Does everybody want to be a NP?

emmy27 · Oct 31, 2015

I don't want to be an NP, but all the NPs I've worked with have been good-to-great- some of my favorite providers to work with. They have, however, mostly been of the old-school "very experienced RN went back to NP school" variety. I supposed it's possible there's a different attitude among new grads who are already chomping at the bit to go back as soon as they hit their minimum experience and I just haven't encountered it.

Editorial Team / Admin · Oct 31, 2015

I have zero interest in being an NP. I'm happy where I am (cardiac OR) and the only change I plan to make is when I'm unable to handle the physical demands of the job to transition into education/staff development.

SubSippi · Oct 31, 2015

I don't particularly want to be an NP, but I don't think I can keep doing what I'm doing now forever (CVICU)...I don't want to work in management, and I don't want a desk job. So I will probably go to grad school and it will probably be for FNP. I figure it'll be similar to finding a job I like as an RN, in that there are so many different ways to go that I can eventually stumble into something I enjoy.

I'm hoping that the entire bubble doesn't burst. Maybe just the degrees from diploma mill type schools won't be taken seriously, leaving more room for other people...I know if I can't get into/can't make the time for a reputable program, then I'm just not going to go.

And ixchel, I agree...day shift and hell are one in the same.

GeorgiaOnMyMind · Oct 31, 2015

I am about to graduate with my BSN. There are a lot of nursing students in my semester who feel pressured to go on with their education and do Grad School. And it's not only them, it's me too. Especially as female nurses, there is a rush to get higher education done now, before family and kids come and we don't have time to focus on education like this again until we are 40. There are so many NP and dnp programs available to RNs; you can specialize in anything and then go back and get certification in something totally different. That's the beauty of nursing.

The down side of nursing is that "nurses eat their young" (which we will save for a whole other discussion). Another downside of nursing is the "totem-pole" mentality, which you all have been discussing, and to which I will now add my two cents: While I was attending CNA classes, my instructors told us that we might see some of that hierarchy in our clinicals. The doctor trumps the nurse, the nurse trumps the CNA, the CNA trumps the housekeeper. I don't think it has to be that way.

I say that each of us can help to break that hierarchical mentality in constructive ways (rather than destructive ways). One way to break that mentality is to break the glass ceiling of higher education. My friend did just that, going from housekeeper, to CNA, and now she is a nurse in the same hospital she was a housekeeper. When we do break that glass ceiling, we still need to remember where we came from and the amazing people we left behind. When a CNA becomes an RN, that RN knows full well how hard the job of a CNA is and is willing to lend a hand with call lights and ADLs. Thank you to all you nurses who do that. We love you for it. For all you nurses who have never been a CNA, and who may notice that your NPs are putting on airs, I ask you this question: How do you treat your CNAs? How do you treat your housekeepers? etc. Where are your airs?

Now we get to the meat of the matter. And that is PRIDE. What is different about those NPs who are approachable down to earth and friendly? I think they have less pride; they want everyone to grow but realize that their path might not be the path for everyone. Pride is a two way street; it can happen top down and bottom up. YIKES. So how do we avoid pride as nurses? Is there a class system between us and our patients? Do we seem rushed sometimes?

We all defy the totem-pole mentality in our own way. Please share yours. I like to be that CNA who says hi to the doctors and tries to learn from them, and I like to be that nursing student who always says hi to the housekeepers.

GeorgiaOnMyMind · Oct 31, 2015

Some people just have that air about them. I've experienced it in varying professions. I don't know that many nurse practitioners but the last one I encountered was very down to earth and friendly. As a general rule, whenever I sense an "air" about someone, especially having to do with superiority, I have to check myself (as uncomfortable as that may be), because sometimes it is something within me that makes me sense that about them.

I agree with you Everline. Thanks for saying that we need to check ourselves.

