Going for a MD program from FNP

Specialties Advanced

Published

Hi, Nurses:

I am applying for MD school after completing my FNP as I am not really impressed with quality of certification in FNP. The AANP review board are more with nurses, and I wish they had M.D. in nursing board. When I took my FNP courses, I had few instructors who were M.D. and I really fared well in those courses. So after completing the FNP program, I realize that I fit well in M.D. group rather than DNP/Nurses group.

Please suggest what school should I go in US or Caribbean.

Elkpark beat me to it.

I do not plan on practicing under the guise of being a doctor, whether I get a DNP down the road or not. I don't necessarily feel the need to do the nursing song and dance that we practice something ENTIRELY different and non-medical as NPs (there is overlap and we are performing similar, sometimes identical, functions for our patients), but we do have a different pathway that has been validated by many years of successful practice as part of the healthcare team. If I have a patient who wishes me to justify my training, I may give them some basic education but beyond that they are free to seek an MD. To fill a "gap" in training seems odd - if we make NP training into MD training then what's the point of having NP training?

My feeling is, I will likely be taking more of the bread and butter patients in a practice so the MD can use their refined expertise to take on more complex cases. This will depend on the setting, the specialty, the patient population, etc. But really, lots of this will be on-the-job training. I see practicing newer MDs on a daily basis that don't know quite what they're doing. Med school doesn't really prepare them for practice - their residency and further experience does. For the NP, it's the clinical and the practice in their initial jobs. I am confident I will be able to care for my patients adequately once I get over my novice period. In some cases, maybe even better, as I don't believe I know everything or ever will - I will continue to learn, research, update my EBM, and respond to my patients' outcomes and needs.

Why so much ire directed towards the very program you just completed? Well, not just the program as you may have justified reasons for being disappointed in it, but the profession as a whole? I'm puzzled that you chose an NP program if you feel it's inherently inadequate. I personally feel NP training is far from perfect, but it provides a practical way for me to advance my skills and care for my patients. My abilities as a provider will be founded on my schooling, but developed by continued mentoring and self-study as I move into practice.

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Hello NPjh,

May I ask which program you attended? I am researching schools and would like to have the best experience possible.

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As a perspective NP applicant, all of this is making me feel discouraged. I had doubts about becoming a RN and after graduation I had realized I made a mistake. Now, I fear making the same mistake all over again.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Family Practice.

If your goal is to be as close to a physician as you can without putting in all of the "hard work" then a NP track is not for you. If you love what you do/did as a critically thinking registered nurse and wish to serve a client population with advanced skills THEN go to a NP program. I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is to me to see so many NP's and NP students going into advanced practice to get "away" from nursing. Newsflash: you can't be a NP in ANY state without an active RN license because an advanced paractice nurse is a NURSE! I'm quite proud of being a registered nurse and will be just as proud to be a registered nurse when I am certified as a NP.

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Hi I was wondering if you have any updates on your MD ?

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