CNTP Army Question

[ncox1]

Am going to be finishing up BOLC here in a bit and transitioning to the CNTP program at Tripler.

Haven't really had this portion of the program broken down for me yet. Anyone familiar with this and can give some insight?

What's the usual structure, are we taking test's weekly, how many hours does a CNTP student work a week (generally), etc.

Any information would be helpful.

Thanks

2LT Cox, Nathan

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Hey LT,

CNTP has changed a bit since I graduated a few years ago, but the basic layout (for me) was this:

You will have a CNTP leader. S/he will lead discussions, guide group trips, etc. Our CNTP met once a week and we usually had some short assignment to complete. As I recall, they decided to re-teach us how to analyze studies based on strength of evidence, study type, etc. Usually, you meet for the entire day. You may have professional development days sprinkled in there wherein someone has to plan a day trip to a relevant site. We went to the ANA HQ in DC on one of our trips and to Arlington National Cemetery on another (I was the last CNTP group at the old Walter Reed in DC).

My CNTP leader was crazy as a loon and powerhungry as a North Korean dictator. She insisted that we could only work 8-hour shifts, so we were at the hospital 5 days a week on our floors. She refused to let us rotate around the hospital to other wards, which meant we went directly to our assigned wards and got no experience on the other units (which sucked when we had to float after we were out of CNTP).

While you're in CNTP, you are still non-deployable (first year of your commission is non-deployable) and you're not allowed to take leave, so be ready to ask for mileage passes. I cannot stress enough the importance of making sure the granting authorities know it's a mileage pass, because otherwise you'll have to prove that you're a superstar to get a pass (they think that a pass means you're taking off work. But in a mileage pass scenario, it's just asking to go outside your radius on days off).

CNTP is basically an extension of college. Big Army is trying to make sure you don't kill anyone. They'll put you with a preceptor of some sort on your unit(s), usually for the first 3 months or so with varying degrees of independence until you get the hang of things. You'll slowly get weaned off the preceptor and begin to work on your own as you get comfortable and develop your skills. On the note of skills, there is a very long self-assessment you will probably be required to fill out on how comfortable you are with your own skill set. There is a good amount of paperwork/busy work in CNTP, so keep that in mind.

Don't take it too seriously. If you have a good leader and a good group, try to learn something and take it with you into practice. If you have a whip-cracking psycho leading your cohort, take it in stride, have fun, and make it memorable so you have stories to tell later.

Be sure to let us know how it goes. I'd be curious as to how the CNTP has changed.

PS: I'd encouraged you to edit your original post and remove your name. AN is an anonymous board for a reason. You'd be surprised who you might "bump" into in here and find out later that they were COL So-and-so, the DCN of your hospital...

[ncox1]

Thanks for the heads up. Will try to figure out the edit thing. Do appreciate all the info!

[Alohalove]

I graduated from CNTP at Tripler two years ago and currently serve as a preceptor on my unit there so I can give you a pretty good idea of what might happen :)

For the first 10 weeks you will work on your assigned unit with your preceptor. You work the preceptors schedule which is usually 84 hours a pay period (2 weeks) but the director may give you days off as needed or to go to a class (ie the telemetry course, wound care class etc). If your preceptor and director feel you are ready, you will spend the rest of CNTP rotating in2 week periods to the other med surg floors around the hospital. The director makes your schedule during this time and you are pretty much working on your own. She does keep an eye on you and stop by throughout the day to make sure you're okay.

Throughout this period you attend weekly seminars with the director and the rest of your cohort and work on projects and skills. There are no tests with the exception of the IV push med test that every RN in the hospital has to pass in order to push meds. You and a group of cohorts have to put together an evidenced based practice project towards the end of the program.

As stated above, you can not take leave during CNTP except in emergencies. In hawaii we dont have mileage passes (it's an island) but you can take passes in CNTP during rotations but only to the other islands. Also, the director and your preceptor can extend the program until you're ready to work on your own.

Let me know if you have any other questions and e komo mai to hawaii!