Re: Why not Nurse Practitioner?
Some of my best friends are NP's ... but it's not for everybody. I decided it was not for me and became a CNS instead. I have also worked in Staff Development, University teacher, and a little administration. The NP role is only one of many possible roles for an advanced practice nurse.
First of all, if you are considering becoming a NP, be sure to research the local job market. In some areas, NP's are in demand and have no trouble finding good jobs. In other areas, the market is over-saturated with NP's and new grads have trouble finding jobs that they like and that pay well. I've seen this happen a lot in areas where the local nursing schools are producing lots of NP's.
Are you interested in doing primary care? -- doing the routine assessment of patients in a physician's office or clinic? That's the type of work that a lot of new grad NP's do. While some people love that type of work, I would hate it. I prefer working with critically ill patients and others whose care is not "routine." I have had more opportunities to work extensively with those types of patients as a CNS than I would have as an NP.
How do you feel about working under the supervision of a physician? While some NP's work pretty independently on a day-to-day basis, many are still working under the supervision of a physician.
The most important consideration should be whether or not the type of work that NP's do in your local area and the types of jobs available in your local area match well with what you would like to do as a career. If it is a good match, then by all means become a NP. If it's not a good match, then don't. There are plenty of other career paths within nursing that you can choose from.
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