jamonit

Yeah, good luck with that...

I got a job at Minute Clinic one week out of school, in their #1 ranked market. They are looking for a very particular kind of NP. The projected growth in primary care with the impending Affordable Care Act will more than double their hiring and the projected growth is astronomical. You have to say you are looking at it as a career, not a job and write a great cover letter. I make a great salary, my hours are fantastic, and I work in an autonomous setting with no physicians, just NP providers at every immediate level. It is a fabulous career. I am thrilled.

I studied classes of medications, not specific medications. Know safety concerns per class. HTN meds and DM meds appeared on my exam. I studied over one month, but several hours a day.

I definitely would not recommend working fulltime. I completed GCU's FNP program, it was a hybrid online/in class program. It requires a lot of clinical hours (600) plus the coursework time. I just checked what the Acute Care NP program requires--575 hours of clinicals, plus coursework. You will find that the program is very demanding...especially when trying to track down clinical preceptors, arrange scheduling between preceptor and your school schedule, plus somehow pencil in work. I worked two twelves a week and found that to be more than difficult during my three years of NP school. It is possible, but I don't think it is a good lifestyle or allots for a good learning comfort level. Try part time and loans.

I start this month as a new grad in retail. I can't think of anything I would rather do. I don't want stress and interoffice drama, although I can handle those things. I think people feel that this setting is inferior, but maybe because it is a good lifestyle and we are less of the nursing-based martyrs (I'm mostly kidding about that last part). But I have worked so hard and I want to learn in a less stressful environment.

What are your opinions regarding NPs working in the retail environment? Do you think that this would be a good "lifestyle" job, as it has no call, good benefits, and favorable scheduling? This sounds like a good gig, especially for someone that doesn't want the call time, office setting and chronic disease management as seen with traditional family care.

Everyone I know that passed, no exception from those I know--they ALL USED Fitzgerald. It's worth it. In the car, before bed, a section a day. Flash cards of the guidelines/drugs/medications/ethical terms/legal terms/governing bodies. YOU CAN DO IT

Fitz workbook and accompanying c.d.s is how I passed the ANCC. I also spent a lot of time on the ANA website and the free FHEA pages regarding test taking tips, study plans, cranial nerves, and signs. I feel like all of that prepared me as well as possible. Really, it isn't a test on what you know so much as can you find the best answer. It almost felt like opinions...like the communication questions. But, there apparently was a right answer, and I passed yesterday. I hear both tests are equally hard, that the differences in content are miniscule. Know JNC VII, GOLD, Asthma guidelines, Samford Guidelines for ARBS and CAP, peds developmental milestones and Tanner Scale, Diabetes basics and tooonnnns of secondary prevention/guidance. Read the different governing bodies info regarding cervical cancer screening and prostate cancer screening. Take 2-3 weeks of just going through the workbook with the c.d.s. Take her predictive tests before and after. I did all the above and I felt like I knew the info, but nerves got in the way for a while. Try test taking strategies like posted on the ANCC website. Read questions D-A instead of A-C and think is this choice true or false for each item. That is how I passed. Good luck.

Get into a NP program as soon as possible. Life will improve, and I think a big part of the improvement is feeling you have options. The expanded scope and autonomy (and being outside of the hospital) will feel great. Look at University of Cincinnati online. I had friends that did that MSN/FNP and said it was a great program. Start looking around, just seeing what is out there will give you new hope. Good luck.

When I was preparing for this test, I spent a lot of time googling and researching what people said about it on here and various other places. I took the exam yesterday. I spent about three weeks studying. I used the Fitzgerald c.d.s as well as the corresponding workbook. I listened to all the c.d.s and went through the workbook at least 4 times. I also bought the APEA question bank (I don't recommend it). What did help was the practice tests on the ANCC website. They are pricey at $99 for 150 questions, but I swear maybe one or two were identical to the questions on the test. So the test... It IS as bad as they say. I have a psychology degree, which must have helped, because it was as if they were doing one of those job interview surveys just to see if you could spot a subtle nuance in how rewording an ethical question answer would make it not the best choice. I don't know if the weird ones were the 25 they don't include in your score, but I had never heard anything like it. Overall, the test consisted of a lot of things we didn't spend much time on in school, or at least remember. Like cohort observational studies, beneficence, sensitivity/specificity, Prochaska's, independent variables, and ethics/cultural questions. The lab tests did not have the normal ranges. Seemed like a handful of questions on clinical information, and maybe those were weighted differently. Point is, study your Fitzgerald, as I feel like knowing the JNC VII, application of cranial nerves, murmurs, and pharm are what get you through, point-wise, on this test. The rest is reaching in the dark at concepts we don't use or need for our future careers. Best of luck guys, just trying to help. Oh, and RELIEVED that this part of my life (school/prep/testing) is complete!

no no no, call the phoenix GCU and ask about the MSN FNP program in tucson. Im in the program now. There are new classes starting in this program like 2-3 times a year

I was told to study the PA review books by my pharm instructor to pass the FNP boards. Who knew?

There is nothing in Sierra Vista, however, there is a FNP MSN program through Grand Canyon University once a week in Tucson. I'm in the program and like it. Also, U of A has a DNP program. U of P has a MSN FNP program too, in Tucson. I know you can get an online MSN in nursing through Grand Canyon University.

I went to EBSN and was in the second graduating class. I am a PICC nurse at a well respected hospital, live in Tucson and have worked at the Mayo clinic (actually where I started as a new nurse). I am now enrolled in a very competitive nurse practitioner program in town. Graduating from EBSN has never hurt me as a professional. I continue to make straight A's in grad school and look forward to earning a DNP one day.:)

i'm currently in np school and have been told to not accept a job as a new grad np for less than 90k. that's coming from the dean of the np program. so, there you go. also, there are many opportunities. just google it. and as reported above, the va is a good system. loan repayment and pension options cant be beat.