Any nurses completed or working on a ACNP in Cali?

Specialties NP

Published

hello,

I live in the bay area, California. I am working on an ACNP. I was told by a classmate that ACNP was not very popular in the East Coast of the united states but was not sure about the West coast therefore she hesitated on becoming a ACNP and took the FNP route. I am more concern about job opportunities and the need for ACNP's in the bay area california since I do not plan on moving. Anyone can give me some information. I need to decide on a focus asap.

Thanks

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Specializes in Adult & Geriatrics.

luvemrare -

I am not able to answer your specific question, but have you tried talking to your ACNP faculty about your concerns? Also, try doing an NP job search for your area to see what kind of jobs are out there (esp. for the ACNP specialty) and if there is more opportunity in a specific area/specialty. I am not sure how close you are to finishing, but the area job search may help alleviate some concern...maybe =))

Good luck to you!

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the results I get from searching NP jobs in my area are probably not that accurate due to the economy/budget crisis.

And my ACNP faculty like I mentioned are Arizona locals and do not know much about California's needs and desires of NPs.

I figured someone on this board has to be ACNP and is working or plan to work in the bay area, california??

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

I'm an ACNP and I also live and work in California's Bay Area (right in the City of San Francisco, actually). However, I'm new here having moved from another state so I'm not yet intimately familiar with how the market here really is. All I know is that there is only one ACNP program in the area and that's the one at UCSF. The other programs are in LA and Washington state so that could be an advantage in terms of keeping the competition for jobs relatively low compared to metro areas where there are more than one program that produce graduates. On the downside, San Francisco is a popular job market and destination for many nurses coming from many parts of the US because the pay scale is higher here (though the cost of living is ridiculously steep) so you will see many NP's here who went to school outside of California. I think we have a saturated job market because of that though there are jobs available...the only caveat being the most qualified person will be hired and there is definitely a pool of highly qualified applicants around here. If you are interested in ACNP roles, I suggest you start doing an informal web search and looking at the area hospitals that typically have NP's and these are: UCSF Medical Center, Stanford Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center, and most of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals. San Francisco General Hospital is the city's trauma center and they do have NP's there (their website is part of the San Francisco Public Health Dept). Kaiser seems to pay well compared to the other hospitals from what I hear.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, CCRN-CMC (critical care).

I am a NP, graduated in June and will soon be taking (and passing!) the ACNP boards. From my own personal searches, I can tell you the market is pretty slim right now. However, I will say that being in a program in and of itself opens you up to inside information regarding positions (i.e. my program director gets information directly from recruiters or former students working at Bay area hospitals regarding positions that are opening up, sometimes before they're even posted on the hospitals' websites). I will also say that about 1/2 of my classmates have already accepted positions (most in the bay area and slightly beyond). Personally, I am currently in the middle of the interview process for one position about an hour outside the city, have an application into one of the major SF medical centers, and have rec'd an email within the last week from my program director regarding a temporary position that isn't even posted on the hospital's website yet, but for which I have emailed directly with the MD running the department. My point is that even when the market is slim, there are jobs out there. You just have to be patient, search/stalk the hospital websites, network with classmates who may know people working around area hospitals, and get your applications in!

I'd caution anyone choosing a specialty based upon the job market today. Unfortunately we can't predict what the market will be 2 years from now when you graduate (assuming you're just getting ready to start since you haven't yet chosen a specialty). ACNP is still a relatively young specialty, and many centers are just learning the ways they can be utilized.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
I'm an ACNP and I also live and work in California's Bay Area (right in the City of San Francisco, actually). However, I'm new here having moved from another state so I'm not yet intimately familiar with how the market here really is. All I know is that there is only one ACNP program in the area and that's the one at UCSF. The other programs are in LA and Washington state so that could be an advantage in terms of keeping the competition for jobs relatively low compared to metro areas where there are more than one program that produce graduates. On the downside, San Francisco is a popular job market and destination for many nurses coming from many parts of the US because the pay scale is higher here (though the cost of living is ridiculously steep) so you will see many NP's here who went to school outside of California. I think we have a saturated job market because of that though there are jobs available...the only caveat being the most qualified person will be hired and there is definitely a pool of highly qualified applicants around here. If you are interested in ACNP roles, I suggest you start doing an informal web search and looking at the area hospitals that typically have NP's and these are: UCSF Medical Center, Stanford Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center, and most of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals. San Francisco General Hospital is the city's trauma center and they do have NP's there (their website is part of the San Francisco Public Health Dept). Kaiser seems to pay well compared to the other hospitals from what I hear.

