Confused-Which MSN program?

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Trauma ICU.

Hi thank you for reading.

I am currently in a BSN program expecting to graduate Spring or Summer of 2015. Now that my BSN is starting to wrap up, I am looking into MSN programs.

However, being that I don't have much experience yet, I am confused to which MSN program I should choose (i.e. family nurse practitioner, Adult-gerontology primary care, clinical nurse specialist... etc.). I don't know what all those specialties do and in what setting. Can someone explain the differences?

I think I am pretty sure that I want to be a nurse practitioner in an acute care setting like the hospital. I recently saw a nurse practitioner at the emergency department. What MSN program/degree must I complete to work in a setting like that?

My plan is to finish my BSN, maybe work for about 1/2 to a year (I know this is not enough to gain experience, but I want to finish school ASAP).

Also, if you have any idea, can you tell me how long that MSN program might be?

Thank you SO much!

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Once you gain more experience you should have a better idea with which patient population you desire to work with. I'm an FNP student and I have experience treating patients from infant to elder in primary care (clinic). Each speicalty track has a focus, PMHNP treat psych patients, ACNP is acute care/in-patient(adult only), working in ICU's,ED's and as hospitalists. There are PNP's that treat just pediatrics, some of those are both acute and primary care (dual certified). There are more but this is primarily the main different tracks. There is some overlap with where NP work but it should be within your scope of practice. FNP's, ACNP's, PNP's all work in the Emergency department but many places are requiring FNP's to get also their ACNP certification. FNP seems to be the more employable because they can treat across the life span but it is being more strictly primary care specialty. I would really recommend working for at least a few years as an RN. Hope that helps clarify some things, I can see how it can be confusing.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

In simple terms:

If you want to be an "advanced practice nurse" and diagnose, prescribe, and treat the you have to decide between: NP, CRNA, CNM, and CNS. All are MSN or DNP degrees.

If you chose NP then it's broken down into:

Acute care vs primary care (though there is currently overlap).

Then by age: neonatal, pediatric, family, adult-geri. Family is a mix of the former and latter.

There are also two separate specialities: psych-mental health and women's health.

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Trauma ICU.

Thank you ryguyNP and BostonFNP so much for your responses. I can see it more clearly now. I agree that I think I may need to work a bit to really find my niche and the population that I like working in.

I was looking at some programs online today and I had another question. For some schools, the NP is under Master's degree, but in some it is listed under DNP. Isn't that a doctorate like a PHD? If so, would that mean I need to get my MSN then go for the DNP-FNP? Or can I do straight from BSN to DNP-FNP?

Also, how can I get the ACNP? Is that from experience or from a certification class that I take and test for?

Thank you so much again!

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Thank you ryguyNP and BostonFNP so much for your responses. I can see it more clearly now. I agree that I think I may need to work a bit to really find my niche and the population that I like working in.

I was looking at some programs online today and I had another question. For some schools, the NP is under Master's degree, but in some it is listed under DNP. Isn't that a doctorate like a PHD? If so, would that mean I need to get my MSN then go for the DNP-FNP? Or can I do straight from BSN to DNP-FNP?

Also, how can I get the ACNP? Is that from experience or from a certification class that I take and test for?

Thank you so much again!

There are both MSN and DNP programs for FNPs. The clinical doctorate is a bit longer of a program and (supposedly) is the future entry to practice. At this time it is not required. You can go direct from BSN to MSN-FNP or DNP-FNP.

There are also MSN-ACNP and DNP-ACNP programs. Or you can get a post masters certificate.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Some BSN-DNP programs confer a MSN at some point during the program. I know of at least one that allows you to "opt-out" at that point as well. Yes it is confusing as there are just far too many options and they seem to "evolve" frequently enough to keep people from having a good handle on all of it.

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Can an FNP work in a hospital ED or ICU?

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Can an FNP work in a hospital ED or ICU?

Can? Yes.

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What would the best path be if my goal is Ed or ICU? Most schools near me offer FNP. Is the acute care a school path or just a certification?I'm still trying to figure out what's best and how it works.

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Can an FNP work in a hospital ED or ICU?

FNP is not technically meant to work in a hospital setting. The intention is to work in primary care, but there are always exceptions. The instances in which I have heard of FNPs working in the hospital setting include: rounding on patients for their collaborative physician, rural areas where they may be needed in a hospitalist-type position, or working for specific physicians such as a specialty group or surgeon doing consults/pre- & post-op exams.

From my understanding, for those FNPs who do not already have experience in these areas or who do not reside in a rural area, it is frowned upon because darker lines are being drawn between NP specialties. To work specifically in a hospital setting, acute care NP is generally suggested, but requires picking a specific population such as pediatric or adult and/or geri. Some people choose to complete FNP and then obtain a post-masters in the specific acute care population in which they desire to work. Some schools offer a dual certification in FNP and acute care which is usually geared toward ER, but I assume could fulfill the same requirements.

I find scope of practice for APNs to be generally vague which is both smart and frustrating. If any other members have a better understanding, please chime in for all of our information.

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What would the best path be if my goal is Ed or ICU? Most schools near me offer FNP. Is the acute care a school path or just a certification?I'm still trying to figure out what's best and how it works.

FNPs can work in ER, especially if they have ER or urgent care experience as RNs or clinicals that are heavy in either area. Sometimes it is preferred because they can see patients across the lifespan. As I mentioned above, some schools offer a dual certification program with family and acute care which are generally geared toward ER.

If your main goal is ICU, the best bet is to choose the population you want to work with and go acute care (pedi acute or adult/geri acute).

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Thank you so much!!! This cleared a lot up for me :)

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