Chiropractor to FNP

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Specializes in ER.

Hey everyone, I need some advice concerning a new online BSN and FNP program. This program is allowing RN's and chiropractors direct entry into their BSN program. After one year the student will sit for their boards and if they pass, they continue with the NP Program for one year. The program is through Mid America and Hardin-Simmons University in Texas.

I have been a chiropractor for 11 years and I am looking to leave the profession. I am planning to go back to school to become a NP or PA. I am a little concerned about the online BSN and NP Program. Is a student adequately trained by an online course compared to learning in a classroom? You have some hands on training and you have to go through your rotations, but I am not convinced the student is ready to care for patients without more on the job training.

My goal as an NP or PA is to work in orthopedics or emergency medicine. How many NP's work as first assistants in the OR or the the ER? While I am taking some prerequisites classes, I am planning to get my paramedic certification and get some experience outside of the chiropractic field.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Troy

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Specializes in SICU.

I think you have to look into the program a bit more because what you wrote made no sense.

If the program accepts RN's into the program then there is no passing the boards after one year, they are already nurses. Dipolma/ASN to BSN can be an online program as they are already working as RN's.

If the program is an accelerated BSN for people that already have a BS degree then you need to have clinicals in order to qualify for the nclex exam.

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).
Hey everyone, I need some advice concerning a new online BSN and FNP program. This program is allowing RN's and chiropractors direct entry into their BSN program. After one year the student will sit for their boards and if they pass, they continue with the NP program for one year. The program is through Mid America and Hardin-Simmons University in Texas.

I have been a chiropractor for 11 years and I am looking to leave the profession. I am planning to go back to school to become a NP or PA. I am a little concerned about the online BSN and NP program. Is a student adequately trained by an online course compared to learning in a classroom? You have some hands on training and you have to go through your rotations, but I am not convinced the student is ready to care for patients without more on the job training.

My goal as an NP or PA is to work in orthopedics or emergency medicine. How many NP's work as first assistants in the OR or the the ER? While I am taking some prerequisites classes, I am planning to get my paramedic certification and get some experience outside of the chiropractic field.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Troy

Welcome Troy....

I believe what you are describing is that the Direct-entry BSN part of the program allows you to finish the BSN portion in 1 year and take the NCLEX, thereby becoming a licensed RN. Then you continue on to finish up your MSN/FNP. I would assume that if this program is also open to already-licensed RNs, that they would be exempt from taking the licensure exam at the 1 year mark.

As far as online-based education, many have done it and have had no trouble practicing. It all depends on the amount and quality of clinical time/education this particular program offers. I personally chose a classroom-based program for my NNP degree, because I lack the personal discipline to do classwork from home. Many have chosen the online route in order to maintain their current job, as well as have flexibility with family issues, childcare, etc...

ER's and ORs do hire NPs. You may need additional certifications to work as a first assistant in the OR. (I'm not sure, since it's not my field) NPs and PAs in the ER tend to work primarily in fast-track, pediatric and urgent-care areas....(at least in my experience)

You need to do what's best for you. If you find that this program offers solid clinical time, and you feel you can be accountable for learning and retaining info online, then go for it!

Best of luck!

Stevern21

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Specializes in ICU, Informatics.
My goal as an NP or PA is to work in orthopedics or emergency medicine. How many NP's work as first assistants in the OR or the the ER? While I am taking some prerequisites classes, I am planning to get my paramedic certification and get some experience outside of the chiropractic field.

I am planning to become ACNP/CRNFA in the future. I do not know what is the percentage of NPs practicing as first assists, but they do exist. I recently made contact with an instructor, in my local area, who trains NPs to become first assists. She recommended to obtain a MSN in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and then enroll into the RN First Assist program.

