APRN Short Interview Needed

We get these requests a lot, so if there are any other students out there who might get this kind of assignment, listen up:

Part of your faculty's reason for giving you this assignment is to get you to go out there and speak to a live person to face. A big email blast is not a substitute for shoe leather. AN is not Google.

I hear you about not knowing any APRNs where you are or in your present job. However, if you aspire to be an APRN, you will need to become proficient at seeking out resources, and this is a good time to start (and may be an unspoken underpinning of the assignment, come to that). An anonymous respondent online, well, you don't really know who we are, do you? We could be the truck driving guy living next door for all you know.

So if all you do about learning new things is "Go to the keyboard and hit send," then you are limiting your chances of actual learning a valuable skill you will need in your working APRN life. Also, your faculty will not be impressed by your citation of an anonymous nurse on the internet.

That said: Where will you find one? Think outside the (computer) box.

Local hospital: go to the staff development/inservice education office and ask one of them. They value education and will be happy to chat or to hook you up with someone who is.

Go to the public health department downtown. Ditto.

Go to the local school and ask to speak to a school nurse, who may be an APRN or know one in the system. Ditto.

Go to a local clinic / physician/NP office. Ditto.

Go to the local jail and ask to speak to the nurse there. Ditto.

Try the local midwifery service-- midwives are APRNs.

Try the local wound care specialists-- many of them are APRNs.

Check your local phone listings for psych counselors-- many are APRNs.

Notice all of these say, "Go to..." and not "Email..." Remember that part about meeting new people face to face and comfort zone.

GrnTea,

Thank you for your suggestions. I do realize that that is the optimum way to find an APRN to answer these questions, except that I work 5 days a week as an RN and do not have extra time on weekends with school and family. This is for my online RN-BSN program, I have no interest in pursuing an advanced degree at the moment.

I see your point about speaking with an anonymous person here. Yet we are all anonymous here and ask for questions and advice for nursing practice/school and thus implicitly put trust in the credentials of the person on the other end. I don't think this is much different. This interview is not for a paper, article, or presentation. It is a two paragraph "filler" discussion board question that was given in place of an online collaboration session.

I see your point about speaking with an anonymous person here. Yet we are all anonymous here and ask for questions and advice for nursing practice/school and thus implicitly put trust in the credentials of the person on the other end. I don't think this is much different. This interview is not for a paper, article, or presentation. It is a two paragraph "filler" discussion board question that was given in place of an online collaboration session.

But to me, and possibly your nursing program, it would probably be in you best favor to have an ACTUAL person with a verifiable work place, and credentials that you interview...

To add to Esme's suggestion, perhaps you providers office have APRNs?