Acute Care NP stress

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Jul 10, 2015

I'd have to say that the biggest obstacles I had to face while in school was keeping up with pace of the clinically-focused lectures. I thought Advanced Pathophysiology was too large of a material to cover in a single semester. Many times, we jumped from one system to the next each weekly session (granted the sessions were like 5 or 6 hours each time). I didn't have the same problem with Pharmacology. I thought the Advanced Physical Assessment class was lacking in actual diagnostic skill training.

The formal Acute Care lecture sequence on my second year consisted of 3 semester of system-based classroom sessions. The lectures were a mixed bag - some were good some could be improved. I felt like some didn't delve deeper into the material maybe for lack of time or poor lecturer selection. These may not sound like obstacles but it does affect learning and adequate preparation in the role.

On the other hand, I loved the clinicals. I didn't have to find my own preceptors but I had input on who I wanted to precept me based on an existing pool of approved sites. Students tend to chat among themselves and names get thrown around as to which sites are great so in that regard, some aggressiveness on the student's part could help in getting first dibs on sites with good reputation for teaching. I think I did well there and had great experiences in the clinical setting. I dropped to part time at work during the second year and my nurse manager was flexible with my schedule so I managed to make it work but it was tiring nonetheless juggling a job and school.

Cost of schooling can be tough. I managed to score some tuition assistance from work (not great but helped) and received half of my total tuition from a HRSA Advanced Nursing Education Traineeship which I doubt is offered for ACNP students as much nowadays as many grants now prefer primary care based tracks in underserved areas.

JDLC, ACNP Class of 2003

tubbywumbkins · Jul 13, 2015

I appreciate your time in answering my question. What I've assumed from your reply it would seem that no matter if the program is online or in person the greatest learning is in your clinical experiences. I wish there was a way to rate these prgrams based on the quality of preceptors (including experience) and clinical sites. Also, the patho class in my program is also 1 semester long so I know I will have to really discipline myself in creating study time. The advantage I have is that I'm completing my program as a part time student. Were you ever discouraged by your clinical sites i.e., wished you opportunities to learn more practical skills?

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Jul 13, 2015

Were you ever discouraged by your clinical sites i.e., wished you opportunities to learn more practical skills?

It could certainly help more if I had spent more time in each site though there are some parts where I felt like one or two days there would have been enough (i.e., COPD clinic during Pulm rotation, chest pain unit during ED rotation). It all depends on the kinds of rotations you get. Some classmates had bad experiences and in some sites, I heard providers openly say negative things about students (though I'm glad I did get positive feedback from that same site).