Having a master’s degree in nursing practice opens the door for many different career opportunities. Some potential career paths in the nursing practice for a nurse holding a Master’s of Science in Nursing degree may include: Family nurse practitioner: Family nurse practitioners are APN’s who provide family-focused care. A nurse in this MSN family nurse practitioner role is able to develop treatment plans for acute and chronic illnesses, educate patients on disease prevention, conduct exams, perform diagnostics and screening evaluations, prescribe medications, and emphasize preventative care. Pediatric nurse practitioner: A pediatric nurse practitioner may work independently or with a healthcare organization to provide services such as well-child exams, childhood immunizations, routine developmental screenings, diagnostic and treatment of childhood illnesses, provide counseling to families on health-related issues and interrupt lab results. Nursing informatics specialist: Nurses working as an informatics specialist use their collegiate nursing education combined with information technology advanced practice nursing skills and apply them to patient care. Geriatric nurse practitioner: Gerontological nurse practitioners focus on serving the aging population. They often diagnose and treat age-related impairments such as blindness, hearing loss, dementia, and malnutrition. Gerontological nurse practitioners are able to order diagnostic tests, interrupt results, design, coordinate and manage patient care, prescribe medications and counsel patients and their families. Clinical nurse researcher: Clinical nurse researchers are vital to pharmaceutical and medical research. Using their clinical nurse education, they write proposals for grants, evaluate data and analyze large amounts of information. Psychiatric nurse practitioner: Psychiatric nurse practitioners treat patients with organic and functional psychiatric disorders. Working alongside other mental health professionals, psychiatric nurse practitioners use their leadership qualities and nursing education to treat disorders ranging from depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In order to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you must have a minimum of two years of nursing experience, 2,000 hours of clinical practice in a mental health setting and along with the clinical practice, you will be required to complete 30 hours of continuing nursing education in mental health every three years. Forensic nurse consultant: Forensic nursing merges the healthcare profession with the justice system. Forensic nurses perform a variety of roles including evaluating and caring for victims of assault and abuse, neglect and sexual crimes. While they treat the victims, forensic nurses collect the evidence and information needed for court. Forensic nurses may be asked to provide medical testimony in court. Forensic nurses can work in a variety of areas. While typically found in hospitals, they may also be available to work with non-profit organizations, be on call for law enforcement, teach community education classes or work in correctional facilities. Nurse ethicist: Solving ethical issues that arise in the science of nursing is an art in itself. Nurses in the career path weigh in on tough ethical issues such as quality of life decisions and capital punishment. Using their nursing education, nurse ethicists work on interdisciplinary teams to solve ethical issues that require careful conversation and research. Nurse educator: Nurse educators shape the next generation of nurses. Educators develop lesson plans, supervise students’ clinical practice, and serve as mentors to students. Many educators are able to teach nursing education classes and work in a career path, caring for patients. Legal nurse consultant: Nurses who specialize in law, either as a consultant or lawyer understand the ins and outs of many legal cases. A legal nurse consultant helps provide insight on evidence and medical records to law professionals.