Does years of experience matter?

[ProfessorD]

Hi,

I would like to know others opinions concerning the years of experience one feels is appropriate for a novice nurse before pursuing higher education for NP, nurse educator, CRNA, etc??

[elijahvegas, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

you can have 1 year of top notch quality experience or 10 years of crap that hasn't gotten you close to prepared for the next phase of your career. there is no definite number, all that matters is mastery and level of competency, regardless of how long it takes. varies by individual. period

[BCgradnurse, MSN, RN, NP]

There are wonderful, rock star Direct Entry grad NPs and crappy incompetent NPs who have 20 years of bedside experience. The reverse is also true. Success is based on a combination of many factors, and is up to the individuals. You have to be able to think critically and follow logical pathways to decision making. Someone can learn those skills in other professions or experiences, and apply those skills as a NP. I've precepted both DE students and experienced RNs, and success is really what the individual puts into it.

[chacha82, ADN, BSN]

I can't take credit for this horses/zebra quote, someone else on this site used it and I don't remember who it was. Years to me don't matter as much as a provider being able to weave together what they have learned in the didactic and the clinical setting..."if you hear hooves, think horses, although if it truly is a zebra, you need to know what a zebra looks like."

As far as years of experience, if you have been a decent RN, I would think it can be very helpful to have years of practice just because you will be more familiar with how patients can present and potentially decline if you are familiar in that setting. However, if you're just a ninny RN and have practiced in a ninny way for 10 years, I won't feel better about being your patient because you have experience.

[Crush]

I'll chime in for nurse educator since I don't believe this topic is touched upon often here and I one day would like to work in staff development in some way.

IMHO...

I think at the least three to five years of experience should be obtained first.

If it is for a role such as quality or with the general education department at a larger entity than any nursing experience would be ideal as long as it is in the general type of nursing the educator will be focusing on as in hospital versus clinic (if it's a small business than all bets are off...).

If it's say in a unit educator role then the experience should reflect that of the floors if at all possible.

I personally feel like five plus years of nursing experience should be obtained in the most applicable area well before entering any NP or CRNA program FWIW.

Well said.

[retiredmednurse]

I worked the floors. From my experience, I would agree with the 5 years full-time employment in the units that one is interested in getting her ANP degree in. It takes 5 years to have had the experience to deal with most of the dx and assessed these type of patients to be a benefit. Also, it takes several years to gain the competence to be comfortable with one's one decisions and how to proceed-even it if is just to call the doc up in the middle of the night or wait until morning before your shift is over. Those first years as an RN is so important. For myself, I would want those years before I am legally responsible writing orders and scripts.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

From my understanding many schools make you retake science classes after the 5 year mark so that is an incentive to go back to school ASAP! Also you will still be gaining experience if you work while in NP school as many do. I think a year or two experience is probably good enough; some schools still require that, but not all.

I don't recommend staying a bedside nurse due to the poor working conditions and all the strain on your body from the increasingly obese patients and lack of a no lift environment in most places, plus corporate healthcare with short staffing and sometimes mandation or on call makes it very stressful and not worth pursuing for a lifetime! Make it work for you as a paid residency while you pursue NP and then you can still work as an RN if you have to, but will have other options that are safer and potentially more lucrative!

This is not meant to insult experienced nurses who obviously have more knowledge. If they can afford to pursue NP and desire this go for it. My regret is not doing this myself, but I won't take out student loans or sacrifice my financial security this late in the game when I'm on the cusp of retirement and I know I'm not a workaholic and don't want to work into my 70's!

[guest769224]

I'm normally on car forums and dating websites.

Is your username on dating websites "Bend over", too?

[Steffy44]

I can't imagine going straight from new RN grad to NP but I have a former classmate doing it. She has zero experience as a nurse and was a piano teacher prior to graduating. Now, in 6 months she'll be graduating from NP school and JUST got hired part time as an RN.

[llg, PhD, RN]

There are wonderful, rock star Direct Entry grad NPs and crappy incompetent NPs who have 20 years of bedside experience. The reverse is also true. Success is based on a combination of many factors, and is up to the individuals. You have to be able to think critically and follow logical pathways to decision making. Someone can learn those skills in other professions or experiences, and apply those skills as a NP. I've precepted both DE students and experienced RNs, and success is really what the individual puts into it.

While I totally, 100% agree with this ... I think the average person benefits from a couple of years of experience before moving on to graduate level nursing education and advance roles and/or leadership positions.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Just very much IMHO:

- students with high academic achievements and clear plan of what and why they want to do in "wider" clinical specialties (FNP, ACNP) need to be streamlined directly to grad school. Too many of them get limited to none benefits from what bedside nursing became over recent years. They might be provided with well-structured "internship" of about 1000 hours (administered by grad school) but should be encouraged to return to school ASAP unless they for some reason want to have more bedside experience.

- the same category of students aiming for "narrower" specialties (CNM, CRNA, PNP, PMHNP) should be encouraged to limit profiled bedside experience at 2 to 3 years at most.

- any student with more than 5 years out of school should be asked to either repeat science prerequisites and courses or test out of them. That can be used as a tool to optimize admission, instead of those silly "personal essays" and having little with objective reality tests like GRE.

- in any case, there should be side lined pathway for students who wish early grad school admission. They should not experience what they experience too often - bullying and hostility, to name things by their proper names - just because they aim high or smarter and more knowledgeable. On the other hand, facilities should not be forced to count on such students as on "ordinary" entry level grads and spend $$$$$ of their orientation.

Again, that's only my personal opinion.