Does it matter where I get my MSN-FNP?

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Just wondering if employers care about the school I attended to get my MSN-FNP. I'm considering attending a relatively inexpensive online school. My initial thoughts were that employers don't really care where I went to school; they just care about whether I passed the national FNP certification exam and know my stuff. Am I mistaken?

Specializes in Vascular Neurology and Neurocritical Care.

I think the landscape is changing. I'm now in a dual academic/clinical position that involves leadership over my department, and I certainly 'care' where applicants went to school. I am not alone in that thinking based on conversations had. Not only that, our institution is also one of the many in the area that are also only hiring ACNPs for inpatient roles, so I know I am not alone in our university hospital system thinking the same way.

2 Votes
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

Again, over and over I read on this forum that there are too many crappy for-profit online schools out there. Then I also read that too many new NP grads are completely clueless. Yet, the same people that complain about these things now seem to think it is ok to just pick the cheapest school possible w/o regard to quality! You can't have it both ways, people.

And, no one cares about your RN experience if you are going to be a primary care NP! Otherwise, I wouldn't have received multiple job offers! I agree that acute care NPs should have some RN experience, but that does not extend to primary care. And the research that has been done supports this. I've even had MDs in primary care tell me they don't want midlevels that only have prior acute care experience, as primary care is so different.

From reading this forum, I will even argue that RN experience may be a handicap in primary care. I've just read too many posts from new NPs that were RNs who can't handle the stress of being a provider, who are upset that their first NP job pays less than their last RN job, who don't want to work the typical outpatient schedule, who want to hang on to their RN "skills" as a crutch, and so on. Someone who knows from the start that they want to be an NP and provider may really have an advantage from that perspective.

2 Votes
Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.

Inevitably you will run into people who do care about where you went to school, especially if you're vying for a competitive job. In that case, do you want your degree to contribute to your candidacy or one that might hold you back?

1 Votes
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

I also want to point out that a good school doesn't mean just private schools like Yale or Hopkins. A state college or university is a solid, reputable choice and for state residents, the cost is generally very reasonable.

For those who are considering going to school full-time, an expensive school can have excellent financial aid, so it is still worth applying and seeing what kind of aid package you can get. Hopkins has good financial aid and a great track record of students winning Nurse Corps Scholarships.

Something else to think about is working as an RN for an employer that will provide MSN tuition assistance. Many government jobs, like the VA or the military will do this. That also applies to teaching hospitals. RNs at Hopkins get a deal on their tuition if they are accepted into the MSN program.

Another consideration is the alumni network. A school with a large and loyal alumni network can be a real advantage and many state schools fall into this category - think UCLA or Cal State LA.

Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

I think that contacts you have made can be the difference as far as employment. If you have a good reputation with colleagues from work as a RN, it's possible that you can network a position more based on reputation/recommendation than the school name. I have been encouraged to apply for a couple jobs when I have my license, without any question about the school itself. Granted, this is only verbal recommendations, not a concrete job offer so take my opinion for just that.

Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
1 hour ago, JBMmom said:

I think that contacts you have made can be the difference as far as employment. If you have a good reputation with colleagues from work as a RN, it's possible that you can network a position more based on reputation/recommendation than the school name. I have been encouraged to apply for a couple jobs when I have my license, without any question about the school itself. Granted, this is only verbal recommendations, not a concrete job offer so take my opinion for just that.

The problem with this approach is that there may not be a job opening in your network when you need one.

From reading this forum, there are areas of the country where the NP job market is oversaturated with too many NPs chasing too few jobs. In those areas, every competitive advantage should be secured by future NPs. A reputable school is one such advantage.

Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

I'm curious how many of the readers here have had to recruit providers or other staff? I have extensive recruiting experience in my previous business career and I have also helped an MD recruit a mid-level provider. Unless the hiring manager just happens to know of someone, they will post the job. Most MDs are too busy to do a bunch of networking to find someone.

Recruiting is incredibly time-consuming.

So, job is posted. A bunch of applications come in.

First, weed out the obvious crap - non-NPs, resumes that are terribly written, etc.

Second, take a pass through the remainder (usually about 10 to 20%) and determine which candidates you want to talk to. I am not going to try more than 4 or 5.

Third, contact all the ones you want to interview via email, phone, text to set up phone interview. I'll try each candidate 2 times.

What employers are looking for is relevant experience and qualifications. For a new grad NP, school is an indication of quality. If they have relevant RN experience, great. But if they don't have relevant RN experience, then more weight will be placed on the school.

The truth is, for primary care, a bunch of acute care RN experience is not going to be that relevant.

Here is why a good school matters: the school has already done some screening, because a reputable school does not admit anyone with a pulse. Again, it doesn't have to be Hopkins, but reputable state school is just fine.

