AGNP Interest – Anyone willing to share their experience?

[aposseadesse]

Hi There!

I am currently filling out my application for UCSF's MEPN program and I'm torn between the Nurse Midwife/Women's Health Nurse Practioner program and the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practioner program (with a focus on HIV/AIDS care or Diabetes care). I'm very interested in both areas and both seem like areas where the job market will remain steady but of course I can only pick one.

I was wondering if you some of you would mind sharing your experiences on your work as an AGNP. What type of facility/institution you work for? What you like and dislike about your profession? If you could go back would you have chosen a different specialty? And any other insights you think are helpful.

Thanks in advance. I greatly appreciate it!

Kay

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

I am an AGNP. My schedule is about 60-65% seeing patients in private practice (IM) with the rest of the time spent in a skilled/LTC nursing facility, mostly with very frail elderly patients. The group I work for only does adult-geri care and many of my patients are complex with multiple comorbidities and chronic conditions - I love the challenging patients.

During my office hours I do a lot of well woman examinations, derm/small procedures, and patient education. I see a wide variety of patients from 18 through end of life care including palliative and hospice care. I really like the variety of my job and have never had any regrets about not doing family or any of the other specialties.

[Sha-Sha RN]

I'm a new AGNP. I graduated last May, but I started at my current and first NP position 5 months ago. I work inpatient at a hospital on the Endocrinology Service. We only see adults for everything metabolic/ gland-related from out of control diabetes to high calcium levels to adrenal insufficiency. Very interesting field and I am learning a lot. I don't regret doing AGNP vs FNP because I really had no interest in doing peds. At one time ( before I went to NP school) I thought I wanted to work in women's health, but after my women's health clinical rotation during my NP program, I realized I did not want to look at lady partss all day everyday. So the AGNP program gave me that luxury, that I would only have to do that role sometimes if I work in primary care.

[aposseadesse]

Thanks for sharing your experience TakeTwoAspirin, it has been helpful.

[aposseadesse]

Thanks for sharing your experience Sha-Sha, it has been helpful. I too have no real interest in peds. Did changing your mind from women's health set you back at all? I need to speak with a counselor about it but I believe I have the option to change my MSN focus after the first year, the RN program, is finished - which is always an option if I can't decide.

[Sha-Sha RN]

No my change heart about women's health did not set me back at all. My program required us to do at least 40 hrs in women's health during a semester we had to complete a total of 180 adult primary care clinical hours (Gyn only). So I did 50 and moved on. If I had more interest in women's health I probably would have done more hours during my last semester which my school allowed you to do specialty hours as long as you 500 primary care hours were done.