MEPN Programs

[aabehr1]

Hello all,

I plan on applying to several MEPN programs in the coming year but I am a little nervous now after having been told that individuals who graduate from MEPN programs have a hard time finding work as an NP upon graduating. I was told that those who graduate from MEPN programs do not have lengthy nursing experience and, therefore, employers do not want to hire them. I would really appreciate someone's perspective on this topic who has either graduated from a MEPN program, is currently in an MEPN program or knows of someone who has graduated from a MEPN program.

Thank you very much.

[the healer's art]

I've looked a lot into this because I applied to a lot of direct entry programs myself. If you're going into primary care like family nurse practitioner or pediatric NP then I have heard that being a nurse and being a primary care NP are pretty different and it doesn't really matter that much. If you want to do a speciality (like I want to do acute pediatrics) then it is good to have some nursing experience. Some programs like NNP actually require 2 years of nursing experience. A lot of the programs... Columbia, Northeastern, Penn, etc. allow you to do the master's portion part-time while you gain RN experience.

Good luck!

[aabehr1]

Hi Healer's Art,

I am looking into going in the family nurse practitioner route. I had assumed that not coming from a nursing background wouldn't be a big deal but now I've heard otherwise which has definitely made me nervous since I just finished all my pre-reqs in order to apply. You had mentioned that you applied to many direct entry programs. Are you waiting to hear back from the schools? Which schools are you looking into?