I need some advice!!

Trauma Columnist · Mar 27, 2009

Wow - first congratulations - sure does sound like a wonderful opportunity. One thing to consider: will you be able to keep up with the CME required for the ACNP while you are teaching? Do you have to keep clinically competent? Or...by teaching clinically, will you maintain your competency?

cruisin_woodward · Mar 27, 2009

I should add that the average salary for assistant professors in Michigan is only $55 k, which is less than I make now as an RN...but the benefits....

Trauma Columnist · Mar 27, 2009

Sometimes there are trade-offs. If you get your tuition paid for, you need to consider that income too because it is money you don't have to pay out.

cruisin_woodward · Mar 27, 2009

Wow - first congratulations - sure does sound like a wonderful opportunity. One thing to consider: will you be able to keep up with the CME required for the ACNP while you are teaching? Do you have to keep clinically competent? Or...by teaching clinically, will you maintain your competency?

I think I could keep up my CMEs, but I'm not sure about the competencies..that is my worry. If I were teaching med surg or something, then I would think that would be helpful, but I'll probably start off in some boring theory class that no one else wants to teach!

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Mar 29, 2009

If you can pick up a part-time ACNP position while you teach full time during the 5-year period, that's a thought. You'll be able to meet the practice hours required by ANCC to renew your ACNP certification 5 years after your initial certification. You'll also still keep up with some skills. The issue is finding an employer who would hire a part-time ACNP fresh out of school. However, maybe Wayne State can help find an employer who would do that for you. By the way, another ICU NP I work with picked up a full time Assistant Professor position at another state university starting the fall. This NP just finished her DNP and plans to teach and work in the ICU full time! The teaching commitment is only 2 days a week as an Assistant Professor and that's full time for that school.

UVA Grad Nursing · Mar 29, 2009

All of the ACNP faculty at my Univeristy also practice (and maintain their ANCC certifications). Many NP faculty also have a 20% workload as practice (1 day/week). Many work on vacation (remember you might have 1 month at Christmas and 3 months in the summer off), as well as the occasional weekend.

It is to the University's interested (and a requirement of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties - NONPF) that APN clinical specialty faculty remain certified and are engaged in practice.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Mar 29, 2009

All of the ACNP faculty at my Univeristy also practice (and maintain their ANCC certifications). Many NP faculty also have a 20% workload as practice (1 day/week). Many work on vacation (remember you might have 1 month at Christmas and 3 months in the summer off), as well as the occasional weekend.
It is to the University's interested (and a requirement of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties - NONPF) that APN clinical specialty faculty remain certified and are engaged in practice.

True, but I think this arrangement works well in universities attached to a teaching hospital. The university the OP is attending is affiliated with a network of teaching hospitals that are not owned by the university (these are not for profit privately funded institutions). I know some ANP faculty from the same school who practice at the Campus Health Care Clinic and the University Primary Care Nursing clinic. However, the ACNP faculty who are in clinical practice work in practice settings not affiliated with the university itself.

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 29, 2009

What happens if the employer of your choice does not have a teaching position available that is suitable for you? Would you have to move to another part of the state?

What happens if you are a lousy teacher and no school wants to hire you? etc.

Find out what happens if the teaching jobs don't materialize as you envision them. Remember that a lot of people have signed similar contracts with hospitals to pay for their educations -- and the situation turned into nightmares, with the hospitals forcing them to work the unpopular shifts, unpopular units, etc. A lot of people later regret signing such contracts that prevent them from leaving a bad work situation. Find out what happens if things don't work out as you envision BEFORE you sign any contract.

UVA Grad Nursing · Mar 29, 2009

NP Gilly:

Excellent point on the difference of universities with academic medical centers attached. This can make it much easier for ACNPs. Most of our primary care faculty though are working out of the University network (for public health clinics, free clinics, RediClinics, etc). I stand corrected.

LLG: Here in Virginia we have a similar program from the Commonwealth of Virginia --- 15 doctoral students/year have been provided with full scholarship plus 25K in stipend for two years on the condition that they become fulltime faculty for 4 years anythere in the state after they graduate (or they pay back the money). Because this is a state program, this means that graduates can teach anywhere in the state (public or private, ADN through graduate). This year it means that graduating students are submitting applications all over Virginia.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Mar 29, 2009

What happens if the employer of your choice does not have a teaching position available that is suitable for you? Would you have to move to another part of the state?
What happens if you are a lousy teacher and no school wants to hire you? etc.
Find out what happens if the teaching jobs don't materialize as you envision them. Remember that a lot of people have signed similar contracts with hospitals to pay for their educations -- and the situation turned into nightmares, with the hospitals forcing them to work the unpopular shifts, unpopular units, etc. A lot of people later regret signing such contracts that prevent them from leaving a bad work situation. Find out what happens if things don't work out as you envision BEFORE you sign any contract.

Definitely things to consider! Just to clarify, the program the OP is referring to is a project coming directly from the State of Michigan and funding source is the state government itself. See: http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-3150_40178-194720--,00.html.

cruisin_woodward · Mar 29, 2009

NP Gilly:
Excellent point on the difference of universities with academic medical centers attached. This can make it much easier for ACNPs. Most of our primary care faculty though are working out of the University network (for public health clinics, free clinics, RediClinics, etc). I stand corrected.
LLG: Here in Virginia we have a similar program from the Commonwealth of Virginia --- 15 doctoral students/year have been provided with full scholarship plus 25K in stipend for two years on the condition that they become fulltime faculty for 4 years anythere in the state after they graduate (or they pay back the money). Because this is a state program, this means that graduates can teach anywhere in the state (public or private, ADN through graduate). This year it means that graduating students are submitting applications all over Virginia.

That sounds like this opportunity... It says "any college or university nursing program in the state of Michigan"...we are very short of nursing instructors here...

If "full time" is only two days a week, then picking up a day would be ok, but again, will someone hire me right out if school part time? Hhhmmm...lots of food for thought, and good questions to consider...my problem is I will be finding out about the DNP program in April... I guess I'll let the chips land where they fall?