I am considering going on for my NP, but I definitely don't want to go through the lost, overwhelmed feelings I had as a new RN. I consider myself incredibly lucky that I didn't run into trouble with my incredible lack of knowledge as a new grad. That alone is almost putting the brakes on my education.
What about negotiating your first job- hell, finding your first job? If I get through my NP, will I still be able to practice as an RN if I choose to do so? Has anyone out there gone through the program and wished after it was all done that they hadn't wasted their time and energy? I started out with a diploma RN, continued on for a BSN, and hated the BSN program. It was continual papers to write and no clinical for post RN students. I trust there will be lots of clinical for a NP, did you feel prepared to deal with the teeming masses though, when you finally graduated?
I'm in an entry level MSN program to be an FNP. I'm one year away from RN liscensure and then another 2-3 years away from FNP. I just can't wait. I'm learning so much every day.
I just shadowed an NP who works in the ER the other day. It was the best experience ever. Her skill set was so amazing, I can't imagine ever being as good as her. She treated a 96yo woman who came in w/ a possible hip fx and found out that she was neg for the hip fx but was positive for bone cancer. She diagnosed an MI, and treated it. She assissted with a dissecting thoracic anuerism while we all waited to find a hospital that could take him (no cardiothoracic surgeons at the hospital we were at).
She also treated all the minor stuff like kids w/ the flu. She told me that she never gets angry at people for coming to the ER with minor problems because the health system sucks and most people don't have any other option. Her saying that will affect the way I treat patients in the ER for the rest of my career. She is amazingly kind and thoughtful........what a great mentor!
She works all the time, not b/c she has to but b/c she want to! She absolutely loves her job. When I told her I didn't think I would ever be as good as her she said "You'll be as good as me, and as old as me."
She's been an NP for 20 years. Everyone is a beginner at some point. One thing I've found that I think is preparing me well for my future as an NP is subscribing to and reading magazines like Nurse Practitioner and the American Journal of Nurse Practitioners. Every month they have an article or two that is relevant to what I'm studying in school. I also think they help prepare me to think like an NP. I would highly recommend subscribing to a couple of magazines.
To add to what Gauge 14iv said:I totally understand what you are saying about how you felt as a new RN. Never in my life, have I felt so inadequate and belittled as I did as a new nurse. It was terrible but at the time I didn't have maturity or the knowledge to stand up for myself. I've been struggling with the idea of going back to school for the FNP in fear of the same thing happening. It seems like grad school is different and you are treated differently than you are as an RN. It's so sad that many nurses treat new nurses so poorly. Now that I work in clinical research my esteem is a better and I'm ready to take on school, hopefully next year!! Very exciting, it sounds like many NPs have job satisfaction.
wildmountainchild
190 Posts
I'm in an entry level MSN program to be an FNP. I'm one year away from RN liscensure and then another 2-3 years away from FNP. I just can't wait. I'm learning so much every day.
I just shadowed an NP who works in the ER the other day. It was the best experience ever. Her skill set was so amazing, I can't imagine ever being as good as her. She treated a 96yo woman who came in w/ a possible hip fx and found out that she was neg for the hip fx but was positive for bone cancer. She diagnosed an MI, and treated it. She assissted with a dissecting thoracic anuerism while we all waited to find a hospital that could take him (no cardiothoracic surgeons at the hospital we were at).
She also treated all the minor stuff like kids w/ the flu. She told me that she never gets angry at people for coming to the ER with minor problems because the health system sucks and most people don't have any other option. Her saying that will affect the way I treat patients in the ER for the rest of my career. She is amazingly kind and thoughtful........what a great mentor!
She works all the time, not b/c she has to but b/c she want to! She absolutely loves her job. When I told her I didn't think I would ever be as good as her she said "You'll be as good as me, and as old as me."
She's been an NP for 20 years. Everyone is a beginner at some point. One thing I've found that I think is preparing me well for my future as an NP is subscribing to and reading magazines like Nurse Practitioner and the American Journal of Nurse Practitioners. Every month they have an article or two that is relevant to what I'm studying in school. I also think they help prepare me to think like an NP. I would highly recommend subscribing to a couple of magazines.