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Curious -  how many years did you work as a nurse prior to NP, and how does it impact your NP practice?

londonflo said:

For the last 100 years, anecdotal accounts drove the direction of nursing practice. Now we continue to engage with anecdotal experience and the universities flaying for tuition dollars, figure "if it is not broken, why fix it?" Oh, wait, we can enhance our enrollment because the US is crying out for more providers because we cannot generate/educated enough MDs for our aging baby boomers.. 

New (21st century) providers will find out about the birth curve. 

I kind of agree with you. but I don't think it starts with colleges. I think it's the policies put in place by gov. If they didn't allow full authority then colleges wouldn't be swarmed with them. 

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Specializes in oncology.
NYC Nurse said:

I kind of agree with you. but I don't think it starts with colleges. I think it's the policies put in place by gov. If they didn't allow full authority then colleges wouldn't be swarmed with them. 

I agree. I think the accreditation agencies (not government)  should be  severely tightened up. God knows  if I operated a BSN program in my basement, CCNE would approve it. 

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londonflo said:

I agree. I think the accreditation agencies (not government)  should be  severely tightened up. God knows  if I operated a BSN program in my basement, CCNE would approve it. 

LMAOO I think we in the wrong job. But it's crazy. I honestly (haven't researched it) think big Pharma lobbied for full authority. they would benefit the most. They would have more prescribers giving out meds. because I truly wondered why is NP going full authority in most states now. My teacher one time told me, when you have a riddle to solve in life, follow the money, there is your solution. But I could be wrong. just thinking out loud. 

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
NYC Nurse said:

LMAOO I think we in the wrong job. But it's crazy. I honestly (haven't researched it) think big Pharma lobbied for full authority. they would benefit the most. They would have more prescribers giving out meds. because I truly wondered why is NP going full authority in most states now. My teacher one time told me, when you have a riddle to solve in life, follow the money, there is your solution. But I could be wrong. just thinking out loud. 

Thinking out loud can lead to positive change.  

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
NYC Nurse said:

LMAOO I think we in the wrong job. But it's crazy. I honestly (haven't researched it) think big Pharma lobbied for full authority. they would benefit the most. They would have more prescribers giving out meds. because I truly wondered why is NP going full authority in most states now. 

 

NYC Nurse said:

If they didn't allow full authority then colleges wouldn't be swarmed with them. 

FPA for NPs is here, like it or not.  At some point, all 50 states will have it.  The Veterans Admin also has FPA.  Should we better prepare NPs, especially in FPA states, with NP residencies?  Absolutely.  There is NO evidence that FPA is bad.  And in most FPA states, a certain amount of NP experience is required before FPA is granted.

Should the nursing profession do a better job of policing schools?  Absolutely.  But that is not the topic of this thread.

I'm personally sick of the doom and gloom that can dominate some discussions on this forum.  When I was an NP student, and read this forum, I was terrified I would not get a job, based on so many negative posts here.  I got multiple job offers.  Then there was a long period of claiming that there are too many NPs.  That was utter nonsense.  Who knows what the future holds?   A giant meteor could crash into our planet in a few years and wipe out all life.  I'm not going to spend time worrying about it. 

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FullGlass said:

 

FPA for NPs is here, like it or not.  At some point, all 50 states will have it.  The Veterans Admin also has FPA.  Should we better prepare NPs, especially in FPA states, with NP residencies?  Absolutely.  There is NO evidence that FPA is bad.  And in most FPA states, a certain amount of NP experience is required before FPA is granted.

Should the nursing profession do a better job of policing schools?  Absolutely.  But that is not the topic of this thread.

I'm personally sick of the doom and gloom that can dominate some discussions on this forum.  When I was an NP student, and read this forum, I was terrified I would not get a job, based on so many negative posts here.  I got multiple job offers.  Then there was a long period of claiming that there are too many NPs.  That was utter nonsense.  Who knows what the future holds?   A giant meteor could crash into our planet in a few years and wipe out all life.  I'm not going to spend time worrying about it. 

I 100% agree with you. I don't like that people think NPs wanting to open their own practice or that they celebrate full authority is somehow a horrible thing for patients. I think people need to do what is legally allowed and do what's best for them. so if all of a sudden gov policies allow RNs to prescribe and diagnose, lets go. Colleges are taking advantage of this opportunity and so are NPs. good for them. MDs are pissed about this. I don't doubt them but thats the way the world is going. 

I want to emphasize I am not a policy maker and wouldn't want to make one. I am also not a leader in nursing. I am a RN looking into NP position. I don't care what other peoples opinions are. I do what I think is what is best for me and my family and my patients no matter what. I am a big believer of JUST BEING KIND. to everyone. I don't know what is best for the population or patients. taht isn't my job. I have not researched that at all. I have not looked at studies. All I am is a nurse that is looking for opportunities to make more money, more autonomy, better lifestyle, and that has nothing to do with me not caring for my patients. 

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Specializes in Emergency, Cardiac, PAT/SPU, Urgent Care.

