How to go about becoming an NP

sadiemae1123 · Jul 14, 2014

Happynurse14,

You ask good questions, but most would be better answered by the school/schools you are interested in attending.

Schools vary in how much experience they want/require for their applicants. The type of experience needed may vary as well depending on what type of NP you are interested in being (peds, adult/Geri, family, acute, psych, etc). Many will offer their personal opinions on the subject but it will really depend on how prepared you feel to pursue further education and advanced practice.

Different schools have their classes set up differently. Some offer full and part time. Some are more accommodating to working students. Some expect you to continue working and some will except you to stop working to focus on school. Some schools have clinicals integrated into the entire program, which would make it difficult for you to keep a regular work schedule, while others front load the didactic work and leave clinicals until the end.

The choice of whether to pursue an MSN or DNP is probably going to depend on a lot of factors. What do the schools you're interested in offer? Where do you see your career going in the future?

As far as letters of recommendation, it will depend on what the school expects. Some will take letters from anyone. Others want letters from teachers, and some will want letters from APRNs.

Riburn3, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 14, 2014

As the previous poster said, the individual school/schools you are interested in should have a website with more specific requirements that can answer some of your questions better than we can, but I'll give it a shot. (Note: I am graduating from my FNP program in one year).

1. Most schools have no minimum or a 1 year minimum. This is where the school in question you want to go to will play a role. I am a believer in experience before starting NP school, however, everyone is unique. The type of NP also matters. If you want to do ACNP, Psych, or Women's health, these NP fields are very specific, where previous experience plays a much larger role. While experience might help for FNP, the course of study is so varied that it's basically impossible to have experience in everything you will learn. Example: I have been an ICU nurse for 7 years, and when I started my Women's health rotation for my program, I might as well have been a brand new nurse, and I felt like a fish out of water. Additionally, many of the benefits of having experience before starting NP school come in the way of obtaining preceptors and the post graduate job search. If your program finds preceptors for you, half the battle is over.

2. Most online schools allow for people to work while still in school. I have worked full-time during the entire course of my online program (I go to UTEP), and until I started my clinical rotation, was working overtime each week. Now my schedule is something like Fri, Sat, Sun, then do 2-3 days of clinical when I am off. During my final rotation, I use a day of PTO here and there to add in an extra clinical day. It's a little hectic basically working 2 full-time jobs, but I don't have kids, and will be graduating without taking out a single loan. I know when I finish without having any debt I'm going to be so thankful for the extra work I put into it.

3. MSN or DNP depends on the choices you have. I am getting an MSN because that's what my school offers, but still plan on getting my DNP. There's no hard rule on when states are going to require NP's to have a DNP, and I personally like that I can hit the ground running after 2 years of school and get the DNP at my leisure. There is absolutely no difference in scope of practice between an MSN NP or a DNP NP, and if you work somewhere with very old NP's trained before the 80's, there's a chance they don't even have an MSN. Everyone gets grandfathered in.

4. Professors are a good choice, and if your rapport with your manager is solid, use them also. I would caution you though if your program is full-time and would require you leaving your job, it might not be a good idea to announce to your boss in December, 3 months into your job, that you will leave after they just spent thousands of dollars training you. If you approach it by saying I am applying for NP school but will still be working here full-time, it will make it easier to ask for a letter. A coworker of mine did exactly that just off orientation and was able to get into NP school. Lastly, consider your charge nurses for letters. They have a better idea of who you are than your manager does.

If you have any more questions feel free to as or shoot me a PM.

zmansc, ASN, RN · Jul 15, 2014

Happy -

First congratulations on graduating and passing the NCLEX. Do not get into such a rush that you forget to enjoy this major milestone!

Second, I'll try to answer your questions, but my answers will probably be similar to ones you have already received.

Q1) Your school will likely have entrance requirements for the program that include a minimum amount of time as a RN prior to entrance into the program. Some programs as has been mentioned do not require a set period of time, while others do. So, the first place to look is the entrance requirements for your program. In addition to this, I would suggest asking yourself if everything still feels foreign to you. One of the things that only comes with experience to many of us is the ability to understand the medical world that we will be working in both as RNs and as NPs. A good feel for interacting with patients, understanding what works and doesn't work in relating with them, having experience with patients when they react positively and negatively to certain treatments. All of this, will help you with your learning curve in becoming a NP. To me, there is not a set amount of RN experience that will make you ready to become a NP, and I say this because each person gains this experience and knowledge at a different rate. I've seen some one year nurses who I'd prefer taking care of me over many 20 year nurses, and I've seen some nurses who will likely never get it. So, that's why I think this is a decision that you have to make by understanding how comfortable you are with your knowledge.

Q2) Many, many students in my program work full time during most of the program. I have cohorts who go to school part time and quit their jobs because it's too tough and demanding for them, and I have cohorts who work 60+ hr/wk at two jobs and go to school full time and seem to be doing fine. Each of them has different responsibilities to their work, family, etc. Each has to determine how well they are at time management and at juggling so many different tasks at the same time. Personally, I switched to PRN so I could adjust my work schedule as needed and fit it in around my school and home schedules. This worked for me, but my situation is obviously different than yours, so again, you will need to identify what time sacrifices you are willing to make to fit your work, social, and school schedules into each other.

3) I would be very shocked if either limited you from a practice perspective. I would expect if there ever is a real push to the DNP being required, you would be grandfathered in. I'm old, so from that respect, I would have gone for the MSN. However, I hope to incorporate teaching into my work life at some point and so I opted for a program that is a DNP program but allows me to step out at anytime after I obtain my MSN if I choose to. If this was my first career, I probably would have gone for the DNP just because.

4) Again many programs have requirements or requests that letters come from people who fit certain categories. My school wanted one from a NP, one from a former professor, etc. This will be the first place where you will have to start networking with these professionals, and to me, building a good strong network in the provider community is vitally important to your overall success. It will help you with getting good references. It will help you if you have classes that require you to interview or discuss practice dynamics with providers in your community (as mine does), it will help you when you have to go about finding preceptors, and it will help you in locating both your first job and future jobs, not to mention when you need someone to bounce a case off of or ask a question about something you are not an expert of. These folks would also be able to answer many questions you probably have now about being a nurse practitioner and questions that will no undoubtedly develop as you work towards this goal.

Don't feel bad about asking the same people for references, many/most feel glad to be able to help their students as they move on from one step to the next in the process of gaining a further education and jobs.

happynurse14 · Jul 17, 2014

Thank you all for your input!!! It really helped me to see that each school has its own way of working and that I can find a school based on my desire and needs at the time. I will definitely be looking into different programs, but luckily the one that I am most interested in seems to work with employed students and doesn't require any sort of experience. As far as pursuing a DNP vs an MSN, I think that right now, getting a masters is my goal (enduring four more years of school does not sounds as appealing as having two and essentially being the same profession!) Again, thanks to each of you for taking the time and putting in the effort to answer my questions and concerns. It was enjoyable reading what each of you had to say.