I am not a nurse yet, but I'm an EMT, have worked in and around the hospital, and I am currently finishing my last two prerequisite courses before applying for ABSN programs. It seems like 90% of my current classmates in nursing prerequisite courses, along with other prospective nurses I've worked with, are entering the nursing profession with the goal of become a Nurse Practitioner or CRNA.
Do you, especially those already working as nurses, feel a lot of new graduate nurses are entering nursing for the sole purpose of becoming an APRN? I feel like since APRN's are gaining more popularity, people are entering the nursing field to become an APRN and not a "nurse", in lieu of becoming an MD/DO or PA. I'm not saying more education is bad, but it seems like people want to be an NP, not a nurse, if that makes sense. Which leads me to believe (and I know it's been discussed before) a huge over saturation of APRN's is in the near future.
Thoughts? Again, I'm not a nurse yet, so I could be completely off base.
It's true for me. That's why I went to nursing school.
My original degree track was in Mental Health Counseling. After a short maternity leave from school, I decided to go ahead and shoot for that nursing degree. It's an opportunity to be more involved with the patient's care versus having a doctorate in psych (as far as medication management and understanding how physical co-morbidities and disease processes interfere with their mental status). I was having a hard time putting those pieces together as a mental health tech, and it was frustrating. So here I am. A couple months shy of ADN graduation.
I really don't have the desire to remain a "bedside" nurse any longer than I have to. It's all so impersonal at the hospital...at least in the psych units. There's not enough therapy....the patients are "stabilized" and sent away with "resources", which aren't enough to really do anything remarkable for them. Unfortunately that's just the state of mental health care in America. But I digress.....
My point was that I found nursing, and in particular advanced nursing practice, a more inclusive method of patient care versus another degree path. Not sure if that applies to anybody else.
I am a new grad nurse and will be starting my first job at a hospital in a few weeks. I have no true to end goal for my career but I do know that I want to learn as much as I can from my job as a bedside nurse. I do plan to go to grad school but I am in no rush to do so. I have heard of those that I graduated with wanting to go to grad school as soon as possible. I have even been told by a professor that if we want to become an NP we should do so within 2 years of being an RN because after a while it does not pay to become NP because the salary would be lower than your bedside job. That is crazy to me! I understand money is needed but when does it become enough? As for me, I am very excited to start my job as a bedside nurse and to learn from all the senior nurses.
I see your point about less experience = having less opportunity for proficiency. However, to be fair, do you think that accessing ports is a large portion of a nurse practitioners job? Do you think lack of expertise at that (or even having
True she may not have to access ports as an NP, but the finesse in doing bedside work is still a component of an NP. At our facility, house coverage NP's are called upon for needle sticks, TLC removals, etc. if the staff cannot do them.
True she may not have to access ports as an NP, but the finesse in doing bedside work is still a component of an NP. At our facility, house coverage NP's are called upon for needle sticks, TLC removals, etc. if the staff cannot do them.
1). Nurses often cannot do things they are perfectly capable of because of policies, not because they have no knowledge or abilities. Pulling a TLC is one smooth movement and then at least 10 min sitting there and not peeking under gauze. Actually, pulling a longer and deeper-seating PICC line is more dangerous, at least in theory - yet, nurses pull PICCs all the time and cannot pull TLCs. As many other things in schmolicies' world, this one makes no sense.
2). Likewise, NPs can be looked upon very negatively if they do something "only nurses do". Now when I am in transition to APRN role I miss wound vacs and PIVs. I spent years mastering both of them, and now I just can't go, grab stuff and do it despite of seeing the bedside nurse completely lost. I was told about it on my day #1.
3). Too many bedside nurses understand "finesse in doing bedside work" as excellence in skills like bedpan placement, bed baths, making beds in some very particular manner, transfers, feedings, etc. All that has very little if something at all for an APRN.
I'm curious what it might look like to try to somehow filter out those who really don't have any kind of desire for bedside nursing. Maybe it's a problem we now collectively are just "realizing," - years ago when people went to the work and inconvenience of nursing school, it was a fair assumption that many of them desired to do some kind of direct patient care/bedside care. I guess that has changed.
