Best RN experience befor NP program?

[Jayla]

hello! i graduated from a second degree bsn program in may, 2004. i loved my community health rotation, and did public health as my "capstone," thinking that's what i would do upon graduation. unfortunately, the health department took so long to contact me about a position, i was forced to take a position on a general med-surg floor at a nearby hospital.

i'm miserable in my current job. it's not at all what i envisioned nursing to be. it's a 5 or 6:1 patient to nurse ratio. i feel like all i do is pass medication and chart. i miss the holistic aspect of public health. public health pays less, but i was so much happier when i was doing it as a student (my capstone rotation was full time, 32 hours a week, for 7 weeks...so i got a real taste for what it would be like to do public health nursing full time).

in the fall of 2005 i am obligated to go back to school for my master's. i have a federal scholarship that requires me to become an fnp and work in an "underserved" community. i must attend grad school full time, and i am only allowed a one year leave of absence (this year).

i recently interviewed for a public health nurse position with the same health department where i did my capstone rotation. i think i will be offered a position. it's a generalized nursing program. i would work with pregnant mothers and their newborn babies, do immunizations, work with tb patients, do std counseling and testing, and work with some geriatric patients.

okay, so here's my question: would it be better to stick out the old, med-surg job or take the phn position if it's offered? i plan to work part time when i go back to school next fall.

thanks for any advice!!

[PatrickJ]

I suggest sticking with the med surg role, The learning will be valuable and hard to replace. Time for all the wish stuff later, but for now, consider your med surg experiences as some of the best education out there. Ratios or not, the variety of work will give you many tools for the phn thing later.

:chair: