Just curious about your journey through NP school via distance. I was unable to find another thread which exclusively provided a "lived experience" list for those going through, or have been through the distance ed process.
As you are aware, there has been much derogatory comments, false statements, and other inflammatory remarks regarding distance education which I dismiss as nothing more than manifestations of insecurity within themselves, all from my estimation, made by those who have never been through the distance education NP program process. Unfortunately, I feel that comments such as these from uninformed individuals might place distance education in a bad light for those considering such pathways to career advancement.
Since distance education is a proven legitimate and viable option for NP's, I'd really like to hear other's experiences.
For those of you doing the NP route via distance, what has been your experience? Where are you going? What do you like/not like about the program? Have any regrets about not taking the traditional path, like going to classes on another's schedule, paying extra money to take you there in light of gas prices, etc? Do you feel that your experience has short-changed you as compared to going through a traditional program? If you had to do it over, would you have chosen the traditional path?
I will graduate in May from a distance ed program with my FNP. I feel 100% capable of safely caring for patients in primary care. My distance ed program requires more than double the number of clinical hours required by the local university which only offers an on-site program. All of my preceptors have only had on-site students and they have all commented how much better prepared I am than others they have had in the past. Actually, I had a preceptor that graduated 5 years ago from the local on-site program with her FNP without every doing a primary care clinical. She had been to a hospital, urgent care, psych facility, and bariatric clinic. She never managed HTN, hypercholesterol, or diabetes as a student. She had never done a pap.
I think there are good distance programs, just as there are good on-site programs. Either way, there are stuents who will excel and students that are happy to do the minimum and "pass." Would you rather have a straight A distance prepared NP or an on-site prepared NP that barely passed?
The one thing I did not like abou the distance program, is the ability of the instructors to avoid questions/comments. It is easy to delete an email or voice mail message, not as easy to ignore a student standing directly in front of you.
It has been a blessing for us, as there is no way I could go on-site with children. I prefer to be home in the evening. Not in class 4 nights per week. I was able to do most of my course work and clinical during the day and work every other weekend without neglecting my family.
All in all, I would absolutely do a distance program again. We need to support each other and our profession, not judge others because they may have been educated in a different way.:redbeathe
All in all, I would absolutely do a distance program again. We need to support each other and our profession, not judge others because they may have been educated in a different way.:redbeathe
It looks like there might not be too much difference in traditional and distance education. There's a thread on a physician site where medical students are talking about not going to classes and watching videos and power points, and some doing better than those who sit in class.
I love the online route, besides saving on gas money to travel to & from school not to mention the travel time itself, I get to sit in my pj's while having an online live class or just doing homework. It is very convenient & it teaches you a lot about technology itself. The internet has such a wealth of information that provides a much richer experience than I could ever expect to get from just a traditional setting alone. ( the only draw backs for me are the distractions from my own weakness to check out my email, facebook or allnurses sites)...its fun though.
"NP's are not trained to practice medicine, nor are they licensed to practice medicine in any state in the US" from page 3 of this thread.
Okay, I apologize for being off topic but seriously:
NPs aren't trained to practice medicine??"
We don't hold medical licenses?
Just for clarification:
I was trained to practice evidence based medicine every day of NP school and my state (NC) dually licenses NPs through both the Board of Nursing and Board of Medicine. NP students attend the same classes with med students at couple of NC universities.
"NP's are not trained to practice medicine, nor are they licensed to practice medicine in any state in the US" from page 3 of this thread.
Okay, I apologize for being off topic but seriously:
NPs aren't trained to practice medicine??"
We don't hold medical licenses?
Just for clarification:
I was trained to practice evidence based medicine every day of NP school and my state (NC) dually licenses NPs through both the Board of Nursing and Board of Medicine. NP students attend the same classes with med students at couple of NC universities.
Trust me, I understand how confusing it is. However, the majority of physicians would FLIP if we said that we practice medicine instead of nursing. Don't ask me why they feel like they own the patent on the word "medicine," but a lot of them do.
Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care/Rescue.
It seems that everyone is trying to place these programs in a box. Different programs, different people with varied background, learning styles, etc. Let's put it out in multiple models and let the individual pick what works best for them.
Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care/Rescue.
The ability to cure, to heal and to help is not a function exclusively owed by physicians. When I did my program at UC Davis (back in the dark ages) we had NP's, PA's, MS 1's and clinical Pharm students. And no single discipline has the right to claim sole posession.
"NP's are not trained to practice medicine, nor are they licensed to practice medicine in any state in the US" from page 3 of this thread.
Okay, I apologize for being off topic but seriously:
NPs aren't trained to practice medicine??"
We don't hold medical licenses?
