Earning your Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) and your Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) together makes a lot of sense. Both of these degree programs involve helping people to achieve positive health outcomes in their lives and in their communities. Having a strong nursing background will help you to understand how to help people recover from various illnesses and diseases, while having your MPH will teach you how to help prevent diseases and illnesses from occurring in the first place at the community level.
There is no doubt that a career in both public health and nursing is a promising and rewarding one. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that nursing jobs will increase by 26% by 2020. This is because there is a good deal of growth in technology so there are more health problems to be treated, and there also is a stronger emphasis on preventive care, which ties directly into having a strong public health background.
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Kathy Dayvault, MPH student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, talks about her experience as a distance education student studying occupational health nursing.
BLS also states that the career path for medical and health service managers is strong, which encompasses professionals with a nursing and public health background. It is expected that employment for medical and health service managers will increase by 22% by 2020.
Universities
Some of the most recommended dual MPH/MSN degree programs include these:
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University of Pennsylvania – In this leading MSN/MPH program, you can earn your MSN in Health Leadership and your MPH at the same time. You will be able to focus your MPH studies in several areas, such as administration and policy, environmental health, biostatistics and epidemiology.
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Johns Hopkins University – This program will inspire you to provide top nursing services in needy community settings. This advanced dual degree will teach you the advanced master of both nursing practice and theory, from a population based and multidisciplinary point of view.
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Emory University – This program, which is located near the offices of the CDC and the American Cancer society in Atlanta, is designed for the nurse that wants to boost their skills in community and public health prevention as well as clinical nursing.
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Thomas Jefferson University – This is a new program that integrates highly advanced practice nursing and public health research and advanced practice. The MPH builds upon advance practice nursing with classes in policy advocacy, epidemiology, biostatistics, data analysis and environmental health.
Curriculum
In your dual degree program, you will need to become highly proficient in all key aspects of public health and nursing. The exact classes that you will take will depend upon which program you choose, but you can bet on taking classes similar to these:
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Principles and Methods of Epidemiology
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Biostatistics Introduction
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Environmental and Occupational Health
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Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health
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Public Health Administration
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Health Systems Analysis
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Current Issues in Health and Social Policy
Salaries and Careers
As the holder of a dual MSN/MPH degree, you will have the experience and credentials to direct and manage many public health organizations, provide care to communities and schools at risk, and speak on behalf of communities in public health crisis.
The median pay for nurses is $64,000, according to BLS. However, note that the top 10% earn more than $95,000 per year. This is typically the type of nursing professional who holds an MSN and often works in administration and management.
Nursing salaries vary somewhat by the type of institution:
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Medical and surgical hospitals: $66,500
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Doctors’ offices: $62,800
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Home health services; $60,900
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Nursing homes: $58,000
Medical and health managers, who often work in areas of nursing and public health, earn a median wage of $84,000, according to BLS. The top 10% earn more than $140,000 per year.
Salary ranges for various types of advanced nursing professional with an MSN include:
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Director of Nursing: $74,500
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Nurse Practitioner: $73,200
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Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner: $71,000
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Family Nurse Practitioner: $77,400
