I am 7 months from graduating from the FNP program at Missouri State University. I started last summer and was pretty overwhelmed in the beginning. I think I went into the program with some unreal expectations though. I have found graduate school to be extremely self-directed. My biggest piece of advice to you is figure out a system of
ORGANIZATION that works well for you. If you are not organized, you will sink...quickly.
One cool thing that we did in our roles class last year was to write a paper about why we wanted to be nurse practitioners. This has been really helpful when I have been down in the dumps and ready to throw in the towel. You will undoubtedly hit some low points during your studies. Just find something that keeps you going and allows you to remember why you are putting youself through such misery
Preceptors: As for preceptors, I have had to find my own for each semester except for women's health. The preceptor situation can be tough around here because there are several NP programs in the area and also a PA program. I lined up my preceptors before I even started the program (after I knew I had been accepted) and then remained in contact with them periodically until time to do my clinicals. If you have to find your own preceptors, be sure that you get people who are willing to actually let you do things. If you end up with preceptors that just have you shadow them, you will not learn much of anything and will end up with a very poor clinical experience.
Work: If you have to work and are going full-time, work as few hours as possible. I started out working full-time but rapidly discovered that was not going to work. You are entirely too busy with your class time, clinicals, and studying. I have had to write a TON of papers in my program also. Once you start working on your thesis or project, your time will be even less. I think there are only 2 in my class who still work full-time. They are single with no committments, and they work weekend option jobs. They both have really struggled though with getting things done on time.
Online courses: For the most part, I like online courses. I did my entire BSN online, which was great. It's super cool to be able to go to class in your pajamas! In the FNP program, I have also had several online courses. Some are good...some are not so good. I am currently finishing my advanced research course online, and I think that one might have been better live. There are just so many tough concepts that I think might have been better understood in a live setting. Also, we work on three chapters of our thesis during this course so to have live time with the professor would have made the thesis work much easier.
I know some mentioned using a PDA. I have an HP iPAQ that I use daily. I have Epocrates Essentials installed. You can get a 35% student discount from Epocrates, by the way, if your school has a discount code. If they don't, it's very easy to do. I set it up for my school in just a few minutes. It just requires finding a faculty liason and sending them a form to fill out and resubmit.
Good luck to you in your studies! Just remember to take deep breaths often and don't ever forget why you are doing what you are doing!!!
Jaimee
Originally Posted by gotnurse333
Hi everyone! I've applied to two NP programs in Texas and have been accepted! Does anyone want to share any wisdom about what they found out about their NP program after starting and then wished they had known before starting the program?
Any advice on finding preceptors?
Is it good to work and do full time study?
Were online courses adequate or did you find lectures more helpful?
Tips on choosing teachers? (Unlike undergrad, there's no forum for teacher rankings in grad school it seems. So it's like a blind shot at whether your teacher is good or not)
Any additional advice/comments that would help a new NP student would be much appreciated! Thanks!
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