Just for clarification:
I was trained to practice evidence based medicine every day of NP school and my state (NC) dually licenses NPs through both the Board of Nursing and Board of Medicine. NP students attend the same classes with med students at couple of NC universities.
The Pearson Report (2008) provides that NP's are regulated in NC jointly by the BoN and BoM. "Registration means authorization by the BOM and BON for an RN to use the title NP. The BOM appoints and maintains a subcommittee to work jointly with a subcommittee of the BON to develop rules to govern the performance of MEDICAL ACTS. The BOM/BON has the responsibility for securing compliance with these rules."
So to answer your question, NO--NP's DO NOT PRACTICE medicine in North Carolina, nor are they licensed to practice medicine in any other state in the country. NP's may perform "Medical acts" which if a physician performed, would be considered the practice of medicine, but if an NP or a paramedic or an RT or any other person other than the physician performed is considered only the performance of a "medical act" when authorized under their scope of practice--which in this case is not a scope of practice at all, but a permited scope of function.
Also, when NP's attempt to claim that their scope of practice is indeed the practice of medicine (which many do) does nothing but give credence to the notion that advance nursing practice is nothing more than a technical function of medicine and as medical technicians, NP's must have physician-based oversight in dictating professional development and advancement. I for one, do not feel comfortable as of yet in identifying NP's as medical techs.
I quit a NP program that was going mostly online (only the clinical classes met in person) to go to an on-campus program. I felt like the online component just increased the BS by 100%, lol. I am a cynic, but I think a lot of the theory classes are just BS. And I want to be taught pharm and patho in person and not just 100% case studies (which is what my original program was doing).
My adviser told me the pressure is on to make their program online as well. It brings in more $ and costs less to run. I think we will see a shift to most programs being online in some capacity.
The only people I know that have quit their jobs to go to NP school are those going full time and doing the program in two years. In my entire program there are only 3 people going full time.
I am going ultra part-time, taking one class per semester and it will take me a total of 4 years to finish. I do not plan on quitting my job to do it.
D
You mentioned that pharmacology and patho for your class in particular was mostly learning through case studies. For me, I found that I am able to learn and implement the info easier through case studies. To everyone out there that is in NP school or graduated from an online program, would you agree with this idea that the classes were through case studies? I am just trying to prepare my self in what to expect.
I am currently in an on-line NP program. I also just take 1 class at a time. I took the summer off as well this year. I needed a break! I honestly don't understand how people that work full time can take more than 1 class at a time. It is a lot of work!! And yes a lot of BS, especially the discussion boards. They are ridiculous, everyone just writes a bunch of crap because that's what the instructors want. It's all busy work....who learns anything from that? It's all about finding out what the instructors want and then learning to play the game. I prefer reading the material and writing the papers (leave out the BS).
You mentioned that pharmacology and patho for your class in particular was mostly learning through case studies. For me, I found that I am able to learn and implement the info easier through case studies. To everyone out there that is in NP school or graduated from an online program, would you agree with this idea that the classes were through case studies? I am just trying to prepare my self in what to expect.
I've taken 6 hrs of NP pharm. One class was multiple choice tests, which is a poor measure of anything. The other class, at another school, was case studies. In business school we also used case studies which is about as realistic as you can get without actually being there.
Discussion boards are also good, IMO, if you have students with a broad range of experience who take the course seriously. Of course some can BS, but you can do that in person also. :)
:typing
Sheri FNP-C
147 Posts
I will graduate in May from a distance ed program with my FNP. I feel 100% capable of safely caring for patients in primary care. My distance ed program requires more than double the number of clinical hours required by the local university which only offers an on-site program. All of my preceptors have only had on-site students and they have all commented how much better prepared I am than others they have had in the past. Actually, I had a preceptor that graduated 5 years ago from the local on-site program with her FNP without every doing a primary care clinical. She had been to a hospital, urgent care, psych facility, and bariatric clinic. She never managed HTN, hypercholesterol, or diabetes as a student. She had never done a pap.
I think there are good distance programs, just as there are good on-site programs. Either way, there are stuents who will excel and students that are happy to do the minimum and "pass." Would you rather have a straight A distance prepared NP or an on-site prepared NP that barely passed?
The one thing I did not like abou the distance program, is the ability of the instructors to avoid questions/comments. It is easy to delete an email or voice mail message, not as easy to ignore a student standing directly in front of you.
It has been a blessing for us, as there is no way I could go on-site with children. I prefer to be home in the evening. Not in class 4 nights per week. I was able to do most of my course work and clinical during the day and work every other weekend without neglecting my family.
All in all, I would absolutely do a distance program again. We need to support each other and our profession, not judge others because they may have been educated in a different way.:redbeathe