Are there any NPs who could answer a few questions for me?

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Good evening!!

I'm currently an RN student and would someday like to get my MSN as an advanced practitioner. One of our assignments for school is to do a very informal "interview" with someone in the field that we'd like to get into. Is there an NP who has a couple minutes to answer a few questions for me? I'd really appreciate it!! Thanks in advance :cat:

What is your job title?

What are your responsibilities at your job?

How do you see your role in the healthcare team that provides care for their patient population?

What made you decide to work in your field?

What was the preparation for you job?

Best part of your job?

Worst part of your job?

What advice would you give someone starting out in your field?

Specializes in ER, PCU, UCC, Observation medicine.

What is your job title?

NP in an ER observation Unit

What are your responsibilities at your job?

conduct H&P, order any necessary labs/imaging (and interpret said testing), provide treatment, if necessary consult specialists, and discharge patients once stable and ready with prescriptions.

How do you see your role in the healthcare team that provides care for their patient population?

I'm an asset that is irreplaceable. Any NP at my job site is. We have 100% autonomy, our physicians trust us. Heck, half the time the docs don't even know they are on call for us.

What made you decide to work in your field?

I like being in charge. I do not like having a boss. I also do not like following someone else's plan of care. I like the fact that I help reduce the overall cost of healthcare. I'm highly against unnecessary testing and imaging solely on the purpose of CYA. I've met lots of providers who are afraid to discharge patients because (insert reason here). I on the other hand try to be conservative and do as little testing as I can and still achieve successful outcomes ( I'm proud to say my decisions in healthcare have never led to the harm or death of any patient!)

What was the preparation for your job?

Besides my NP program and RN experience, I constantly read up to date. Read it before to help prepare and read it during your job to have the information fresh in your head.

Best part of your job?

Autonomy. Salary. It's fun. I get free food.

Worst part of your job?

1. Work 2/4 weekends, holidays, 12 hour shifts.

2. Having to clean up a very crappy ER workup for certain things. There is a PA I dislike working with because she is just not good, sadly.

3. Also, I hate when ED admits things that can easily go home and I have to waste my time doing H&P and occupy a bed that could be better utilized with someone who is actually ill.

What advice would you give someone starting out in your field?

Be a sponge. Absorb every kind of relevant information you can. Please ask questions. Don't pretend to know things when someone is explaining stuff to you. Act confident in front of your patient. Prepare how you will respond, what you will say in certain circumstances; impending death, cancer diagnosis, or other devestating issues. Spend time with your family, don't let your new job consume your social life. Start planning for CMEs, conferences, and network with other NPs. You have a very valuable education and license. Do not be taken advantage of.

Thank you so much!! It sounds like you're in a state where NPs have full autonomy...that's really the only thing that makes me question the NP path. Where I currently live, NPs have full autonomy, but my husband and I plan to move in 2 years to a state where NPs have a much more limited scope of practice. Hopefully legislators will smarten up nationwide on that issue! Anyway, thank you so much for your help! :)

Specializes in Adult Gerontology.

What is your job title?

Nurse Practitioner in an alternative medicine clinic

What are your responsibilities at your job?

Conduct H&P, review medical records, suggest alternative treatments refer PRN

How do you see your role in the healthcare team that provides care for their patient population?

I have autonomy in this position as it's very benign, meaning no prescribing and they are not here for a diagnosis. The psychosocial skills, critical thinking and coaching skills I bring to the practice are invaluable and quite different from the role of MD.

What made you decide to work in your field?

I worked as an RN and wanted more autonomy. I prefer working with an adult population and chose Adult/gero, which offers a wide age range beginning at 13. I knew I wanted a career that left me feeling proud of what I do and I make a difference every day in the lives of some who may feel they had no other options.

What was the preparation for your job?

MSN/NP program and constant reading of medical journals and other reference material such as up-to-date online. There is not a day that goes by when I don't learn from patients and there are many cases of diseases or disorders that I need to look up as I've never heard of them. Always learning!

Best part of your job?

[COLOR=#000000]Patients are the best part of my job. I love when tears follow hugs at the end of the visit!! There is nothing better than knowing you've helped make someone feel heard or understood and are able to steer them in the right direction or give them hope.

Worst part of your job?

1. I have a tough commute. On a 'bad' day it can take up to 1.5 hours to get home.

2. Patients often show up late and I have to make the time up somewhere. That can mean I skip lunch or shave a few minutes off someone else's appointment.

3. I rely on a front desk staff to book my schedule a certain way so I can do my job timely and efficiently, often that does not happen. Also, I rely on them to remind patient's to bring medical records for review and to show up early to fill out paperwork, which does not typically happen.

What advice would you give someone starting out in your field?

