ARNP or Administration?

[angel549]

About to graduate May 5 (FNP program). Quick question: hypothetically speaking, if you had been an RN for 17 years, and now had your FNP degree which of these jobs would you choose? I am torn...well, blessed also! I have an NP job offer for after graduation, and an administrative job offer. I need to choose.

#1) NP job, cardiology, $78K, M-F 8-5, every 4th weekend, phone call, 2 weeks vacation, $1500 CME

#2) Director of a nursing unit (admin job), $85K, M-F 8:30 - 4:30, no weekends, no holidays, keep my current benefits (6 weeks vacation).

I have worked hard through school, I like the NP role, but I also need better flexible "family" hours. The NP job would get my foot into the field. The admin role opens a whole other door, and is more flexible with it's hours.

If you were to look back at yourself starting out, and this opportunity came up which would you choose? Just looking for some advice. So happy to be done with school!!

PS: I live in Florida

[Riburn3, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP]

To be honest, you want to negotiate a better deal for the NP job. The money is low, the call is high, and the vacation and CME are low average assuming you also get a week for CME.

This thread is almost 5 years old...and was over 4 years old when you replied. Hard to have a hand on the pulse of the NP job market in Florida in 2012, especially seeing as how in 2017 we still see people posting similar NP salaries in Florida.

That said, I'm curious what the OP ended up doing. Having been a manager of a CVICU, I can say my life is a million times better as an APRN than it ever was working in administration for a hospital. More autonomy and way WAAAY less BS. Weekly or daily meetings about patient satisfaction scores are behind me, and I couldn't be happier. Both jobs can be stressful, but I feel like the stress of being an NP has more gravity, where the stress of a director is more serious and ridiculous. I say a director get threatened with his job because his units pain satisfaction score wasn't high enough.

[BirkieGirl]

I would also lean toward the NP position. I work on the administrative side of things, and trust me that we likely never work a true 40 hour week. Yes, that's what the contract is, but we work until the work is done. We are also responsible for kicking in when staffing is short or there are multiple call ins. I'm getting my MSN next month and will be starting NP school too, even with the great role that I have. I'm also curious what the OP ended up doing!

[RuralNurseRN]

I'g glad to see this thread is still going. I have considered both FNP and MSN in Administration. However, I would not want to do nursing administration in a 24/7 setting. Rather, I would look for a job in ambulatory care. The hours are great and the pay is good. I guess your really do have to decide if you want to work with patients or employees and budgets.