I've been researching the program at UCSF and am curious to hear what you know about it. Did you attend this program? Do you know anyone who has? Pros/cons? Is it difficult to find housing? The UCSF website says it's very difficult to work while in the program. Were you able to work during yours? How did you survive financially?

Do you like your job? Is it what you expected it to be? Any surprises? Disappointments? Are you working in the ED, ICU or another department? Any words of wisdom for anyone contemplating this field? I'm currently working on my RN-BSN. If I apply to the ACNP program, it will be for the Fall 2012 semester. My dream is to live in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, most specifically. The ACNP program inspired me to pursue this route, as I have no desire to be an FNP.

I appreciate any guidance you can give me. Thanks, so much!

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
I've been researching the program at UCSF and am curious to hear what you know about it. Did you attend this program? Do you know anyone who has? Pros/cons? Is it difficult to find housing? The UCSF website says it's very difficult to work while in the program. Were you able to work during yours? How did you survive financially?

Do you like your job? Is it what you expected it to be? Any surprises? Disappointments? Are you working in the ED, ICU or another department? Any words of wisdom for anyone contemplating this field? I'm currently working on my RN-BSN. If I apply to the ACNP program, it will be for the Fall 2012 semester. My dream is to live in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, most specifically. The ACNP program inspired me to pursue this route, as I have no desire to be an FNP.

I appreciate any guidance you can give me. Thanks, so much!

UCSF is probably one of the well-known ACNP programs in the US. I didn't graduate from this program as I'm not from the area (I just moved here last year, though I do work for UCSF).

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Specializes in Acute Care.

Hi Juan,

I've been browsing allnurses for ACNP jobs in the Bay Area and I always run across your name. I thought I'd drop you a line since I have no connections to the nursing world out here.

I'm a new grad ACNP with no nursing experience. I just graduated from a bridge program this summer and I'm having trouble finding any job. I'm applying for both new grad RN and new grad NP jobs...probably over 200 applications already, but no luck yet. I'm seriously going to have a nervous breakdown soon because I have to start paying back my massive student loans. I've applied to positions at SFGH, Stanford Hospital, UCSF, CPMC, as well as several other smaller hospitals. Do you have any advice for someone like me?

Thanks!

:crying2:

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
Hi Juan,

I've been browsing allnurses for ACNP jobs in the Bay Area and I always run across your name. I thought I'd drop you a line since I have no connections to the nursing world out here.

I'm a new grad ACNP with no nursing experience. I just graduated from a bridge program this summer and I'm having trouble finding any job. I'm applying for both new grad RN and new grad NP jobs...probably over 200 applications already, but no luck yet. I'm seriously going to have a nervous breakdown soon because I have to start paying back my massive student loans. I've applied to positions at SFGH, Stanford Hospital, UCSF, CPMC, as well as several other smaller hospitals. Do you have any advice for someone like me?

Thanks!

:crying2:

I PM'd you.

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Specializes in Acute Care.

Hi Juan,

Thank you so much for your prompt and informative response! I can't send you a PM since I'm brand new to the allnurses community.

It's really disheartening to see that the cards are stacked against me. My networking ability is nonexistent in SF since I went to school on the East Coast, so I don't receive "insider information". Are all open positions posted on the website, or can they be filled by word-of-mouth? I applied to that CT position last week via UCSF's website...we'll see how that goes. The only NP position that was posted on Palo Alto's VA system was more primary care oriented, otherwise I haven't seen many ICU NP positions posted there recently.

Again, thank you...you've been very helpful!

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

They may already have the pool of candidates and are probably in the process of picking the final team. I happen to know some people who are in the interview process. Keep trying.

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Juan de la cruz,

I am going to be starting an ACNP program in January through Grand Canyon (online). I will be living in the bay area at the time clinicals are to start. Do you have any advice for finding a preceptor? Do you know anyone personally who likes to teach?

-H

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