5 Key Courses in a Master’s in Nurse Administration Program

Updated August 4, 2020

Key Coursework of the Master's in Nurse Administration

Leadership and Management for Nurse Executives
Economics and Decision Making in Health Care
Health Care Law and Policy
Biopsychosocial Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice
Health Care Quality and Safety Management

If a Master's in Nurse Administration may be in your future, a look at some of the required courses of this program can always be helpful. While each school's exact courses and curriculum will vary to some extent, there are a number of classes one can count on taking in one form or another. The following five subjects represent some of those.

1. Leadership and Management for Nurse Executives

At the core of effective nursing operations in any medical facility is the qualified and capable leader. This is also the core of what nursing administration itself is all about. This course takes a focused look at how one can become an effective leader, concentrating on communication, conflict resolution and team building. This course will highlight the skills needed to lead a workforce of nurses in any environment.

2. Economics and Decision Making in Health Care

Another important part of the leadership role in nursing, as it is in so many other professions, is the financial side of operations. There exists a major trade-off with every decision made, especially in the medical industry. Quality versus quantity is just one of those common trade-offs in which real-life decisions can change or even save lives. This course concentrates on the financial and related decision-making skills of each up-and-coming nurse administrator.

3. Health Care Law and Policy

The Health Care Law and Policy course provides incredibly helpful insights into the dos and don'ts of nursing and medical practice where it intersects with laws and organizational policies. Operating within these frameworks is crucial and saves lives and the loss of entire medical practices due to mistakes. Here, one will learn about privacy law, insurance requirements, the penalties associated with infractions, strategies for staying legal and aligned with organizational policy, and much more.

4. Biopsychosocial Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice

The term "biopsychosocial" is a fairly new one that is meant to represent a concept of combined inference in the areas of biology, sociology, and psychology. As such, the Biopsychosocial Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice course will teach students about this important hybrid element of nursing today. This is a specialized course commonly found in the curriculum that specifically delves into holistic and institutional approaches in psychological patients and cases.

5. Health Care Quality and Safety Management

Finally, the Health Care Quality and Safety Management course will instill in the future nursing leader the values in quality of product, service, and method as well as the safety implications associated while on the job. Learn to not only look out for and prevent hazards to patients, but to yourself and other staff and visitors as well. Today's medical practice can become quite fast-paced at times, this course prepares the student to handle that pace safely while also effectively performing the core job at hand.

A Master's in Nurse Administration will prepare you for efficient, effective, and progressive leadership in today's nursing field. Coursework such as that listed here focuses on the set of needed skills in this profession. For those interested in finding out even more information about the courses, education, certifications, and careers in nurse administration, the American Organization of Nurse Executives is a provider of extensive resources all about this field.