Career Advice for Nurse Practitioner Student

[KT_RN08]

Hi everyone!

Looking for a little career advice. I am starting my Family Nurse Practitioner in a couple weeks and currently working in interventional radiology where I assist with various procedures and manage sedation/recovery of patients. I have been given an opportunity to transfer to the patient placement department, where I would coordinate the flow of patient's through the hospital and utilize my organizational and critical thinking skills a little more. This is also a promotion per say and would come with a pay raise of a couple dollars an hour.

However, I'm concerned that leaving bedside nursing would hurt my resume when I graduate and begin looking for Nurse Practitioner jobs. Thoughts? Would it be ok for me to take this job or better to stay in a clinical role?

[umbdude, MSN, APRN]

If you already have some RN experience, leaving bedside should not hurt you unless you want to work as an NP within the hospital system (or floor) where you currently work. In that case, you might want to maintain the connection.

NP programs do not provide the most in depth training, so it's best to pick up extra materials to learn on your own outside of your curriculum, but that means you'll need to spend extra time. Rather than working, it's much better to focus on schooling and getting as many clinical hours as possible (if financially feasible).

[Oldmahubbard]

It sounds like the new role has something in common with what FNP's do.

I agree, if you already have some RN experience, there should be no effect on your career.

Also agree that materials outside your curriculum are needed in any NP program. Thankfully, they are abundant.