mcnacht

Latest Activity

1. RN or NP: which role was more stressful?

   mcnacht replied to Pachinko's topic in NP

   I think it depends on what kind of stress, and how it affects you personally. As an RN, the stress was about getting all my tasks done in a timely manner while responding to the needs of patients, families, doctors, coworkers, and of course charge nu...

2. Where Does the Bedside Nursing Go?

   mcnacht replied to Jcat117's topic in NP Students

   I think RN and ARNP work is completely different, at least in the jobs I've had. After I got my first ARNP job, I continued to work per diem as an ER RN, but there was no conflict in my mind because they were completely different jobs. I had an Eng...

3. "Why didn't you go to medical school?"

   mcnacht replied to shannonFNP's topic in NP

   I say I first became a naturopathic doctor, and then became a nurse practitioner to pay the bills.

4. Advice on education path

   mcnacht replied to EaglesWings21's topic in NP Students

   First off, congratulations on getting started on your nursing career! You'll find a lot of different personality types and a lot of different directions your career can take. It sounds like you have a very specific patient population in mind. I wo...

5. MEPN/CNM + Starting family?

   mcnacht replied to asuzara's topic in CNM

   I can't speak to CNM, since I did an FNP MEPN program. I had my first child 3 months after graduation, at age 35. It just wasn't practical to wait a lot longer to get a year of work under my belt. I wouldn't really advise to follow in my career pa...

6. For those who relocated for first FNP job (long post)

   mcnacht replied to jaznia15's topic in NP

   First, congratulations on the prospect of soon being done with school! I can't directly comment on moving, because I'm in the opposite situation: owned a house that we were underwater on when I started looking for jobs, so no possibility of just up a...

7. Taking a Break from FNP Program

   mcnacht replied to ChristineN's topic in NP Students

   Not sure if this is more of a reply to n.a.norcal or to ChristineN, but I at many times HATED the masters-entry nursing program I was in. Compared with almost all of my previous educational experiences at several universities in the U.S. and Europe,...

8. Should I get the DNP?

   mcnacht replied to ktc328's topic in Doctoral

   It may be required for new graduates. All of us with MSN's will be grandfathered in. There are now still a few non-MSN nurse practitioners around who were grandfathered in from before a masters degree was required.

9. Triage complaints- the good, the bad, and the shocking.

   mcnacht replied to canoehead's topic in Emergency

   "I need STD testing because my girlfriend is a pole dancer and they get exposed to all kinds of stuff, you know." "I do adult alternative activities, and I was supposed to be the holder, but someone slipped and I fell hard onto my tailbone and now I ...

10. ED nursing tasks/responsibilities:

    mcnacht replied to ivyleaf's topic in Emergency

    And the psych/substance use patients often can NOT refuse if they are involuntarily there and the urine is the only/best way to determine presence of drugs in their system. The counselors can't even talk to them until presence of drugs is known.

11. Should I get the DNP?

    mcnacht replied to ktc328's topic in Doctoral

    I don't really see the benefit either. Depending on how many years you have left in your career, you might want to think about working slowly toward a DNP while working. I do know some people who've done that. I can't imagine a DNP will be really ...

12. For-profic Urgent Care clinics

    mcnacht posted a topic in Emergency

    There is a recent increase in the number of free-standing Urgent Care clinics in my area. I think in some parts of the country they've been around for a longer time. I've actually been working at one of them for almost a year as an NP, and I'm havi...

13. Health and Wellness Fair

    mcnacht replied to occrn21's topic in Occupational

    We went a little alternative last year after ever-decreasing participation at our annual health fair. We hired a "life coach" who brought a biophotonic sensor, or something like that. Apparently it measures the antioxidant levels in people's skin. ...

14. How do you figure out what specialty to pick?

    mcnacht replied to HeartNursing3's topic in NP Students

    FNP for sure if you don't know at least which age group you want to see. You can always add a certification later, but initially, FNP gives you the most flexibility. Some areas will only consider FNP's, like urgent care or the military, in case thos...

15. CNM post MSN-FNP

    mcnacht replied to calijaz's topic in CNM

    Though it's tempting for nurses to want to multitask and do EVERYTHING, I really think you should focus on one thing at a time and get really good at that thing (FNP, in your case). Though the L&D stuff may be required for CNM programs, unless y...