer.

30. Missionary Nurse

Travel the world to spread the word of God while providing nursing care. These nurses are usually go to impoverished countries, where they also provide health care to the communities they visit.

31. Traveling Nurse

Traveling nurses are called in for short periods of time, usually no more than three months, to areas where there is a shortage of nurses. The job is very demanding, but also very well paid. It is, however, not a job for those who have a family.

32. Inspirational Individuals

Every nurse has a little Florence Nightingale in her. Even if you work in the same nursing position for the rest of your life, you will have shown others that caring for other people is a positive thing to do, and you will influence others to do the same.

33. Charity Nurse

Provide relief during disasters, but you may also be focused on a specific health concern.

34. Urgent Care Nurse

Urgent care facilities are in place for those who require immediate medical help, but not from an urgent setting like a hospital, and also those who cannot go to their general physician for whatever reason. Urgent care nurses help them manage what ails them before discharging them the same day.

35. Rural Nurses

Rural nurses often perform many different roles at the same time. They work in underserved communities, where the general physician looks after everything from snake bites to cancer, and the rural nurse does the same.

36. Health Administration Nurse

This role is particularly suitable for those who completed an MSN/MBA in Health Administration. It allows you to walk away from the clinical side of the nursing profession, focusing instead on making sure that health care service is run properly.

37. Clinical Nurse Specialist

This is a specialization that nurses can obtain during their MSN program. Often, it requires further licensing and certification. You will usually also focus on a specific area of health care, such as gerontology.

38. Nurse Anesthetist

A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is someone with an MSN and further licensing and certification to assist the anesthetist during operations. You will also prepare patients before their procedure, and then help patients during recovery after surgery.

39. Family Nurse Practitioner

Help in maintaining the overall health of the family as a unit, instead of seeing everybody as an individual on their own.

40. Clinical Nurse Leader

Make sure that patient care quality is improved, including their safety outcomes.

41. Health Visitor

Work with mothers who have recently had a child and who have been discharged from midwife services. You will ensure that the baby develops properly and determine whether the mother is suffering from postnatal depression.

42. Licensed Nursing Facility Administrator

This will require further certification and licensing after completing your MSN. This health care facility administration role is often needed in nursing homes.

43. Paramedic

This is a stressful position that requires you to work long and unsociable hours, in which you will be confronted with many traumatic sights. However, it is also a very rewarding job and one in which you can feel like you have really made a difference.

44. Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse

Provide care and attention to those with mental health problems. The emphasis is less on clinical nursing, and more on providing emotional support.

45. Nursing Informatics Specialist

Manage the computer systems of health care settings through informatics. Jump to Why Get a Masters in Health Informatics.

46. Diabetes Management Nurse

Work specifically with people who have diabetes.

47. Nurse Midwife

Help women deliver their baby, while also providing antenatal care and some postnatal care, before handing over to the health visitor. Jump to  3 Online No GRE Nurse Midwife Degrees.

48. District Nurse

Manage community health nurses in a specific geographical area.

49. Occupational Health Nurse

Ensures that employees are able to do their job in an ergonomic, safe manner.

50. Blood Bank Nurse

You will generally not have to draw blood yourself, as this is done by the phlebotomy technician, but you will be responsible for testing the blood, storing it, and ensuring that it gets to the right place.