Opportunities for an ACNP with RNFA certification?

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I have been examining the various specialties in advanced practice nursing and recently discovered that there are a number of NP programs that prepare individuals to work as ACNP's with RNFA certification. What kinds of employment opportunities exist for professionals holding this combination of qualifications? Are they perceived by hospitals/physician groups to essentially be NP equivalents of surgical PA's? Also, is it common (or possible) to leverage the RNFA certification to somehow earn extra income?

Thanks...

Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
I have done a few job searches on the usual websites (e.g., Indeed.com, etc.) for open ACNP positions and was surprised to find that not many are posted for my area or the surrounding area. On the other hand, there are plenty of postings for FNP's. By chance, would you happen to know if there is currently some sort of job shortage/provider oversupply in the ACNP job market? Or are most ACNP's hired directly out of their programs upon graduating?

Not knowing where you live, it's possible that your area has a higher need for primary care providers. In that case, FNP's will be more marketable. I've only lived in large urban areas with a significant concentration of tertiary medical centers and have never had problems finding a job as an ACNP.

HI Henry,

If you are already a nurse, I wouldn't waste your time becoming a PA. Better to be an NP.

I am an ACNP with RNFA certification. I got both at the same time. I had many years in the OR and you need at least 600 hours of clinical for the RNFA.

I work in Orthopedic SUrgery. Presently I only work managing the patients from the moment they enter the hospital until they are discharged. I can assist in the OR, but there is too much work to do on the floor.

Orthopedic NPs are usually in the higher end of the payscale. Depends where you work and your experience, but you should expect starting in the high 90s without experience and closer to 150,000 with experience. Depends on volume also.

GOod luck!

Thanks. Since you don't do surgical assisting, could you explain how your work managing orthopedic surgery patients as an NP is different from managing them as an RN? Are you essentially used interchangeably with PA's who have analogous roles?

Also, do those salary figures you quoted include any sort of bonus/OT payment, or are they just base salaries?

HenryH, I am a student in UAB's ACNP/RNFA program at the moment. It is a fantastic program, and I highly recommend it! We just did an on-site intensive where we were introduced to the OR environment by operating on pigs. We also practiced assessments on two "patients" in a clinic and ED setting on campus. The patients are trained well, and I actually felt that I was in an ED/clinic. They have such fantastic resources!

That being said, I discussed my options with a few people who graduated with this degree or just an ACNP. One woman is working in a hospital in Georgia making $100,000+ in her second year post-graduation. She works in the OR as an RNFA for a week, then works in the ICUs with intensivists for a week. She loves the variety of changing each week. Many of our faculty work mainly as RNFAs but work in clinic settings as ACNPs as well. One woman is working with a renal physician in their dialysis clinic. Some other graduates of the program are working with surgical groups as a combined RNFA/ACNP role. In Alabama, ACNPs tend to start out at $80,000+, depending on the group and specialty. As I am in the Adult/Gero only program, I imagine my options will be mainly a specialty or intensivist work in a hospital, although I do know one who works as an NP with her hospital's hospitalist group. Many, many options truly do exist.

I believe having the RNFA with the ACNP simply makes you more marketable, if for no other reason than you have a knowledge of intra-op procedures and so more insight as to what could go wrong during the surgery and what to look for post-operatively.

For this program, you complete two semesters of classroom theory and 180 hours of operative hours for your practicum to become an RNFA, and you pursue the 1000 hours after that to become a Certified RNFA (CRNFA) on your own.

I am sincerely thrilled with my decision to become and ACNP/RNFA, and I hope you will consider it! It is a small but growing field with many great opportunities, and I only see it becoming more valuable in the future!

Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

This is a really old thread but it's still great to read as I'd love to be an RNFA too. I have looked into it and once I graduate as an NP I can take the RNFA course without any OR experience, whereas RNs have to be a CNOR. This is exciting to me and I will likely pursue it once I've graduated. Thanks for sharing your experience.

HenryH, I am a student in UAB's ACNP/RNFA program at the moment. It is a fantastic program, and I highly recommend it! We just did an on-site intensive where we were introduced to the OR environment by operating on pigs. We also practiced assessments on two "patients" in a clinic and ED setting on campus. The patients are trained well, and I actually felt that I was in an ED/clinic. They have such fantastic resources!

That being said, I discussed my options with a few people who graduated with this degree or just an ACNP. One woman is working in a hospital in Georgia making $100,000+ in her second year post-graduation. She works in the OR as an RNFA for a week, then works in the ICUs with intensivists for a week. She loves the variety of changing each week. Many of our faculty work mainly as RNFAs but work in clinic settings as ACNPs as well. One woman is working with a renal physician in their dialysis clinic. Some other graduates of the program are working with surgical groups as a combined RNFA/ACNP role. In Alabama, ACNPs tend to start out at $80,000+, depending on the group and specialty. As I am in the Adult/Gero only program, I imagine my options will be mainly a specialty or intensivist work in a hospital, although I do know one who works as an NP with her hospital's hospitalist group. Many, many options truly do exist.

I believe having the RNFA with the ACNP simply makes you more marketable, if for no other reason than you have a knowledge of intra-op procedures and so more insight as to what could go wrong during the surgery and what to look for post-operatively.

For this program, you complete two semesters of classroom theory and 180 hours of operative hours for your practicum to become an RNFA, and you pursue the 1000 hours after that to become a Certified RNFA (CRNFA) on your own.

I am sincerely thrilled with my decision to become and ACNP/RNFA, and I hope you will consider it! It is a small but growing field with many great opportunities, and I only see it becoming more valuable in the future!

I just had orientation for the dual PNP program and I'm considering doing the RNFA subspecialty. How doable is it to incorporate the subspecialty into the class workload you were already goin to have?

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