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The Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Nursing: Nursing Leadership in Health Care Systems is designed for experienced nurses who have previously earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and are looking to potentially move their career in a new direction. This degree offers you the opportunity to build cross-functional business management skills and leadership competencies within the field.
The MSN-MBA dual degree guides you through development of advanced management skills for the healthcare field. The coursework reinforces the respect of human dignity and allows you to work toward advancing the common good through healthcare. Previous skills in nursing are combined with opportunities to acquire new skills in business and management to provide you with the foundation for a potential career in leadership or entrepreneurship.
GCU offers you industry-aligned, graduate-level nursing leadership education. This dual MSN-MBA degree is designed to provide working nurses with a foundation that can enable them to prioritize patient outcomes and health and safety while simultaneously being mindful of the business side of healthcare and how best to implement forward-looking business solutions.
Together with the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, the Colangelo College of Business believes in these three aspects of how business affects the greater good:
Earn Your MSN-MBA Dual Degree Online1
Working nurses are typically busy individuals who must juggle a full work schedule. GCU strives to make higher education as accessible as possible. You can earn your MSN-MBA online,1 fitting online learning and coursework around your schedule. The online leadership in healthcare courses provide the same quality of instruction and interactive engagement opportunities as our on-campus classes.
This MSN-MBA program includes a practicum course, which offers you the opportunity to apply what you have been taught to a contemporary, nursing leadership-related direct practicum placement at a local healthcare site. This practicum experience encourages the application of deep nursing knowledge, along with advanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Leadership projects range from quality/performance improvement to mentorship/coaching to interdisciplinary relationships or staff development.
Coursework in the MSN-MBA dual degree emphasizes the importance of leadership and motivation within both the business and healthcare worlds. You will be expected to model professional leadership behaviors that motivate and inspire employees to work toward healthcare excellence and better patient outcomes.
This MSN-MBA program can help you prepare yourself to pursue possible executive positions in healthcare that rely upon advanced business strategies and healthcare management best practices. The business and healthcare competencies taught in this MSN-MBA program may empower professionals to work toward making healthcare more accessible and to improve patient safety and outcomes. You have the potential to become an advocate who strives to improve the quality of healthcare for varied populations.
There are many potential career paths for those interested in leadership in healthcare, including:
Clinical administrator
Nursing supervisor
Chief nursing officer (CNO)
Head of patient services
Chief executive officer of healthcare-related organizations
Positions integrating health policies into the design of healthcare
Working for or starting a healthcare company
Estimated job growth for medical and health services managers from 2022 to 20322
Estimated median annual wage for medical and health services managers as of May 20223
GCU is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, emphasizing the quality of our instruction and in-depth, comprehensive nature of our curriculum. As a Lope, you can enjoy the confidence that comes from knowing you’re receiving an education at a school that has been institutionally accredited since 1968.
Select states may have additional requirements to meet their standards; reference the enrollment agreement or contact GCU for more information. For more information on the accreditation of nursing programs and other university approvals, please visit our University Accreditation and Regulations page.
Before making an enrollment decision that may affect your future career, you may wish to learn more about leadership in healthcare and earning an MSN-MBA online.1 Use the following FAQs and answers as a starting point for your research.
The MSN-MBA program requires a total of 74 credits for completion. Most courses are eight weeks in length, with a 16-week practicum. To better understand how long it might take to earn your degree, fill out the form on this page and request a consultation with a university counselor.
This dual degree could be a fit for nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree and want to be taught financial, organizational and administrative skills in order to pursue careers on the business side of healthcare. This degree can also be a good option for nurses who are passionate about effecting change on a departmental or organization-wide scale so that patients can receive the best possible care and healthcare organizations can thrive. There are different job titles that a graduate might pursue. However, job growth for medical and health services managers is on track to grow by an estimated 28% from 2022 to 2032, accounting for an estimated increase of 144,700 jobs in the field, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).2
The nursing leadership in healthcare courses may prepare you to take certification exams from the ANCC. However, the ANCC has other eligibility requirements that you must meet before you can sit for credentialing exams. These requirements can vary from one certification to the next.
For example, to be eligible to sit for the Nurse Executive Certification (NE-BC®), you must meet the following requirements:4
Pursue your purpose in healthcare leadership and enhance your career qualifications. Fill out the form on this page to learn more about earning your MSN-MBA dual degree online at GCU.1
1
Clinical, practicum and immersion hours completed locally.
2 COVID-19 has adversely affected the global economy and data from 2020 to 2022 may be atypical compared to prior years. Accordingly, data shown is effective 2022, which can be found here: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Medical and Health Services Managers, retrieved Oct. 19, 2023
3 The earnings referenced were reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”), Medical and Health Services Managers as of May 2022, retrieved on Oct. 19, 2023. Due to COVID-19, data from 2020-2022 may be atypical compared to prior years. BLS calculates the median using salaries of workers nationwide with varying levels of education and experience. It does not reflect the earnings of GCU graduates as medical and health services managers, nor does it reflect earnings of workers in one city or region of the country, or a typical entry-level salary. Median income is the statistical midpoint for the range of salaries in a specific occupation. It represents what you would earn if you were paid more money than half the workers in an occupation, and less than half the workers in an occupation. It may give you a basis to estimate what you might earn at some point if you enter this career. Grand Canyon University can make no guarantees on individual graduates’ salaries. Your employability will be determined by numerous factors over which GCU has no control, such as the employer the graduate chooses to apply to, the graduate’s experience level, individual characteristics, skills, etc. against a pool of candidates.
4American Nurses Credentialing Center. (n.d.). Nurse Executive Certification (NE-BC®). Retrieved Oct. 19, 2023.
Online: $665 per credit [More Info]
Up to 12 credits or 1/3 of the total program requirements in transfer (whichever is less)
Credits: Fill out the Lopes Eval to find out what will transfer
Admission Requirements (Master's)
OR 2.5+ Unweighted GPA and
Admission requirements may differ based on degree level, program and modality, or transfer status. Some programs of study may require a higher GPA and/or other qualifying criteria for admission. Please review full admission and program requirements in the University Policy Handbook.
* Degree must be from an accredited college or program that has been approved by GCU.
** Combined verbal/quantitative, after August 2011 (1,000 combined verbal and quantitative, prior to August 2011).
