Nursing is the profession of providing high quality health care to sick individuals by practitioners who are clinically qualified, licensed and recognized by registry as nurses. Nurses should have clinical reasoning coupled with critical analysis for decision-making based on evidence presented to them and the ability to persuade other persons of the authenticity of these decisions.
A master’s degree program completion is within a period of 18 to 24 months. A gradual and continual process of learning is required towards attaining a master’s degree. During the course, a nurse is capable of specializing in any field, such as, advanced clinical training or research. Past research has shown that attaining a master’s degree in nursing enhances research skills, such as, critical analysis, augmentation of clinical practice, use of research in relation to work, partaking in research, ability to appraise complex scenarios and to strategize on ways to resolve certain issues.
The path towards a master’s degree begins with a one-year traineeship at a hospital where one attains a diploma and becomes a licensed practical nurse. A further career advancement will lead to attaining an associate’s degree within a period of two years where one becomes a registered nurse. Graduates interested to continue towards attaining a bachelor of science in nursing can do so within a period of four academic semesters after qualification of an associate’s degree.
Graduates who have qualified as registered nurses, can further their career development towards attaining a master’s degree in nursing once they have met certain requirements, these include, a
bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA. Joint degree programs are also available, which include a master’s degree in nursing with a master’s in health administration, master’s degree in nursing with a master’s in public health and a master’s degree in nursing with a master’s in business administration. Masters programmes enable a student to attain a wide range of professional skills and the ability to deal with an increasing demand and diverse health care.