Top Mississippi MSN Degree Programs + Online Options

A lack of qualified nurses continues to strain healthcare services across the nation, especially in the Magnolia State. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, the state ranks last for healthcare access and outcomes. Nurses in Mississippi can positively impact a state that critically needs educated healthcare workers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 6.1% increase of registered nurses (1,980 new positions) and 7.1% increase (260 new jobs) of nurse practitioners in Mississippi from 2018-28. However, this rapid growth still falls short of the state’s demand for new nurses.

The need for trained nurses continues to grow, especially as nursing schools across the country struggle to find qualified faculty and nursing educators.

Online nursing programs cannot meet the demand of new applicants, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Nursing educators continue to retire faster than schools can train their replacements. To address the problem, nursing students could receive monetary incentives to become nurse educators or higher salaries once they graduate.

Read on to learn more about the top online nursing programs in Mississippi, career options for graduates, and what nurses in the state can expect to earn.

As in other healthcare fields, nurses need a graduate degree to remain competitive in the workforce. Nurses who hold a master’s degree or doctorate are more successful at finding high-paying jobs after graduation.

Thees online nursing programs in Mississippi prepare candidates to become nurse educators, nurse practitioners, and nurse administrators. These programs offer flexible graduate courses for licensed nurses.

While all online nursing programs in Mississippi maintain slightly different admission requirements, most require applicants to hold at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a valid RN license.

A graduate degree has become a necessity in nursing, especially for nurse practitioners (NPs). An increasingly popular occupation, some 3,390 NPs work in Mississippi, with 200,600 employed nationwide. These practitioners work primarily in physicians’ offices, general medical and surgical hospitals, and outpatient care centers. The BLS projects jobs for NPs in Mississippi to increase by 7.1% from 2019-29, below the national average of 28.2%.

The average salary for an NPs hinges on variables, such as professional experience level and workplace. NPs in Mississippi make a mean annual income of $110,740, compared to the national mean annual wage of $111,840.

Earnings fluctuate depending on if an NP works in a metropolitan or rural location. Employers in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, earn a mean annual wage of $130,360, above the national average.