Do you feel more people are entering nursing only to become APRN's?

[BiscuitStripes]

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.

[Jbgood]

Yes, especially after people start working as an RN and realize this is not what they want to do for the next 40 years. I'm in psych and half the people I work with are in grad school for NP. I wonder where they will all go to work!

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Yes, especially after people start working as an RN and realize this is not what they want to do for the next 40 years. I'm in psych and half the people I work with are in grad school for NP. I wonder where they will all go to work!

To your already extremely underserved psychiatric population, as well as to medically underserved communities, of which there are plenty in every corner of the USA.

HRSA Data Warehouse – Shortage Areas

[Rekt]

Yes, especially after people start working as an RN and realize this is not what they want to do for the next 40 years. I'm in psych and half the people I work with are in grad school for NP. I wonder where they will all go to work!

They must be wondering the same thing too! So many options and opportunities await!

[BostonFNP, APRN]

It seems like the problem lies with the quality of the programs and requirements for admissions. I think there also needs to be a residency requirement.

What are you basing your opinion on? Your personal or professional experience? The extant data?

One step would be finding other ways to fund program so you aren't spending half the time working in research projects. They need to replace that with clinical rotations.

I don't really follow what you mean here.

As far as adding more clinical rotations, I don't disagree that more clinic time is generally a good thing, but there are two problems with this: 1. there is already a dearth of quality clinical preceptors and 2. what evidence are you going to cite to make this change which would make programs considerably more expensive, reduce the "convenience" you mention above, and increase duration of the programs.

Advance practice nursing is supposed to be for providers who love and respect the foundations of nursing that adhere to the biopsychosocial model and not the biomedical model. Healing the whole person and achieving total health or at least managing the health of the whole person.

I take it you don't work as an APN? This is a nice sentiment, treating both the disease and the individual's response to the disease, the nursing way. In clinical practice, I'm not sure many providers go to into each room thinking about this.

[zoo*moon, BSN, RN]

Met a nursing student the other day. She says she wants to work in ICU. A few minutes later she mentions working in the ICU again and says yeah I want to be a Nurse Anesthetist (but totally mangles the word) and you have to have a year ICU experience first. I'm shaking my head, feeling sad.

Side note though how should I correct her and teach her how to say "Anesthetist" correctly? It was shocking how she mispronounced it.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Met a nursing student the other day. She says she wants to work in ICU. A few minutes later she mentions working in the ICU again and says yeah I want to be a Nurse Anesthetist (but totally mangles the word) and you have to have a year ICU experience first. I'm shaking my head, feeling sad.

Side note though how should I correct her and teach her how to say "Anesthetist" correctly? It was shocking how she mispronounced it.

Some of these people really have no firm plans they just are sharing hopes and dreams.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Met a nursing student the other day. She says she wants to work in ICU. A few minutes later she mentions working in the ICU again and says yeah I want to be a Nurse Anesthetist (but totally mangles the word) and you have to have a year ICU experience first. I'm shaking my head, feeling sad.

Side note though how should I correct her and teach her how to say "Anesthetist" correctly? It was shocking how she mispronounced it.

As a someone who experienced such "constructive criticism" in full, I would be more than happy to let you know that "teaching English" is a rude and unwelcoming behavior which is below common human decency, leaving alone standards of professional conduct you are supposed to follow at all times.

[callinshotz, RN]

What are you basing your opinion on? Your personal or professional experience? The extant data?

I don't really follow what you mean here.

As far as adding more clinical rotations, I don't disagree that more clinic time is generally a good thing, but there are two problems with this: 1. there is already a dearth of quality clinical preceptors and 2. what evidence are you going to cite to make this change which would make programs considerably more expensive, reduce the "convenience" you mention above, and increase duration of the programs.

I take it you don't work as an APN? This is a nice sentiment, treating both the disease and the individual's response to the disease, the nursing way. In clinical practice, I'm not sure many providers go to into each room thinking about this.

As I have stated repeatedly I'm just starting the race. I have stated that I only speak on what I've observed and what other APRNs have spoken out about the programs. There are a number of great NP programs and then there are some questionable ones. I think we can all agree on that. So just from the outside looking in (an opinion not worth much) I decided to give my input. One APRN mentioned pointless research projects that take up so much time. When he brought it up to the President of the school she told him she herself agreed. She said that they'd love to do away with some of the research and replace it with more clinical instruction but because of grant funding that was impossible. Again, I'm just getting started but I listen in on these conversations and sometimes join in because this is my future profession. I'm new to nursing but not to healthcare. If I've offended the I apologize but I'm trying to understand the problem so I can possible avoid issues in the future.

[elkpark]

As a someone who experienced such "constructive criticism" in full, I would be more than happy to let you know that "teaching English" is a rude and unwelcoming behavior which is below common human decency, leaving alone standards of professional conduct you are supposed to follow at all times.

So, if it were you mangling some common term in your field, would you rather someone politely corrected you or just let you go on mangling it and sounding like an idiot? I would rather be corrected.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

So, if it were you mangling some common term in your field, would you rather someone politely corrected you or just let you go on mangling it and sounding like an idiot? I would rather be corrected.

So, do you think that people who moved across the country, speak with an accent, survived traches and other manipulations on their vocal apparatuses, ect., etc. are all sounding like idiots just because they pronounce some words differently? It is quite an interesting point of view for someone who dedicated life to caring for others, I must say.

One so-called "nurse" who targeted and tortured me all my first year because she somehow found my accent "offensive" and "detrimental for safety", later survived a complicated surgery on her throat. She lately learned to speak again but her speech is still more "accented" and less understandible for strangers than my own and it will likely stay like this till the end of her life. I still refuse to even say "hi" to her although she spent time looking for me and then cried and asked to forgive her for being a cruel and ignorant fool that she was.

[elkpark]

I still refuse to even say "hi" to her although she spent time looking for me and then cried and asked to forgive her for being a cruel and ignorant fool that she was.

Hmmm, "quite an interesting point of view for someone who dedicated life to caring for others, I must say."

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Hmmm, "quite an interesting point of view for someone who dedicated life to caring for others, I must say."

Unfortunately, we all have things we won't able to to just let go. Those who say otherwise are likely never experienced enough evil in their entire lives.