BSN straight to NP or gain work experience

Nurses General Nursing

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I am currently active duty military and plan on getting out and pursuing a BSN! I have made the decision to get at least my Masters as an NP. I know both are difficult programs but I am motivated and determined and the military has given me a great work ethic. On top of that I have a wife and 1 child at the moment and I want to provide for them the best I can. Enough about my background though on to the question. I am curious on people's opinion on whether it makes sense to go straight from a BSN to NP or to take a few years off of school and get work experience as a RN? Any input would be an immense help towards the direction of my career!

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There are at least a hundred threads here asking the same question. If you type your question into the search box you will find answers that run the gamut from "NPs are as good as doctors" to "without experience you'll kill people" and everything in between. Happy reading.

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Thanks a lot for the reply, still brand new to this.

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Thanks a lot for the reply, still brand new to this.

No worries.

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Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.

Thank you for your service. And, thanks to your family as well. As the other poster said, there are many threads on this subject. Personally, I would get bedside experience (which I did) before becoming a NP. It is so very helpful in many ways. I wish you the best in your pursuit!

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Please get some experience as an RN first before going to be an NP. You will be better for it. Oh and yes, do a search. This is a hotly debated topic on this site.

Welcome and thank you for your service. I am a 10 year vet of the USAF myself, so I understand the sacrifices you have made for our country.

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I would just go for the NP and get it over with. Places of employment don't have to support you going for your NP, and you want to make sure your schedule will accommodate you going back to school. I have seen NPs make it both ways.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.

Why not get an Associates degree and work while getting your BSN? That way you can gain experience as an RN while you're working to get a online BSN and continue to work until you begin your NP program.

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Straight to NP. $$$

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

Get some work experience first. The NP education model is based on the idea that you will already have skills from the five years of bedside nursing they used to require before admittance into an NP program. Then the schools got greedy . . . you still need the experience. Besides -- you may find that your skills and your heart lie at the bedside.

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Would you want your child's practitioner to have listened to thousands of lung conditions confirmed by diagnosis or to only the very limited clinical experience of a direct NP?

Also consider the job market for new NPs today as well as the 5 year projection.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVICU.
Straight to NP. $$$

This is the weakest argument. NP salary is not all that impressive. Working bedside at a high paying hospital with some OT here and there, and you can be making an NP salary or close to it. Become an NP because you WANT TO, not because of the money.

OP, thank you for your service! Please, get experience if you can. An NP is an advanced nursing role; it is implied that to be advanced, you must have a good foundation and understanding of the basics. Work a few years before you go back.

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