Candid discussion about the Nurse Practitioner role by NP's only please.

allnurses Guide · Dec 2, 2013

Do you experience more job satisfaction now that you did when you were a bedside nurse?
Do you feel that your education provided you with the skills and confidence to transition into your new role?
Do you wish you had chosen another career other than being a nurse practitioner?
Has being an NP had a significant impact on your personal/marital relationships?

For me, being an NP is far more satisfying. I worked for a short time at the bedside (about a year and a half) and while I enjoyed it (especially at the start) I found myself thinking about the next step almost immediately. My personality is such that I wanted to be the one making the diagnosis and planing the treatment. I still work in direct patient contact most of the day (at clinic) while keeping my foot in the door as an attending provider for my hospitalized patients. I also much prefer the outpatient setting, which I didn't think I would.

My education was fantastic and I felt very well prepared for entry-to-practice. The first year you learn way more than you learned in school but that doesn't mean you weren't prepared when you started, you were.

Nursing was a second career for me and I consider it a blessing every day. I had initially planned to go to med school when I graduated undergrad but I am thankful now I didn't.

It's changed my relationship a bit with my family, in good and bad ways I guess. I miss working three-day weeks because I don't get to spend as much time with my son and it's harder to get this done when both my wife and I work weekdays but we have wonderful weekends, I am happier, we have ore than enough money, and my wife can choose to stop working any time she wants, which takes all sorts of pressure off with having another child. I also forged many lasting friendships in grad school.