I appreciate several of the posts taking up this question (and "liked" them to express that appreciation.) I don't have all the answers ... but I think that is the direction we need to go. We need to provide multiple options for career paths for new grads -- and then help each new grad choose the path that best suits their career goals. The old "get a year of hospital experience" (preferably general med/surg) just doesn't match today's reality.
Specializes in Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist (SRNA).
This thread has had a lot of great posts and great insight, I would have never expected it to get over 12 pages of replies. Thank you to everyone, it has given me more insight and clarity on the topic.
Well, who doesn't want to make more money? Almost all of my classmates have the same goal to transition into a graduate program after getting their license. I personally just want to stick with being a nurse for a while before I make that decision. Not saying money is everything, but when you work your ass off for little to nothing and you never have enough of it, it tends to be a constant factor in making things happen. So if you have the brainpower and determination to graduate nursing school, why not earn an NP degree that'll give you possibly a 6 figure salary?
I have every intention of becoming an NP. However, that doesn't mean that if I found an RN position I was in love with, I would be compelled to leave in 1 or 2 years. I'd stay until such time as I was feeling I needed to move on.
Im not a nurse yet, hopefully starting an MSN in January.But I am a little older than you so here's my advice: If you like being a bedside nurse and feel the money works for you - it's enough. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't or that you should do something else.
You're going to do the best job and be the most happy in a position that you actually like, instead of what others feel you "should" do.
I do think I want to become an APN (specifically get a DNP) eventually, but I'm also open to other options because after... ehhh 7 ish years... of a career I really DONT like I know that the only thing I'm looking for is a job where I fit personality wise, can pay my bills without a ton of stress, and am busy and happy and keep learning.
Decide what matters to you. Do that. (I sound old now... guess at 28 you start becoming "wise?")
You're in "pre-nursing" which is probably populated by a lot of 18-20 year olds. Young people don't often have realistic visions of the future. They often think, it's as easy as 1-2-3, and they don't take into account changing life circumstances like getting married, pregnant, their parents turning ill, deciding to take up travel nursing, school/work burnout, the job not being what they thought it would be, etc. Young people always have the cleanest cut plans, but reality is life hits everyone and some of them may not make it to APRN or may change their minds.
Also, my answer to your questions is yes. The career encourages direct movement from undergrad to graduate without any clinical experience inbetween. They literally have these programs you can apply for.
Also, many nurses will speak openly about how people should get advanced degrees and move on from the bedside because it offers more sanity, less burnout, less physical brokenness... and they'll tell you as a nursing student/ new nurse that nursing isn't what it used to be, it's too much computer focus and less on the patient, and that they feel "stuck" in their current position.
Also, many nurses will speak openly about how people should get advanced degrees and move on from the bedside because it offers more sanity, less burnout, less physical brokenness... and they'll tell you as a nursing student/ new nurse that nursing isn't what it used to be, it's too much computer focus and less on the patient, and that they feel "stuck" in their current position.
These problems exist at the provider level too...look at the rates of physician burnout.
LotusPetals82, ADN, CNA, RN
57 Posts
It's true for me. That's why I went to nursing school.
My original degree track was in Mental Health Counseling. After a short maternity leave from school, I decided to go ahead and shoot for that nursing degree. It's an opportunity to be more involved with the patient's care versus having a doctorate in psych (as far as medication management and understanding how physical co-morbidities and disease processes interfere with their mental status). I was having a hard time putting those pieces together as a mental health tech, and it was frustrating. So here I am. A couple months shy of ADN graduation.
I really don't have the desire to remain a "bedside" nurse any longer than I have to. It's all so impersonal at the hospital...at least in the psych units. There's not enough therapy....the patients are "stabilized" and sent away with "resources", which aren't enough to really do anything remarkable for them. Unfortunately that's just the state of mental health care in America. But I digress.....
My point was that I found nursing, and in particular advanced nursing practice, a more inclusive method of patient care versus another degree path. Not sure if that applies to anybody else.