ADN - BSN - MSN - NP?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 18, 2016

Do most strive to become NPs? Or do most people just want to settle as a Nurse?

I would say the majority of nurses do not strive to become NPs. I would also be careful to refrain from saying that those who have no interest in the NP role are just 'settling' on being nurses.

Personally, I do not have the provider mindset. I do not want the increased liability (and resulting increase in professional Liability Insurance). I do not want the responsibility of treatment decisions, prescriptive authority, or calling shots.

In addition, a Monday through Friday schedule of seeing 30+ patients per day in a clinic sounds debilitating. The NP jobs that entail three 12-hour shifts per week are mostly in acute care hospitals, which is another environment I totally detest. I wish to reduce patient interaction, not increase it.

While the money would be great, I realize I am not cut out to be a provider such as a NP or CNM. That's perfectly okay with me.

Oxygenforeverybody · Aug 19, 2016

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I don't mean to offend anyone and who knows, I could end up just staying in a certain area and never going after the NP because well time, money and its a lot of investment.

I do understand that as a RN you have tons of different opportunities to work in different areas or even continuing education elsewhere on the more administration side etc. So the money is the big factor of being a NP, I also enjoy the idea of 'being more free' from what I read from NP articles etc.

But again thank you for the reply.

Trauma Columnist · Aug 19, 2016

Moved to prenursing

NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN · Aug 19, 2016

I'm becoming an rn because I feel a strong pull towards direct patient care and bedside nursing. I don't feel it is settling. I have no desire to be an NP. I do have to wonder if you've considered becoming a PA? I believe the pay is very similar to NP, but, like the RN program, once you've completed prereqs, the program is only 2 years. You do have to work under an MD though. Just throwing that out there in case you haven't considered it.

Oxygenforeverybody · Aug 19, 2016

I'm becoming an rn because I feel a strong pull towards direct patient care and bedside nursing. I don't feel it is settling. I have no desire to be an NP. I do have to wonder if you've considered becoming a PA? I believe the pay is very similar to NP, but, like the RN program, once you've completed prereqs, the program is only 2 years. You do have to work under an MD though. Just throwing that out there in case you haven't considered it.

Theres so many different routes in the nursing field. I'm hearing new things everyday. No idea what a PA is.. I'm going ot have to research further.

Oxygenforeverybody · Aug 19, 2016

I'm becoming an rn because I feel a strong pull towards direct patient care and bedside nursing. I don't feel it is settling. I have no desire to be an NP. I do have to wonder if you've considered becoming a PA? I believe the pay is very similar to NP, but, like the RN program, once you've completed prereqs, the program is only 2 years. You do have to work under an MD though. Just throwing that out there in case you haven't considered it.

You just literally opened a whole new world to me on PA haha.

NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN · Aug 19, 2016

Theres so many different routes in the nursing field. I'm hearing new things everyday. No idea what a PA is.. I'm going ot have to research further.

Physicians Assistant

NewNurs2020 · Aug 19, 2016

I dont know about most nurses but I only want to be a nurse so I can become a CNM. I already have an AA and only needed 2 more semesters of pre reqs that were sciences I didnt take before, I also take summer courses. The bsn program I am applying for is 5 semesters including summer then I will be applying to frontier which is a 2 year program but they want you to have a year of nursing experience first. So you could get it done in 7 years maybe a little less in an accelerated program or taking summer courses.

cocoa_puff · Aug 20, 2016

PA = Physician Assistant. They are medical providers who work in collaboration with physicians. The requirement for PA school usually include an undergraduate degree (bachelors of science), health care experience taking direct care of patients (2000 hours - EMT, CNA, ED tech, MA would work), prereqs such as organic chem, biochem, physics, statistics, anatomy & physiology, microbiology, psychology, and medical terminology, GRE, volunteering, and shadowing experience. Their curriculum is very similar to med school, but condensed - 2 years instead of 4. They complete around 2000+ clinical hours in specialties like surgery, emergency, family practice, OB GYN, Peds, and Psych. Their salaries and job opportunities are basically the same as NPs following graduation.

cocoa_puff · Aug 20, 2016

Also, the timeline for ADN - BSN - NP could be something like this:

ADN: two years once you complete prereqs. Take BSN prereqs during the summer and jan-term if needed (chemistry, nutrition, statistics). Graduate ADN program, pass NCLEX, start working as an RN in whatever specialty that would prepare you for the type of NP you want to be: WHNP or CNM (OB/L&D), ACNP (ICU or ED), FNP (med-surg, ED, LTC), PNP (peds, of course), Psych NP (well, psych), NNP (NICU).

BSN: 1 - 1.5 years if completed full time. Work during this time to get experience for NP school. Complete any prereqs for NP school during the time as well (GRE, any certifications, shadowing).

MSN/NP: generally 2 years full time. If you wanted to work and do part-time, generally will be 3 years.

So once you get accepted into a program, 5-6 years if you go without stopping. From the point you are now, probably 6-7 years including pre-reqs. Hope this helps! PA school would be 2-3 years once you have all the requirements met (I see you are an EMT, which is great experience for PA school). Best of luck!

rock hopper · Aug 21, 2016

Not to hijack the thread..but could someone more knowledgeable than myself comment on how difficult it is to go from RN to MSN (FNP)? Say you had an undergrad degree, did an associates--would they look at all your work completed (CC and undergrad degree) and average it together for a cumulative GPA?