Expect a really big learning curve when you get out of school and know that others expect this as well. We all learn throughout our career so don't be afraid to ask questions of others as well as the patient's themselves, who are many times experts in their condition. You can be an unskilled clinician with really good psychosocial skills and change lives for the positive. Never stop learning, reading, attending conferences, networking with other NPs. Your license can take you in many directions and there are many avenues to explore...finding your passion may not be in your first, second or third job. Think before you sign a contract of employment. Don't take something just because you're desperate...something more in line with your goals will come up. Take the time to write down your 'ideal' situation and work toward it. Be kind to yourself and know that you may make mistakes, use them as a tool for learning.

What is your job title?

medical student now/previous np a year ago

What are your responsibilities at your job?

running codes, doing h and ps, taking call, ordering testss, etc.

How do you see your role in the healthcare team that provides care for their patient population?

as an np- save docs from doing stuff they didnt want to do, but it wasnt that bad. had full autonomy at previous job and pretty good pay taking call for hospital patients and doing admission h and ps

What made you decide to work in your field?

clinic is boring. hospital more fun. i like 12 hour shifts

What was the preparation for you job?

6 week orientation post np school

Best part of your job?

having full autonomy, managing icu patients was pretty fun

Worst part of your job?

the patient load was high. made much less than the physicians still

What advice would you give someone starting out in your field?

if you can hack it go to med school instead, greater reward in the end. np is still a good role though, at least for now until all the 500000 other np wanna be's graduate and lower our salary to that of rn wages.

everybody and their mothers sister wants to be an np so yeah will be saturated soon.

Specializes in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine.

What is your job title?

Adult Nurse Practitioner.

What are your responsibilities at your job?

I work with a company that places nurse practitioners in nursing homes to manage medical issues/day to day problems of people signed up for a specific health insurance plan. I see the same group of people every month and call the families/HCPs and provide monthly updates. I see people more often as needed. I coordinate medical care. The attending still sees them every 60 days, but I'm the one there every day.

How do you see your role in the healthcare team that provides care for their patient population?

I'm the go to medical person. If I need assistance, I call the attending. I coordinate the medical care, collaborate with nursing, nutrition, therapy, etc. I'm the day to day in the building person for my residents.

What made you decide to work in your field?

I like getting to know my residents. I like the challenge of managing chronic medical conditions and working with acute issues as they come up. I also believe that the model (treat in place) is a great model for anyone--people tend to do better in their own environments.

What was the preparation for you job?

I have an MSN in adult health. I'm a board certified nurse practitioner. I worked for 4 years prior to this job first in acute care then in a geriatrics clinic. I spent 6 weeks orienting before they even let me out in the field on my own.

Best part of your job?

The people.

Worst part of your job?

The technology. Technology is getting better. My company is updating everything because we're all telecommuters.

What advice would you give someone starting out in your field?

Be kind to yourself. You'll make mistakes. You can't know everything. Know when to get help. Know where to look things up. The first 6 months are the worst. It gets easier after that. Don't stay where you hate going into work. It's not worth it. Life is too short. There's a lot of options out there--find one you can be passionate about. Do your continuing ed over the 5 years you'll have to do a recert. Don't cram it into one year or 6 months. It will make you nuts. There's lots of us out here--ask questions, bounce ideas off of us. No question is a dumb one if you ask it. It's only dumb if you don't.

Specializes in ER, PCU, UCC, Observation medicine.
Thank you so much!! It sounds like you're in a state where NPs have full autonomy...that's really the only thing that makes me question the NP path. Where I currently live, NPs have full autonomy, but my husband and I plan to move in 2 years to a state where NPs have a much more limited scope of practice. Hopefully legislators will smarten up nationwide on that issue! Anyway, thank you so much for your help! :)

I cannot practice independently. However, I have spent a fair amount of time with my attending physicians that they merely just sign my charts without ever really going over anything. I will always run stuff by them when I get stumped which isn't often.

Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Emergency.
What is your job title?

NP in an ER observation Unit

What is your certification? FNP? AGACNP? Dual-certified? Post-masters certs? Any thoughts on ENP programs vs FNP with ENP cert?

Specializes in ER, PCU, UCC, Observation medicine.
What is your certification? FNP? AGACNP? Dual-certified? Post-masters certs? Any thoughts on ENP programs vs FNP with ENP cert?

I have my FNP. The company I work with has over 50 NPs and I only know maybe 2-3 that have their ACNP or ENP and honestly everyone else is FNP. The hospital system I work in recognizes FNP and allows them to work in ER. So in my case I don't see it necessary to have ENP cert.

I am nurse student but would like to shadow a NP. Any advice to work as a medical scriber? My goal is to see health care in a different angle, learn about documentation, analyze differential diagnosis and how physicians think. Thank you.

PS I am reading a Clinical biochemistry book. I love it! helps to connect physiology/patho

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