I am so excited to be blogging here at Masters in Nursing! When the offer was presented, I deliberated with due diligence and deep thought…for about two seconds! Accepting this opportunity just made sense. Here I am, one year post-BSN, looking for a masters program in nursing and I can blog my way through the journey!  I’d have been crazy not to jump at the chance!

If you are reading this blog, you are probably searching for the same programs I am. And, if you know what area you want to focus on in your MSN program, you are way ahead of me! Thirty-two years in the nursing profession, and I am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I “grow up”.

So, this blog will be about our search – our search for a masters degree in nursing. Along the way, I’ll muse about why we want an MSN, what we can do with the degree, different sources of funding, how to fit the actual “work” of education into our lifestyles. We’ll look at what an MSN will mean for our careers and what doors it will open. I’ll reveal the mistakes I’ve made in my journey towards a graduate education (listen and learn, folks, I might save you some time and heartache).

I know my outlook on what it means to have an MSN has expanded dramatically since graduating with my BSN.  I am embarrassed  to admit that I thought, at first, that if you were going for an MSN, it was because you wanted to teach,  go into hospital management, or become a nurse practitioner.  Whatever you chose, it would mean a definite move away from the bedside. This was a false assumption, as I have many colleagues who have remained at the bedside involved in direct patient care after obtaining their MSN.  I found that comforting because as burnt out as I thought I was with direct patient care, I realized I didn’t really want to leave it behind.

I can tell you this: if you are on the fence about  going back to school – just do it! There are no downsides to advancing your education. None. Yes, it takes time, energy and money, but it is doable! Forget everything you ever knew about nursing education, this is not your old nursing school.  It’s the 21st century, online education is here, and today it’s all about how classes fit your life, not the other way around. That’s not lip service, that is reality. I’m a pro at online education, I lived it for three years. It’s the best thing ever!

So, the blog begins! What will really make this blog a great blog is your feedback. I need to know what YOU want to know. What are you finding as you search for your MSN program? What do you need that you are not finding? Questions? Comments – good, bad, I want to know what you think!  All responses to the blog can be sent to me via the Twitter hashtag #MINchat.

Thanks for reading! Keep me posted on your search!