I'm looking for some advice. I am considering sending out resumes to bariatric surgeons in my area (Houston), because I would like to train to work in bariatrics. A little history about me, I started out as a scrub tech, went to nursing school and graduated, then went back to school and got my ACNP. All of this spanned 12 years, which I worked in the OR the whole time. Since graduating and passing boards, I haven't been able to find a job in any setting. I am interested in inpatient management (hospitalist) but no one is interested in hiring me, so I decided to pursue RNFA because I love being in the OR, and I'm hoping to get a position that would allow me to retain some role in the OR as a first assist. It is my hope that I'll have luck pursuing this route since it's where all my experience is.
Here is the where the unpaid internship comes in: I don't have any experience as an NP, so I was hoping to gain some experience via an unpaid 9 month internship. Everyone I have spoken to has said it can't be done, and if it can, that I shouldn't do it, because it will lower the value of a new grad NP. I don't want to lower anyone's value, I just want a job. I am willing to train for no pay, just like I did in school. My question, do you think it will help, or have I wasted my time and money on graduate school? Also, if someone did agree to train me without pay, would my personal malpractice insurance be sufficient for practice?
