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Discussion

Experience Needed for NP

Can anyone tell me if they know any NP's or APN's who came from OR settings as RN's? Does OR experience count as inpatient experience for an NP program? Does cardiac cath count? If anyone can shed some light on the subject I'd appreciate it! I'm thinkning of taking an OR job after only 6 months in an ICU but am worried about closing doors on future educational possibilities.

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  • Experts

My RN experience was 1 year of med-surg, 1 year of ICU and 10 years of ER and I ended up in nephrology! lol

What I'm getting at is that while its important to have nursing experience, its may not be so important as to what exactly the experience is so long as it includes solid assessment and prioritization skills.

  • Author

Thanks for the response. I guess what I am trying to get at is that I think there is little to no assessment by nurses going on in the OR since the anesthesiologist tends to do this and I'm wondering if NP programs would look at an application from a nurse coming from an OR setting. Anyone know an OR nurse who became an NP?

  • Guides

Will you be able to first assist? I think that can be a plus especially in some surgical specialties where the NP's scrub and assist. We used to work with an NP who was previously an RNFA for a cardiothoracic surgery group. While she didn't scrub when she was on our team, she offered tremendous knoweldge of what the actual heart surgeries involved. She did great in the ICU. The reason she left was because her commute to the hospital was over an hour and she found a job close by.

Another current NP we work with has CCU and cath lab experience. She is an excellent resource for difficult EKG interpretations and knows her coronary anatomy really well. This is more of an asset she brings to the table.

KidsRN9,

I was an OR nurse for over 12 years and had no problem getting accepted into an NP program. (I just finished in May and passed the ANCC exam in July!!) In the OR, there is little assessments done by the RN's but I was able to scrub, circulate, first assist, and suture. Some charge nurses do the assessments on patients so that may be something to look into.

So my point being, if you want to go into the OR, GO FOR IT!!

yeah, i don't think it matters. They are 2 different roles doing completely different things anyways. i had only peds experience.

oh and actually i had NO nursing experience when i got accepted into NP school.

I actually 1st got into a 3 yr program for accelerated BSN +MSN took GRE before applied to that one.

Then i applied to go back to home state since it was cheaper, they are #1 PNP school and #6 FNP in US i think according to US News and world report or some mag.

Anyways, i graduated in May BSN took NCLEX i think end of JUly and started FNP program end of Aug. I started my first and only RN job Sept.05, just graduated FNP Dec.07

Anyways, i graduated in May BSN took NCLEX i think end of JUly and started FNP program end of Aug. I started my first and only RN job Sept.05, just graduated FNP Dec.07

Was it difficult for you to get an NP position b.c you didn't have experience?

  • Author

supergirl71,

Thanks for the inspiration! Just what I was looking for. What type of NP program did you attend and what type of facility do you work in now as an NP? Thanks!

KidsRN9,

I was offered (and accepted) a job in a surgical center right before I graduated. My role was to spend a portion of my time in the OR, the office, and to do aesthetics (botox, derma fillers, etc...i was to be trained at this). But because I was their first NP and they only had PA's in the past, I found myself literally fighting for everything!! They certainly didn't value an NP. I was working over 12 hours a day (5 days a week) and got paid for only 8 hrs/day (along with terrible benefits!!), amongst other issues. It wasn't a good situation for me at all. I have since left that position as you could imagine. Quite frustrating for my first NP position!!

Anyway, I did get many other job offers and I have decided to pursue retail health. I will be starting at the end of this month. I know there are lots of mixed feelings regarding retail health, but I did spend some of my clinical time at a retail health company during school and I really felt like I learned a lot and I always felt valued as an NP. Funny where you end up sometimes!! I think that working at a retail health center is a good start for me right now (my husband and I have a business so I needed better hours to help out) but I'm sure I'll miss the OR and probably will want to get back into that environment someday.

Oh I almost forgot, I attended a Family NP program because I wanted a broad educational background. Hope this helps!!

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