What are all the professional options for a Registered Nurse looking for an advanced degree?
Asked by freaknyea
What are all the professional options for a Registered Nurse looking for an advanced degree? Degree options, professional options, professional life, salary, etc. Please be specific. Thank you.

Best Answer:
You can take a graduate degree program in any one of the following: Nurse Practitioner - many different specialties, from Adult NP, Geriatric NP, Pediatric NP, Women's Health NP, Neonatal NP, Family NP, etc. With this certification you are rather independent and function as a primary caregiver and in some cases have authority to write prescriptions for your patients, but you are still in association with an MD. Salaries can start around $70k per year and go up from there. Work primarily in a clinic setting but may also work in hospitals and round on patients there. Leadership and Management - a good graduate degree for people interested in moving away from direct patient care and into managment and administrative positions. Salaries vary, but have potential to make 6 figures in high-up positions in larger facilities. Certified Nurse Midwife - specialized in women's reproductive health, especially during pregnancy. Salary starts around $70k. Work in a clinic, have on-calls at the hospital anywhere from once or twice per week but could be less. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist - VERY competative field to get into, school is very demanding too and you really cannot work while in the program. Once you graduate, you make a starting salary of around $100k per year. Would work a combination of scheduled hospital hours and on-calls. Nursing Education - can work as a college professor in a nursing program, or work for a hospital or other facility providing training and mandatory education and creating orientation programs for new RNs and new hire RNs. Salaries vary, but generally you can expect to make $60k and up. Clinical Nurse Specialist - similar to a Nurse Practitioner, but focuses in a certain specialty area like cardiology or perinatology rather than focusing on a specific patient population like geriatrics or women's health. Salaries are probably comparable to NPs. All graduate programs are not offered at every school, so you often have to really research to find a school that offers the track you want. Many graduate programs are offered online, which helps if there is no program in your area. They usually take 2-3 years of full-time study. Hope that helps!

When I was in nursing school I considered becoming a nurse/anesthetist. It's a 2 year advanced program and starting salary is around $90,000 that very quickly jumps up in the 6 digits.
Answered by A.J.