There are several pathways for nurses who want to study and work in the business aspect of nursing.
Even if you are interested in an entry-level administrative position in nursing, you will need to have at least a BSN degree.
The nurse manager is the most common area nurses want to specialize in and the first step toward your administrative career in nursing.
As a nurse manager, you will lead different staff in your hospital or clinic work setting and report to the upper management.
Those are directors or nurse executives in the majority of hospitals.
The job duties of nurse managers are day-to-day operations related to clinical area and staff, budget, personal issues.
Nurse managers can take care of patients as well, but the majority of their work shifts, they deal with nursing administration.
Next, you can develop a career in nursing as a nurse administrator.
The position of a nurse administrator is a higher-level leadership role.
Therefore, to be admitted to this position, you will have to have a Master’s degree.
In every healthcare work environment, there are nurse administrators and the hospital, clinics, nursing care facilities that cannot operate without them.
Nurse administrators have even less contact with patients than nurse managers.
Very often, their only direct contact with patients is when dealing with complaints and issues.
The important part of nurse administrators is recruiting and hiring new staff, developing inner procedures and policies, as well as managing the budget.
If you are a nurse and you want to pursue a career in business, you can become a nurse executive.
However, a nurse executive is one of the highest leadership positions for nurses and you will need lots of experience in administrative nursing to be considered for the hob.
People often talk about nurse executives as directors, and they are responsible for maintaining and completing the overall mission of the healthcare organization.
The minimum educational requirement is MSN degree, but some healthcare facilities admit only candidates with a dual MSN/MBA degree.
Every hospital, health agency, and organization, as well as nursing home, need a nurse executive to be able to operate without issues.
Also, nurse executives can work as consultants.
The role of the nurse executive means the smallest percentage of direct patient contact.
Some of the activities nurse executives perform are planing the budget, developing plans and strategies, working with other team members, improving efficiency, etc.
Nowadays, you can work as a nurse informaticist.
The role of nurse informaticist is to help develop complex electronic systems that will maintain patient data securely and help in the patient care outcome.
For example, a nurse informaticist may improve electronic order entries, medication records, patient progress notes, etc.
The role of a nurse informaticist is highly important because the proper data storing system improves the efficiency of all healthcare team member, which lead to better patient care and fewer delays.
When electronic medical records are thorough and accessible easily, it can reduce medication errors.
To be employed at the position of a nurse informaticist, you must have at least a bachelor’s degree.
Nurse informaticists sometimes have direct patient contact and take care of him, and sometimes don’t.
Having a background in IT technologies may help you to get the job and do it better.
The nursing field is rewarding on all levels and roles, and there are hundreds of careers you can choose.
There are also excellent promotion possibilities for the most committed nurses.