Need Advice on FNP school!

Hey Amber,
I will be starting my last year of FNP school next semester. I started in health care in 1990 as a Resp. Therapist. I graduated from BSN school in 2003. There is no way I would have been ready for FNP school without my Resp. Therapy background! As for post-graduation orientation for NP's, there ain't none. You'll be oriented to the charting method (paper or electronic), shown where the bathroom is, and that is about it. Basically you will feel like you've been (and you'll hear this a thousand times, by the way) "thrown to the sharks", because you will be thrown to the sharks. Hopefully your care providing colleagues will be willing and able to help you in the areas in which your are least self-confident.

That being said, Ive heard of new BSN grads going right into MSN-NP preparation. They must be really bright or in a very easy program. I'm not saying that it can't be done. I am saying that in my humble opinion it shouldn't be done, there is a vast amount of "stuff" that must become second nature to the Nurse prior to entering training for "Advanced Practice Nursing". Learn as much as you can in the Hospital, ask a bunch of questions, learn to read ECG's, X-rays, MRI's, CT's etc. well. Learn why the care providers order a certain therapy, versus ordering something else. Don't be afraid to be wrong!! You will learn a great deal be asking follow-up questions that require redirection by the provider giving the answer. It will mold your methods of critical thinking, problem solving, and logic.

Most of all, enjoy Nursing! Enjoy the fact that you are the only one around treating the patient, not the patient's disorder or disease process!!

I would recommend getting more experience under your belt before applying. There are ALOT of people applying to FNP programs these days and you want to be as competitive as possible. I have 20 years experience in mostly ED and ICU and I was just accepted. Just wanted to let you know what you are up against. There were 20 slots and 85 applicants. I was told that there might be fewer slots in the future because of funding cuts to universities and the reduction of available grants (that fund extra faculty positions and other things).

You also need to be very clear and focused on why you want to be an FNP. It is forecasted that there will be more opportunities opening in primary care, especially rural primary care as there are fewer and fewer MDs who are going into these areas (women's, peds and family care).

Good luck.

What state do you live in?

I had very little RN experience before starting FNP school, mostly working in a med spa. I think the two roles are so vastly different that lack of RN experience is not going to hurt you. There were a couple other students in my class with 1 yr or less of RN experience and we all graduated. I did have a BS in biology but don't feel that helped much either. My undergrad GPA was like a 3.2 I think (so long ago!). I had an associates RN, can't remember my GPA but it was not top of the class, more middle I would say, I even failed pharmacology one year and had to repeat it!!... In NP school my GPA was a 3.6. It's vastly different training from RN, you should be fine.

I can say that the real seasoned RNs with many years experience really seemed to struggle and many failed out of the program. I got the impression that the seasoned nurses were so stuck in their ways, "this is how we do it on my floor" that it really impaired their ability to answer questions on tests "from the book."

If your a good student, apply yourself, and actually enjoy the material, keep an open mind, you'll do fine.