VANurse2010 · Oct 31, 2015

I am about to graduate with my BSN. There are a lot of nursing students in my semester who feel pressured to go on with their education and do Grad School. And it's not only them, it's me too. Especially as female nurses, there is a rush to get higher education done now, before family and kids come and we don't have time to focus on education like this again until we are 40. There are so many NP and DNP programs available to RNs; you can specialize in anything and then go back and get certification in something totally different. That's the beauty of nursing.
The down side of nursing is that "nurses eat their young" (which we will save for a whole other discussion). Another downside of nursing is the "totem-pole" mentality, which you all have been discussing, and to which I will now add my two cents: While I was attending CNA classes, my instructors told us that we might see some of that hierarchy in our clinicals. The doctor trumps the nurse, the nurse trumps the CNA, the CNA trumps the housekeeper. I don't think it has to be that way.
I say that each of us can help to break that hierarchical mentality in constructive ways (rather than destructive ways). One way to break that mentality is to break the glass ceiling of higher education. My friend did just that, going from housekeeper, to CNA, and now she is a nurse in the same hospital she was a housekeeper. When we do break that glass ceiling, we still need to remember where we came from and the amazing people we left behind. When a CNA becomes an RN, that RN knows full well how hard the job of a CNA is and is willing to lend a hand with call lights and ADLs. Thank you to all you nurses who do that. We love you for it. For all you nurses who have never been a CNA, and who may notice that your NPs are putting on airs, I ask you this question: How do you treat your CNAs? How do you treat your housekeepers? etc. Where are your airs?
Now we get to the meat of the matter. And that is PRIDE. What is different about those NPs who are approachable down to earth and friendly? I think they have less pride; they want everyone to grow but realize that their path might not be the path for everyone. Pride is a two way street; it can happen top down and bottom up. YIKES. So how do we avoid pride as nurses? Is there a class system between us and our patients? Do we seem rushed sometimes?
We all defy the totem-pole mentality in our own way. Please share yours. I like to be that CNA who says hi to the doctors and tries to learn from them, and I like to be that nursing student who always says hi to the housekeepers.

I have a lot of respect for the work my CNAs do, but I treat them as the subordinates that they are, and thus I don't have the issues with care not getting done that some other nurses do.

Alicia777, MSN, NP · Oct 31, 2015

I've only been an NP for about a year, so I guess in a way I have my heart in both roles still. If I'm writing notes and I hear a nurse call out for help with a boost, I get up to help. I NEVER feel like I'm better than anyone-in any aspect of my life. I still have so much to learn, and I was a nurse for many years before I went to NP school and a CNA while I was getting my RN, so I can't imagine ever acting that way.

I think thats the attitude of that person, so please don't generalize.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2015

Everyone one keeps saying that MSNs, CRNAs, and FNPs are going to flood the market, but does anyone have any hard numbers?

I do not think there will be a CRNA glut because the barriers to entry are keeping enough people out. To be blunt, many people cannot pass organic chemistry or calculus, or maintain a high GPA.

However, the FNP glut is coming. Trust me...I have never met a nurse practitioner student who couldn't find a program to accept them.

Sharp Increases In The Clinician Pipeline: Opportunity And Danger

Nursetk4 · Oct 31, 2015

I try to treat everyone I come in contact with as an important member of the team. I could not treat my patients without the help of CNAs, fellow nurses, unit secretaries and housekeeping. Our patients deserve the best care.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Oct 31, 2015

I plan on becoming an NP and nurse instructor as my semi retirement plan; I plan to be an Acute or ED NP.

I want the choice that before my body gives out I can still earn a living via the nursing model of care; in my area NPs make more or equal to bedside nurses making bank on overtime, plus the move towards nurse-run clinics will be in the future.

If there's a glut, my plan to jump in the market will be probably past that time; plus just because it seems as though everybody and their momma is going through the program, doesn't mean they finish, or want to be in the arena (Emergency) that I'm going in-being an ED nurse is a special place, and I can make the assumption that it's the same for the NP role, since EDs are open 24/7.

Most of the NPs that I encounter have been nurses and are very knowledgeable and respectable; I love having one as my specialist and love working alongside them on a daily basis.

**LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM** · Oct 31, 2015

My experience working on a med/surg, then a postpartum floor, was that it did seem like everyone and their mother was going back to become an NP (strangely, on postpartum, I was the only one becoming a midwife). However, most of those nurses, for various reasons, decided to stay floor nurses after they graduated. I suspect some couldn't pass their boards, and it seemed like some never really intended to work as an APN. Perhaps some got a dose of reality in school as to the aspects of the profession that didn't suit them. Only a few of us that pursued a master's actually moved on to the advanced practice role. I personally can't imagine doing a master's program with no intention of fulfilling the role it trained me for, but I saw that numerous times.

~PedsRN~, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2015

I feel like everyone I know is in NP school. I have no desire to be a FNP. None whatsoever. On even the craziest night, I love the bedside.