CNS vs NP?

I am in Texas where the CNS is an Advanced Practice Nurse. Along with NP, CRNA, and CNM, these are the 4 APN titles in TX. I am a CNS in Acute care, but have always been employed as Critical care CNS, but my title with the BON is CNS acute care. I chose to take the CCNS exam offered by AACN, which TX recognizes, mainly because al of my experience has been in ICU settings...My CNS program automatically included the classes that allowed me to apply for and obtain perscriptive authority, however I do not need it for my job. I keep the hours current so I can keep it. The program I graduated from has changed since then, not sure how or what, just know they made some changes in the program tracks they offer.

I like the CNS role, in my current role I use all that I learned in school. Not much staff education or research, but the other subroles of the CNS have been very useful to me.

JWRN - thanks for the input.

This thread has been incredibly helpful. I have been entertaining the idea of going back to school for enough more eduaction so I can teach at the 4 year level (personal bias mostly because I never practiced at another level). After looking for online courses I thought the Nurse Educator Masters would be "the way to go".
and then I talked to a colleague that has her doctorate in Nursing and Chairs the dept at one of the Nursing schools in the area. She explained that the Nurse Educator Master's is good for teaching LPN or ADN courses pretty much anywhere, but is not really respected enough to teach at the 4 yr schools. she did not have a good reason why, just that is the trend the convuluted picture that has been painted (see prior posts- and thanks for that info that I did not have before.)
I do not want any part of management and a leadership Masters does not capture my interest at all.
After a lot of discussion with this colleague- she picks up patient care shifts with us in the summers to keep up her skills- I have figured out that the CSN is likely the right fit for me. and fortunately this thread also reinforces that plan.
It also means that I cannot do the curriculum online as there are clinicals and things- if I am wrong about that-please let me know. the timing now is such that I will not be starting school until 2010 when my son finishes high school because the schools are too far, and I work 0.8 now. just too much.
anyway the real point is that the mess we have created with wanting to go beyond a BSN is that it is very difficult to know what degree is needed for the goal a nurse has in mind. and then trying to choose a program- it is not an easy path, and we really do not have very good guides.
so again thank you for this thread. I have copied parts of it into the file I keep to help me make decisions about all of this.
She also explains that I would need to plan on working on my doctorate within a short time of being hired to teach. hopefully by that time there will be some financial incentive for all of that.
K

Glad this was helpful for you. Another thing to consider is that in some states (IL is one of them) in order to teach you must have an MSN, not an MS in Education. I have a good friend who didn't check into things thoroughly and ended up a with an MS in Education but can't teach!

Myself, I did the MSN in admin and leadership and then realized I wanted a clinical focus so did a post-MSN adult health CNS>

Good luck with your decision.

(As I read it, missKate is talking about the MSN with concentration in education, not the MEd. )

TraumaRUs

I am in Illinois, and am looking for a masters program. I am interested in almost all areas, but would love forensics or ER NP (Im a ER nurse). Have any opinions on the schools out here? I applied to Loyola, Rush, UIC, & Northern. Also are you finding that there is a need for a DNP or PHD in Nursing in Illinois?

Thanks!!

UIC has a forensics certificate program (was looking online for this). Before you consider what APN route you want to follow, research what your area hospitals are hiring in their ERs. I live in central IL and because of a large ER MD residency program, few hospitals hire mid-levels. My RN experience is mostly level one trauma center and of course, the ER is where I hoped to end up. However, and I'll be blunt, the hospitals in my area can't match my salary or benefits. And...in a hospital ER, I would be working shiftwork and more weekends than I currently work.

Good luck...let us know what you choose.

TraumaRUs,

Thank you for the input and great advice! These are things I didnt even think about. I have heard that Illinois is one of the last states to actually recognize NPs and to utilize them to their fullest potential. Have you found the same? Some ppl at work say its best to become a DNP or go get a PHD, but the DNPs are not called Dr. so-n-so they are just called by their first names. I dont do that, they deserve the title they earned, but have you encountered this to?


Thanks again
I appreciate it!

I am not a DNP or PhD and do not work with any nursing doctors at the moment. When I did my post-MSN certificate, one of the instructors held a PhD and when in a school setting I did address her as "Doctor Smith". We also worked together as staff RNs in the ER and then we were on a first name basis.

I still do miss the ER very much. However, I volunteer on my rural EMS/fire dept as a pre-hospital RN and enjoy the adrenaline rush with that - lol.

Does anyone know how long it takes to be either one? Like, does one take a masters? Shorter time frame? Thanks for any answers and consideration!