I am also in the process of trying to shadow an ACNP/RNFA in the near future. If everything pans out with getting permission to observe her in the OR, I look forward to learning more about this dual role and obtaining more information.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

i have been a chiropractor for 11 years and i am looking to leave the profession. i am planning to go back to school to become a np or pa. i am a little concerned about the online bsn and np program. is a student adequately trained by an online course compared to learning in a classroom? you have some hands on training and you have to go through your rotations, but i am not convinced the student is ready to care for patients without more on the job training.

pinoynp: most on-line np programs claim that the didactic portion has the same rigor as a face-to-face program. the clinical portion of on-line programs and traditional classroom programs are generally the same in requirements. that is because the certifying boards for all np specialties have set minimum hours of clinical training to be certified and all schools have to comply with this. some students in on-line programs complain that because many reside many miles away from the city where the on-line program is located in, it is harder to find preceptors for clinical rotations close to their area of residence. many on-line programs do not pre-arrange clinical sites for training.

my goal as an np or pa is to work in orthopedics or emergency medicine. how many np's work as first assistants in the or or the the er? while i am taking some prerequisites classes, i am planning to get my paramedic certification and get some experience outside of the chiropractic field.

pinoynp: you'll have to research the hiring trends for non-physician providers in your area. in metro detroit, many er's hire pa's instead of np's, our hospital being one of them. fnp's are not trained to care for traumas and acute/critical care patients and acnp's are only trained to care for adults. pa's practice based on the supervising physician's scope. this is why physicians have a bias towards pa's when it comes to the er's in this area. however, some of the urgent care centers here do hire fnp's.

orthopedic services tend to hire pa's and np's in an almost equal ratio. however, you'll find that the pa's who work in orthopedics also first assist in the or. you rarely see np's who first assist. at least, that's what i found from a few np's i know who work in orthopedics. many np programs here do not incorporate or rotations in the clinical portion of the program. in addition, rnfa's have already claimed this field on the nursing front and they are not considered advanced practice nurses. completing a dual np and rnfa program, as the above poster already mentioned, will enable you to qualify for both roles in terms of training.

if you already have a bachelor's degree, it may be faster to finish a pa program as you wouldn't have to complete the bsn and rn protion of training in an np program.

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Specializes in orthopedics.

Hi - I just saw your post. I too am a chiropractor as well as registered nurse. I went back for my RN in 2004 at Excelsior College. I have a bachelors degree in another field and now associates degree in nursing. At Excelsior we had to pass a rigorous clinical exam at the end of the program. I am not familiar with the program your talking about so I don't know what kind of clinical exp you would get.

I have now decided to apply to a FNP program. There are a couple I am looking at but since I don't have my BSN I may have to do the RN to MSN program. They will review my transcipts to see what I may be missing. I have applied to Ball State University the FNP program but also considering Frontier or Stony Brook.

I do know that I am super excited about becoming a FNP. I think that is what I was meant to do all along. I like chiropractic but feel limited in what I can or cannot treat. I hope to combine tradional and integrative medicine. Please let me know if you have any more questions. Good Luck!

Curious as to why you are thinking of changing direction as well?

Thanks -

Robin

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Hi - I just saw your post. I too am a chiropractor as well as registered nurse. I went back for my RN in 2004 at Excelsior College. I have a bachelors degree in another field and now associates degree in nursing. At Excelsior we had to pass a rigorous clinical exam at the end of the program. I am not familiar with the program your talking about so I don't know what kind of clinical exp you would get.

I have now decided to apply to a FNP program. There are a couple I am looking at but since I don't have my BSN I may have to do the RN to MSN program. They will review my transcipts to see what I may be missing. I have applied to Ball State University the FNP program but also considering Frontier or Stony Brook.

I do know that I am super excited about becoming a FNP. I think that is what I was meant to do all along. I like chiropractic but feel limited in what I can or cannot treat. I hope to combine tradional and integrative medicine. Please let me know if you have any more questions. Good Luck!

Curious as to why you are thinking of changing direction as well?

Thanks -

Robin

btw Frontier will allow students to directly enter the MSN/FNP program if you have an associate degree in nursing and a bachelor's in another field.. You have to complete a portfolio demonstrating nursing knowledge.

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This is the way I see it: I'm an RN on the associate degree level. I have been working as an RN for a couple of years, during that time I began working on a BSN, which I will complete in a couple of semesters. I am choosing to complete the BSN online because I feel I have had adequate clinical training through my job.

I feel that online learning can open doors where there may be no other opportunity at the time, but I don't believe online education can replace all other aspects of learning, and I definitely plan on going for a master's degree in-house.

