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University of Phoenix has an online RN to BSN option which can be followed by an online MSN program in one of several fields. Specialization choices include an MSN in Informatics, a field not taught in most MSN programs, and an MSN in Health Education. There is a general MSN option and two joint degrees including the MSN/MBA and the MSN/MHA.

Joint MSN MPH

This is one of two popular joint degree options that have grown in recent years.  Public health requirements and integrated health systems that meet them have required increasing levels of training for the people who manage them.  Both the Masters of Public Health (MPH) and the Masters of Health Administration (MHA) can combine with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) to transform a trained nurse into an extremely skilled senior manager.

Purpose

The MSN/MPH degree is a good choice for nurses who are interested in healthcare policymaking.  Public health management extends far beyond the county hospitals, trauma centers and clinics that are the front line service providers.  The two programs meet in the area of epidemiology; course requirements will include an introduction to biostatistics, the use of statistics in public health, and the role of epidemiology in overall policy and the all-important task of annual budget development.

There is also an established advanced-practice nursing specialty in Public Health Nursing, which with the addition of an MPH creates the credentials for management-level positions in those facilities requiring medical day-to-day oversight.  That sort of function is one of the reasons you’ll find MDs enrolled in MPH programs.

Admissions

Universities that offer joint degrees or dual degrees usually require that applicants apply to both schools involved in the collaborative academic effort.  Applicants for an MPH program will need a bachelor’s degree although it need not be in a public health field or even medically-related.  There will be some undergraduate course requirements such as one semester of college level calculus or algebra.  Most MPH programs also require some work experience in the health field.

Some schools have designed a unique program that incorporates core courses from each discipline and allows the student to select electives based on the field of interest.  Johns Hopkins has done this with a streamlined program that takes eighteen months of full time study to complete.

Careers

In many of these programs students emerge with the ability to meet certification requirements for Clinical Nurse Leader.  That credential can lead to management opportunities in the public health sector that are administrative in nature.  This particular credential is focused on patient safety.  Since meeting quality standards in public health delivery is an ongoing issue nurses with this credential and an MPH may find new job roles opening up.

Public health policy is also formatted in county and state administrative offices – places far removed from health services delivery, but places where knowledgeable health services experts can have a substantial impact nonetheless.