ACNP without acute care background

UVA Grad Nursing · Nov 9, 2008

In our program, we want individuals to be ACLS-prepared at the time of application. We would like to see either 1 year of acute/critical care experience, or that you will be working full-time in that environment is accepted as a part-time student.

allnurses Guide · Nov 9, 2008

I honestly don't know how people without ICU experience are successful in the program - they must work really hard at the study. We get a LOT of information, really quickly and then are tested on it frequently. If you don't have that background, I'm not sure how you cope.

JDCitizen · Nov 10, 2008

Thanks!

I kind of figured... Its been about 5 years for me....

PumpkinEater, MSN · Nov 11, 2008

What ACNP program are you in Ghillbert? I'm planning on starting an ACNP program this fall and, by then, will have about 2 years of med/surg under my belt. One question I've been asking myself lately is not so much whether I'll survive the program as whether future employers will doubt my suitability as a candidate due to my lack of critical care/ED experience. Will they?

indecisiveRN · Nov 11, 2008

Just as a small point of clarification, acute care means hospital (as opposed to LTC), not ICU.

allnurses Guide · Nov 11, 2008

Yes, acute care means hospital. However, that's a minimum requirement. As I said, with the material covered, there's a huge advantage to having ICU knowledge and experience. I can't tell you about what employers will think - I am just completing my first semester and am not at that point yet.

I am at Pitt.

DaisyRN, ACNP · Nov 14, 2008

ghillbert... i did not have icu experience before my acnp program and you're right... i did fine with honors, but i had to work harder at it than my icu-experienced classmates. my background was er...

JDCitizen · Nov 16, 2008

OK any ideas what I should be looking at, studying, reviewing ????

ANPFNPGNP · Nov 19, 2008

Anyone have very little or no acute care experience before going into the program?
I am pretty sure that most folks walk in with an acute care background: Would your program have been accommodating enough to teach/train someone into the acute care role from scratch?

I've seen folks with other degrees and no experience as a nurse do well in those programs. I don't know if this had an affect on their job prospects. I remember they had a tough time in clinicals, but it was because there was a lot of resentment from the hospital nurses. I guess they resented the fact that these brand new nurses were in a program that could place them in a position over them some day.