RN to MSN Programs in Indiana

Online RN to MSN Programs in Indiana

A number of Indiana universities now offer hybrid and 100% online RN to MSN programs, including public schools. Admissions requirements and concentrations vary, so have a look at the profiles in our school listings to see if you qualify. Here are a few more points we wanted to mention:

• Ball State University: To apply for BSU’s 100% online program, all students must reside in—and complete all clinical hours in—a state where the Ball State University School of Nursing is authorized to offer its programs. See the state authorizations page for details. What’s more, BSU’s online nursing programs are asynchronous—there are no specific log-in times and no live lectures. Instead, students complete weekly assignments, watch videos, and participate in group projects and discussion boards on their own time. There is a mandatory one-day campus orientation at the start of the program.
• IUPUI: Only some of IUPUI’s concentrations are offered online; the rest are delivered in a hybrid/blended format. Check each concentration page carefully to learn what campus components are included. For example, you’ll notice that the vast majority of MSN core courses are online, with occasional synchronous class sessions. But any concentration involving Advanced Physical Assessment is going to include 5 on-site lab days. And CNS and NP concentrations, in particular, tend to involve in-person sessions. Optional on-site learning activities may also available for some courses.
• Indiana Wesleyan University: Because the curriculum doesn’t involve NP or CNS training, IWU’s ASN-MSN is fully online, with practicums that can be completed in the student’s home state. Students are expected to arrange their own clinical experiences, but the Division of Graduate Nursing maintains a file of clinical sites used by students.

Cheapest RN to MSN Programs in Indiana

To come up with this ranking of the most affordable Indiana RN to MSN programs, we decided to compare graduate tuition rates. But take the top 3 with a grain of salt! Each program will have a different number of total credits, different fees, and different policies on transferring undergraduate credits. So budgets can vary widely.

Keep an eye on the fine print as well. For example, in the RN to MS program, BSU’s undergraduate credit hours are billed at the graduate rate. In contrast, IWU’s ASN-MSN program charges a separate (and lower) rate for undergraduate courses.

1. Ball State University: In-State (Out-of-State is comparable to private rates)—View Tuition Rates
2. IUPUI: In-State (Out-of-State is much, much higher)—View Tuition Rates
3. Indiana Wesleyan University: View Tuition Rates

Note: Interested in IUPUI but dreading the out-of-state rate? Bear in mind that IUPUI participates in the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP). This enables legal residents of Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin to enroll at IUPUI at a reduced cost. It’s not cheap, but it’s not super-expensive either.

Indiana’s Healthcare Landscape

Aspiring APRNs and nurse leaders in Indiana are guaranteed to encounter a wide range of challenges. And many of them have to do with chronic health problems:

• According to data from America’s Health Rankings and the National Center for Health Statistics, Indiana has a high prevalence of smoking; high rates of diabetes, chronic lower respiratory disease, kidney disease, and cancer deaths; and high rates of obesity in both youth and adults.
• It can be particularly tough in rural areas. Almost a quarter of the state’s population lives in one of Indiana’s 48 rural counties, and many of these inhabitants lack access to primary care, health insurance, and mental health facilities. In the U.S. Rural Health Report Card, Indiana often receives mediocre grades, especially for conditions like cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

The effects of the opioid crisis and the lack of substance abuse treatment and mental health services has been a particularly thorny problem for public health officials in the Rust Belt. In 2017, Indiana had a particularly high rate of drug overdose deaths (adjusted by population concentration).

• In response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been pumping millions of dollars in grant funding into Indiana in order to expand access to drug treatment programs and facilities.
• And in 2019, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) launched a loan repayment program to bring healthcare providers who specialize in mental health into Indiana’s rural communities. This may help to fill the gaps identified in the 2018 Indiana Primary Care Needs Assessment report from the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy.
• Other initiatives that are being tried in the state include increasing the availability of mobile health units, reducing infant mortality by improving access to care & quality of prenatal visits, and conducting more community health needs assessments.

In other words, newly qualified Indiana APRNs should have plenty of opportunities to make a difference, especially in primary care and PMHNP work.

Jobs for Indiana RN to MSN Graduates

Career Outlook for RN to MSN Graduates

You can get a good overlook at the job situation in Indiana by examining the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) pages for Nurse Practitioners and Nursing Instructors & Teachers, Postsecondary. We particularly like the job and wage maps on these pages—hover over a geographic area to see the precise data.

For instance, it will come as no surprise to current RNs that the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson metropolitan area is the state’s major healthcare hub.

• Thanks to all its universities and hospitals, the Indianapolis area employs around 35% of Indiana’s NPs and around 25% of its nursing instructors.
• Fort Wayne comes in a distant second, employing ~13% of the state’s NPs and 8% of its nursing instructors.
• Indianapolis is also where the best wages for both categories are to be found.

But Indianapolis and Fort Wayne aren’t your only options. A number of the hospitals listed in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the Best Hospitals in Indiana and the ANCC’s list of Magnet Facilities in Indiana are in cities of a smaller ilk.

We’re talking about names like IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Goshen Hospital, Elkhart General Hospital, and Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. In 2019, the IU Health Network stated that it had 300+ unfilled nursing positions available.

Anxious to help Indiana address its rural healthcare problems? You’ll be in good company! According to a recent ICN report, nearly half of Indiana’s APRNs work in outpatient clinics and ~38% of them have chosen to specialize in primary care. Yet counties like Crawford and Pike continue to experience low health workforce capacities. Keep in mind, too, that aspiring primary care NPs qualify for ISDH’s loan repayment program.

Career Resources for Future APRNs

Indiana Nursing Job Boards

• ISNA Career Center: Job listings for Indiana nurses, including NPs, nurse educators, and nurse leaders
• CAPNI Career Center: Job listings for Indiana APRNs

Indiana APRN Salary & Wage Data

• Annual Mean Wages for Indiana Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations: Categories can include “Nurse Practitioners,” “Nurse Midwives,” and “Nurse Anesthetists”
• Annual Mean Wages for Indiana Nursing Instructors & Teachers, Postsecondary
• AANP National Compensation Survey: Available to AANP members

Indiana Nursing Organizations

State Board of Nursing

• Indiana State Board of Nursing

Indiana Nursing Associations & Coalitions

• Coalition of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses of Indiana (CAPNI)
• Indiana Center for Nursing (ICN)
• Indiana Hospital Association (IHA)
• Indiana State Nurses Association (ISNA)
• National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN): Indiana Chapters
• National Black Nurses Association (NBNA): Indiana Chapters

Indiana Nursing Specialty Organizations

• American Psychiatric Nurses Association – Indiana Chapter (APNA Indiana)
• Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses – Indiana (AWHONN Indiana)
• Indiana Association of Nurse Anesthetists (INANA)
• Indiana Association of Nursing Students (IANS)
• Indiana Association of Occupational Health Nurses (IAOHN)
• Indiana Association of School Nurses (IASN)
• Indiana Emergency Nurses Association (Indiana ENA)
• Indiana Midwives Association (IMA)
• Indiana Organization of Nurse Executives (IONE)
• Indiana Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (INSPAN)