Bad idea to quit after 6m as a new grad for DNP school?

Nurses General Nursing

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Ok so when I finished nursing school I got my dream job on a unit at a very well known and competitive hospital. My plan was always to work a few years and then go back to school to become an NP. Long story short I ended up applying to one of the best DNP programs in the county for my specialty last minute and I got in! Now I’m 6 months in as a new grad on my unit starting my DNP program (which will take 4 years) AND I have two young children in diapers. Basically, I’m crazy stressed out and have no work-life balance at all. I asked my manager if I could drop my hours at work and she said no. My husband thinks I should quit my job so we can have a better life while I am in school and also be able to spend more time with our kids while they are still so young. Do you think it would be a mistake to only have 6 months of bedside experience when I graduate as an NP? I realize having more bedside experience would make me a better NP but I also feel like I just can’t make it all work being full-time mom, student, and nurse.

I did my MSN NP over a period of nearly 5 years. I worked full time in the field, and had no children. None at all.

It was hard. Of course, I drove to class 2 hours away.

I would not be a fan of a DNP with almost no nursing experience.

Honestly, my preference is that you work, probably part time, and take one course a semester.

You have bitten off more than anybody could ever chew.

It will take what it takes. This is pure insanity.

You will have Dr as a title ( puke bucket) and you will be competing against real doctors that know what they are doing, which you won't.

Good Lord, save us.

8 Votes
20 hours ago, Theanxiousnurse said:

@MountaineerFan57 I don’t want the lack of bedside experience that would come with not working to make it harder for me to get a job as an NP when I graduate.

I think you're focusing on the wrong reason why nursing experience is so important before becoming a NP. It's not just about it being more difficult to find a job once you graduate. It's about the kind of provider you want to be. You want to be an experienced, competent provider. At least you should. 6 months experience is nothing. In fact it's the main reason NPs from school mills aren't taken seriously. A NP has no business practicing with 6 months RN experience. Period.

That's my opinion, but you will find it to be the opinion of many many nurses, NPs, doctors and patients.

I think you should at least try part time. If you find yourself unable to juggle it, then you can cut back more. But you want that nursing experience over the next 4 years.

8 Votes

This is a bit of a side track, but-

Do the best programs really award doctorates to nurse who barely complete orientation?

6 Votes

Aside from the experience vs. limited experience debate...

You may find it tricky to get a PRN job with less than a year of nursing experience. Most people believe that you need at least a year of nursing to be proficient enough to drop down to part-time, which is probably why your current manager is refusing to let you do it. Relatively few PRN positions will even consider people with less than a year of experience.

In addition, if you quit with less than a year of experience, you will probably seriously piss off your manager (since they'll have poured tens of thousands of dollars into training you, just to have you quit soon after orientation). That will also make it more difficult to find PRN work, as you may not have the best reference. Having a ticked off reference may also come back to bite you later on when you're applying for NP jobs.

You may be able to find a different PRN job, but do be aware of these hurdles. I wouldn't assume that it will be easy, or that you'll be able to do it in your preferred specialty at your preferred location with your preferred hours.

3 Votes
Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

For my MSN, I had to have a minimum of 2 years of practice. A friend did a BSN/MSN program at the same time (no kids, single) and them went straight into a DNP program. She has since gone back to get a clinical NP so she can practice. She had been working in a women's clinic all through her school.

The DNP was more of a research exercise. It gave her no exceptional qualifications to higher level of care. I am really not sure what a DNP does. I had planned to go on for my DNP after my MSN (mine was in Informatics-not clinical), but it really is a shorter version of a Ph.D.

I am flabbergasted that a DNP would allow someone in a program with no clinical experience.

OP, what is your end goal? Practice? Teach? Research? Admin?

3 Votes

@mmc51264 I would like to start out in a hospital (my degree will be in acute care) or possibly private practice. A lot of people get really bent out of shape when someone goes strait into grad school without bedside experience but PA’s have no bedside experience and they do just fine as providers with less education than I will have when I’m finished.

2 Votes

But PA's have real clinical experience hours in their program, and NP's do not.

They literally can't work while in school. Their program is very academically rigorous, and extremely competitive.

Very few NP programs meet that standard.

There are several RN's here wanting to know how they can raise little children, work full time, and go to NP school full time.

I think this is just sad, and the low salaries reflect the poor preparation.

OK, I know you are the true genius that can do it, but what about all those other poor folks?

5 Votes
12 minutes ago, Theanxiousnurse said:

@mmc51264 I would like to start out in a hospital (my degree will be in acute care) or possibly private practice. A lot of people get really bent out of shape when someone goes strait into grad school without bedside experience but PA’s have no bedside experience and they do just fine as providers with less education than I will have when I’m finished.

Those people are the cream of the crop. The programs are extremely competitive. That is the difference

3 Votes

@Oldmahubbard the program I’m in I will have to do clinical year round for the last two years. That seems like a good amount but I also don’t know what PA school does.

Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

that is not true about PAs. they have clinicals like nurses and NPs do plus they work directly under an MD. NPs are more autonomous and in many places can practice alone.

I cannot fathom how you are going to be successful in acute care with almost no clinical experience.

Might want to check into state laws regarding practice. They are changing scope for NPs in hospital. They are no longer allowing FNPs to practice in a hospital setting.

Where I am, there are no DNPs on the floor. They are all in admin.

Your education will have very little practical application.

I am not trying to be ugly, just pragmatic. I work on a surgical unit. During the week, we have a mix of NPs/PAs that are on the floor while the surgeons are in the OR. On the weekends, we have residents on call. I just can't see where a DNP would fit in. Our sister unit is neuro/ortho spine and they have a CNS. That is something I am looking into (ortho, diabetes, pain or wound).

Sorry if this comes off as rambling, I am thinking about different scenarios while I am teaching. The only thing that would make a DNP useful to me was if I wanted to teach at the university level.

It is similar to the DPT programs. Brand new physical therapists with doctorates and not one single one of the can match the skills of my neighbor who has been a PT for 25 years (I am not only an ortho nurse, but a chronic ortho patient ? )

Please do a lot of research into the practicality of getting this degree and how it relates to your goals.

✌️

3 Votes
Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

@Oldmahubbard I was able to work FT, pregnant with a 3 year old and go to graduate school to get a masters in teaching. I also worked FT while raising 2 kids and doing an online BSN. Also worked FT with 2 type 1 kids while completing my MSN. Had my kids at 36 & 39. M.A.T. at 41, RN @ 48, MSN @ 53. ?

I am lucky that I can multi task (and a professional student lol). Time management is key. Not impossible, although I know many cannot. Working 3-12s helps.

2 Votes
53 minutes ago, mmc51264 said:

@Oldmahubbard I was able to work FT, pregnant with a 3 year old and go to graduate school to get a masters in teaching. I also worked FT while raising 2 kids and doing an online BSN. Also worked FT with 2 type 1 kids while completing my MSN. Had my kids at 36 & 39. M.A.T. at 41, RN @ 48, MSN @ 53. ?

I am lucky that I can multi task (and a professional student lol). Time management is key. Not impossible, although I know many cannot. Working 3-12s helps.

Of course there are exceptions. But OP stated she/he cannot handle FT work while in this program. Therefore, I don't see this person being as successful as you. That was the whole point of her first post ?

3 Votes
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