I guess what I find interesting in all of this discussion is the fact that both medical schools and PA schools want their applicants to have so many patient care hours (varies among the schools) before applying while many NP schools do not. The NP programs also require the least amount of clinical hours. Again, I'm not taking away from NPs without nursing experience but it is an interesting observation to me. Why would they require it if they didn't feel it was necessary? I'd be more than happy seeing NP applicants with any type of patient care experience, not just specifically nursing experience. 

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
Spacklehead said:

I guess what I find interesting in all of this discussion is the fact that both medical schools and PA schools want their applicants to have so many patient care hours (varies among the schools) before applying while many NP schools do not. The NP programs also require the least amount of clinical hours. Again, I'm not taking away from NPs without nursing experience but it is an interesting observation to me. Why would they require it if they didn't feel it was necessary? I'd be more than happy seeing NP applicants with any type of patient care experience, not just specifically nursing experience. 

At least for competitive NP programs, even though RN work experience may not be a requirement for primary care NP admissions, pretty much all admitted students have some sort of patient care experience.  Most commonly, they took care of relatives.  Many come from other healthcare professions, such as EMTs, talk therapists, and so forth.  

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

I have just posted my article under Specialties - Nurse Practitioner.  It is titled:  Does RN experience improve NP competency.  It is a "mini" evidence review.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
NYC Nurse said:

LMAOO I think we in the wrong job. But it's crazy. I honestly (haven't researched it) think big Pharma lobbied for full authority. they would benefit the most. They would have more prescribers giving out meds. because I truly wondered why is NP going full authority in most states now. My teacher one time told me, when you have a riddle to solve in life, follow the money, there is your solution. But I could be wrong. just thinking out loud. 

This is a very far stretch of an accusation.  Please provide evidence to back it up:

1.  Did the pharm companies lobby for FPA?  I'm not aware of this happening.

2.  With regard to more prescribers giving out meds, that has nothing to do with FPA.  Even in states w/o FPA, NPs still prescribe, just under physician supervision.

3.  From your screen name, I take it you are in NYC.  Unlike in big cities like NYC, many parts of the U.S. have a severe shortage of medical providers.   Even in big cities, inner cities can have lack of healthcare access.  In addition, there is also a shortage of primary care MDs.  NPs and PAs are very important to expand healthcare access in areas of the country that don't have a big supply of providers.  Many rural areas would have absolutely no medical providers at all w/o NPs.

4.  Logically, just because there may be more providers able to prescribe meds does not mean it is a bad thing.  There is a lot of unmet healthcare demand because lack of access to healthcare is a serious problem.  So more providers prescribing meds is only bad if they prescribing unnecessary meds or the wrong meds.  I am not aware of any issues around this.  If you have evidence to the contrary, please provide it.

Frankly, your comments are denigrating the NP profession.  That is unfortunate.

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FullGlass said:

This is a very far stretch of an accusation.  Please provide evidence to back it up:

1.  Did the pharm companies lobby for FPA?  I'm not aware of this happening.

2.  With regard to more prescribers giving out meds, that has nothing to do with FPA.  Even in states w/o FPA, NPs still prescribe, just under physician supervision.

3.  From your screen name, I take it you are in NYC.  Unlike in big cities like NYC, many parts of the U.S. have a severe shortage of medical providers.   Even in big cities, inner cities can have lack of healthcare access.  In addition, there is also a shortage of primary care MDs.  NPs and PAs are very important to expand healthcare access in areas of the country that don't have a big supply of providers.  Many rural areas would have absolutely no medical providers at all w/o NPs.

4.  Logically, just because there may be more providers able to prescribe meds does not mean it is a bad thing.  There is a lot of unmet healthcare demand because lack of access to healthcare is a serious problem.  So more providers prescribing meds is only bad if they prescribing unnecessary meds or the wrong meds.  I am not aware of any issues around this.  If you have evidence to the contrary, please provide it.

Frankly, your comments are denigrating the NP profession.  That is unfortunate.

don't need to provide any back up. I'm just sharing my thoughts and opinions. If you want you can look up back up. I'm sorry you feel like im denigrating the NP profession. I honestly never knew my words had that much weight. Again sorry you feel that way. I guess thats the beauty of this forum. We can share our opinions freely even if we don't agree.  Well I hope your words and actions continue to empower he NP profession. Please don't be like me and go on public discourse forums and "denigrate" the NP profession. You never know if your words will end the NP profession or if congress will look at your words and end nursing altogether. 

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
NYC Nurse said:

don't need to provide any back up. I'm just sharing my thoughts and opinions. If you want you can look up back up. I'm sorry you feel like im denigrating the NP profession. I honestly never knew my words had that much weight. Again sorry you feel that way. I guess thats the beauty of this forum. We can share our opinions freely even if we don't agree.  Well I hope your words and actions continue to empower he NP profession. Please don't be like me and go on public discourse forums and "denigrate" the NP profession. You never know if your words will end the NP profession or if congress will look at your words and end nursing altogether. 

So, you have nothing to back up your opinions and comments.  Thank you for clarifying.  Whether you intended it or not, yes, you are putting down NPs by implying there is some nefarious plot involving NPs and pharma. 

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