can a NP work in phys med & rehab? whats the best route for me?

[pts]

im a student that has been accepted to med school, but chosen not to good afterall. originally i wanted to do physical med & rehab as a physiatrist. but since ive decided as a nontrad student that that would be way too long training, im looking into nursing school.

i have all the pre-req's for medicine. but now i would like to convert my non-sci., bachelors degree to a bsn first, i assume? then continue for at least 2-3 yrs more to get a cert. fam NP certificate? if anyone knows how this is done or if this is a do-able goal, please send me a message or reply here. thanks.

[lalaxton]

Absolutely this is doable! You are right in assuming you need the BSN first, then you should get a few years experience under your belt before going back to do your MSN. I think FNP would probably be the more 'general' route and allow you to see peds/adolescents as well. ACNP is another option if you are looking to work primarily in a hospital setting. I work with NP's in rehab and actually worked part time in a 'subacute' unit for awhile and loved it!

Good luck!

[smile123]

im a student that has been accepted to med school, but chosen not to good afterall. originally i wanted to do physical med & rehab as a physiatrist. but since ive decided as a nontrad student that that would be way too long training, im looking into nursing school.

i have all the pre-req's for medicine. but now i would like to convert my non-sci., bachelors degree to a bsn first, i assume? then continue for at least 2-3 yrs more to get a cert. fam NP certificate? if anyone knows how this is done or if this is a do-able goal, please send me a message or reply here. thanks.

There's another option. You can do a direct entry program with an accelerated BSN/RN or go for a direct entry to a masters program (the latter may or may not grant another BS degree; they give you a RN and a masters in 3 years). It's for people who already have their BS degrees in another field. Check out Johns Hopkins, U Penna, Columbia, Yale, U. of Washington, U. of San Diego, UC San Francisco and others. There have been other threads about this, so do a search. Good for you to realize you wanted a different career path besides med school before you got in too far!

Smile123