11 minutes ago, FullGlass said:

The truth is, for primary care, a bunch of acute care RN experience is not going to be that relevant.

Coming from someone who has never once worked in or stepped foot into the role of an acute care RN tells me all I need to know about your opinion of "good fit" for the job. Do us and your employers a favor and never hire as you have no real concept or understanding of what RN's actually do. This is why direct entry is bad. You can neither advocate for your fellow nurses nor recognize where their jobs can fit in a range of roles including primary care.

Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
15 hours ago, djmatte said:

Coming from someone who has never once worked in or stepped foot into the role of an acute care RN tells me all I need to know about your opinion of "good fit" for the job. Do us and your employers a favor and never hire as you have no real concept or understanding of what RN's actually do. This is why direct entry is bad. You can neither advocate for your fellow nurses nor recognize where their jobs can fit in a range of roles including primary care.

I am tired of you coming after me. To other readers, djmatte actually went to another forum and complained about me, by name, there. In the past he has written some pretty aggressive posts to and about me.

I went to nursing school, and a very rigorous one, at that. So, I did plenty of acute care RN rotations in one of the best hospitals in the world. I also worked as a CNA prior to nursing school. I do advocate for RNs. However, that doesn't mean that acute care RN experience is all that relevant to being a primary care NP. That is not putting down being an RN. Do you want to go after the primary care/outpatient specialty MDs with over 30 years experience who feel that way? I think they know a lot more about what their specialty requires from providers than you do.

I have repeatedly said being an acute RN will be important for becoming an acute care NP. We are talking about NPs here and I was addressing being a primary care NP.

I appreciate many NPs worked as RNs before moving into the provider role. I admire people who work their way up. Those who had RN experience, great, and it's great that they valued that. But it is no longer necessary to do and it is time to just accept that for the new generation of NPs.

Your responses to me indicate that you have some kind of issue, and I hope you can get some counseling to address your sense of inferiority and insecurity.

Gee, if I was at such a handicap, why did I get NINE job offers as a new grad NP? Now that I am looking for my 2nd NP job, no one cares about anything except my NP experience!

I don't hire RNs, I am in a role to influence hiring of NPs. I also have a lot more experience in, and knowledge of, hiring and management of highly paid professionals, than you do. How much experience hiring NPs do you have? Have you had to run a recruiting operation for highly educated, skilled, and paid professionals? Have you also run a retention program for highly educated, skilled, and paid women and minority professionals? Well, I have.

Who do you think hires most primary care NPs? MDs, that's who. And they didn't work as bedside nurses, either.

If I get any more personal attacks from you, I will report you, again.

1 Votes
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
16 hours ago, djmatte said:

Coming from someone who has never once worked in or stepped foot into the role of an acute care RN tells me all I need to know about your opinion of "good fit" for the job. Do us and your employers a favor and never hire as you have no real concept or understanding of what RN's actually do. This is why direct entry is bad. You can neither advocate for your fellow nurses nor recognize where their jobs can fit in a range of roles including primary care.

Also, just so you know, I already have 2 job offers and one of them is to be the Assistant Medical Director of a decent size FQHC system with multiple clinics - part time provider and part time director, who would be responsible for regional expansion of the system.

25 minutes ago, FullGlass said:

Also, just so you know, I already have 2 job offers and one of them is to be the Assistant Medical Director of a decent size FQHC system with multiple clinics - part time provider and part time director, who would be responsible for regional expansion of the system.

Wow!

1 Votes
On 8/7/2019 at 1:40 PM, FullGlass said:

Again, over and over I read on this forum that there are too many crappy for-profit online schools out there. Then I also read that too many new NP grads are completely clueless. Yet, the same people that complain about these things now seem to think it is ok to just pick the cheapest school possible w/o regard to quality! You can't have it both ways, people.

And, no one cares about your RN experience if you are going to be a primary care NP! Otherwise, I wouldn't have received multiple job offers! I agree that acute care NPs should have some RN experience, but that does not extend to primary care. And the research that has been done supports this. I've even had MDs in primary care tell me they don't want midlevels that only have prior acute care experience, as primary care is so different.

 From reading this forum, I will even argue that RN experience may be a handicap in primary care. I've just read too many posts from new NPs that were RNs who can't handle the stress of being a provider, who are upset that their first NP job pays less than their last RN job, who don't want to work the typical outpatient schedule, who want to hang on to their RN "skills" as a crutch, and so on. Someone who knows from the start that they want to be an NP and provider may really have an advantage from that perspective.

I'll defer on what was gonna be typed here. Good luck with that AD position with all of 1.5 years of actual medical experience. Sounds like they are getting a stellar performer.

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