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Hey everyone, I need some advice concerning a new online BSN and FNP program. This program is allowing RN's and chiropractors direct entry into their BSN program. After one year the student will sit for their boards and if they pass, they continue with the NP program for one year. The program is through Mid America and Hardin-Simmons University in Texas.

I have been a chiropractor for 11 years and I am looking to leave the profession. I am planning to go back to school to become a NP or PA. I am a little concerned about the online BSN and NP program. Is a student adequately trained by an online course compared to learning in a classroom? You have some hands on training and you have to go through your rotations, but I am not convinced the student is ready to care for patients without more on the job training.

My goal as an NP or PA is to work in orthopedics or emergency medicine. How many NP's work as first assistants in the OR or the the ER? While I am taking some prerequisites classes, I am planning to get my paramedic certification and get some experience outside of the chiropractic field.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Troy

I was a chiropractor for ten years, until I became a nurse about four years ago. I did it through Excelsior, but they no longer accept chiropractors. I have worked in cardiac for four years, and I have been in the OR for almost a year. I just started NP school part time. So I under stand where you are coming from.

I do not know anything about this online program. I do not know how you will be able to get your RN licence without the clinical teaching. Excelsior has an extremely difficult clinical skills test called the CPNE which they used to assess clinical skills. I passed the CPNE, but I still needed a long orientation as a nurse to feel comfortable. I do not think that you can go from chiropractor to NP without experience first as a nurse. The fields are just too different.

The OR is an even different world. The PAs seem to have the upper hand in the OR. From what I have seen, the surgeons prefer to have PAs in the OR as there first assist, and NPs taking care of patients on the floor. If you really want to be in the OR, PA is the way to go.

As a chiropractor, you are at a disadvantage because you probably do not have a role in the hospital. Because you are primarily in outpatient settings, you do not get to see how the health disciplines interact. Some setting are not what you think. When I was in nursing school, I KNEW that the ICU was for me. When I got out, my first job was in the ICU, and I hated it. I thought I would hate the floor and cardiology, but I really loved it. I thought I would love the OR, but I still have mixed feelings about it. From the outside, you cannot tell if you love or hate a setting. Just because you want the ER or the OR does not mean that they are the right place for you.

The great thing about nursing is that you have so many opportunities to do so many different things. I still think that becoming a nurse was the best move that I ever made. I do not regret leaving chiropractic for one minute. Good Luck!

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Specializes in orthopedics.

DC2RN - When did you graduate from Excelsior? I too am a chiropractor and went back for my RN from Excelsior and graduated in 2004. Where are you going for your NP? I just applied to Ball State and will probably apply to Frontier as well.

I have been in the OR for a few years. At first I loved it and now I know I want something different. I have worked in pre/post op which is nice too.

I don't regret for a second that I went back for my RN. There are so many possiblities.

The CPNE exam from Excelsior is very challenging. I thought VERY different from chiro boards. I agree that you do need RN experience to be a NP. Chiro and nursing fields are very different.

It is nice to hear from other chiros who transitioned into nursing as well. I love it and so glad I did it. I like that I can work part-time, be home with my kids and work towards the NP. I am really excited for the NP program. I finally feel like I am on the right track and this is what I was meant to do.

Thanks for sharing!

Robin

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I also graduated from Excelsior College in 2004. I just started Stonybrook's ANP program. So far, it has been a lot of work, but very doable.

I also enjoyed the practice of chiropractic, but I never found a way to make a living practicing in a way that I believed in. I never opened my own practice. I still sometimes ponder opening a small home office a few hours a week to supplement my income. Just symptomatic care. No insurance......maybe someday!

Good Luck!

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Hi. I am a Chiro and am interested in a career change. I have practiced for 12 years and have never felt like I have really been full-filled and doing what I truly was meant to be doing. I wish I did what I originally wanted to do and apply and immediately enter Osteopathic Medical School after graduating Chiropractic College.

Now I am interested in the NP degree and have heard of the path that Chiro's can take at Mid America and Hardin-Simmons University in Texas.

I can not find any information on that program at all. Can someone help and lead in the right direction.

Thanks, Kevin

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