GN to NP in <1yr

Nurses General Nursing

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I read a recent post regarding new graduates who cannot find work jumping on the NP bandwagon.

At work the other day, a new grad co-worker (less than 5 months experience) launched into a bitter tirade against a well known school for having the gall to expect her to have 2 years experience, have been involved in EBP, Committees and to have precepted before being allowed to even apply to join their ACNP program.....

Mind you, this nurse can barely handle her assignment... what makes her think that the NP is going to be an easy way out of floor nursing.... The courses take time and dedication and contrary to popular belief, graduation and subsequent employment are not a given..:whistling:

Specializes in Emergency.

I am amazed to hear that there are NP programs that don't require RN experience. Up here (Canada) the programs in my area require a minimum of 3 years full time experience in the area you wish to work, along with many other stringent requirements.

I greatly respect NPs and I would be totally comfortable going to one for my primary care... Provided I knew that they met the requirements of the schools in my area, I would not be at all comfortable seeing someone who jumped straight from nursing school to an NP program.

I truly do not think that NPs should be set aside from the rest of us. I think the point of advanced practice RNs should be taking the knowledge, experience and perspectives of nursing and building upon them, and I don't think that works without some good old fashioned nursing experience.

Just my two cents.

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
I truly do not think that NPs should be set aside from the rest of us.

I think the point of advanced practice RNs should be taking the knowledge, experience and perspectives of nursing and building upon them, and I don't think that works without some good old fashioned nursing experience.

This is the crux of the issue: in many ways (arguable, most ways) NPs are aside from LPN/RNs because the role is so much different.

I think many would argue that the APN role is so different that the experience and skills derived from years of RN experience don't directly (or at least, linearly) translate.

Specializes in private duty/home health, med/surg.
In my opinion, lack of an NP residency program should require RN licensure and working acute care for at least three years. MDs and DOs aren't cut loose the day they earn their MD, so why should NP be any different?

This.

An inexperienced RN or NP doesn't even know what they don't know.

I don't want an NP with no job experience or residency taking care of me or my family, period. I also don't feel I should have to grill each NP that I see as to what their experience level is; therefore, it should be an across-the-board standard that NP's can not practice independently without a residency or previous nursing experience related to their field.

If you want people to accept the legitimacy of your role, you need more than clinical hours.

Specializes in Emergency.
This is the crux of the issue: in many ways (arguable most ways) NPs are aside from LPN/RNs because the role is so much different. I think many would argue that the APN role is so different that the experience and skills derived from years of RN experience don't directly (or at least, linearly) translate.[/quote']

And here I think we run into the difference of the role in Canada vs the US (besides the educational requirements). I have worked with/ am acquainted with several NPs, and know from discussion that they both value and draw on their RN experience prior to becoming an NP.

See, say I wish to become an NP working in a surgical specialty. If I must have experience working in that specialty as a bedside RN, then by the time I enter my NP program I will be familiar with the presentations, common complications, plans of care, what to do in specific emergencies, etc.

Now could I just learn all that? Sure, but I think a 3 year immersion is far more valuable, there are things you don't get from a textbook.

I also cannot see how my own experience in the ER would not benefit me if I decided to become a family NP.

The roles may be different, and sure, maybe the bedside experience may seem totally useless to some individuals. I'm just saying that it certainly can't hurt, and I would have no interest in putting my care in the hands of someone who hasn't dipped his or her toes yet.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
This is the crux of the issue: in many ways (arguable, most ways) NPs are aside from LPN/RNs because the role is so much different.

I think many would argue that the APN role is so different that the experience and skills derived from years of RN experience don't directly (or at least, linearly) translate.

There are APNs that approach their role entirely medically, and there are APNs that approach their role as a hybrid of nurse and physician. I have had a chance to directly observe three acute care APNs, and the much more effective one is the one who is a hybrid. She integrates nursing interventions with her medical interventions, and I was thoroughly impressed. I doubt she would have been able to hone that skill without her bedside experience.

Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.

I have read through this forum in its entirety and I must say: I have not seen one single point made that MDs/DOs and NPs have a entirely different focus from one another. While some individuals may feel more comfortable seeing an MD/DO/MBBS, that does not negate the work or focus of an NP, dependent upon his or her speciality. NPs are NPs for a reason. They did not go on to become physicians not because it's more work, or the requirements are more rigorous, but because a medical focus and a nursing focus, while related, are two different things. And I think we are forgetting that in many states, a collaborative agreement must exist between NPs and MDs. If this is not the case in your state and you are uncomfortable with the level of autonomy of the NP related to his/her experience, then I suggest you write to your legislative body and suggest otherwise. Do not stare down your nose at those who elect to become NPs, their level of RN experience, and/or their reasons for doing so. These things do, and should, need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. You don't view every single one of your patients the same: do not place NP students/NPs in a box either.

Specializes in FNP, ONP.

My focus is exactly the same as my physician colleagues, so I have no idea to what the above post is referring. I am a PCP that happens to be a NP vs a MD/DO, but we do the same job. Our educational paths differ, and you can all argue about which path is superior. My path was optimal for me and for my family and my patients are not suffering for it, I assure you, lol. The job "focus" is the same.

I was independent on day 1 after graduation, as are all other other NPs in this state and 16 other states in the US. Don't like it, move to one of the other 33 and get active in your state legislature to keep it that way. I don't think you will be successful, but if you want it that way- quit yer bitchin, get off the internet and do something about it. Otherwise, stuff a sock in it.

9/10 posters in this thread have no idea what they are talking about, lol. I won't point you out, I'll just let each of you believe you are the one that has it right. ;)

Go see whomever you like for your medical care. My panel is full, and I'm not accepting new patients anyway. I have a few I'd sometimes like to get rid of because they can be a PITA, but by and large I enjoy the patients I work with and have no desire to "prove myself" to anyone. Everyone whould be happy with their PCP. PCPs have a right to be happy too, and I would not be happy having to put up with the 'tude, so I'd prefer individuals with a chip on their shoulder move on down the hall and be a boil on the butt of my colleagues instead, lol. Equal practice rights mean we have to share the PITB patients equally too. ;)

Pursue whatever you like for your career. Stop trying to justify yourselves to ignorants on the interwebs and just do it, whenever you want to do it. You don't need a nod from any of us, you just need to be accepted into a program. Apply when the time is right for you, regardless of when SusieQ or Joe Schmoe thinks you ought to apply. My only advice is to apply to a top rated program. I would never recommend anyone go to one of those (ahem) questionable schools that operate for profit and do not have a tradition of excellence and an outstanding and accomplished faculty with strong research backgrounds that match your own interests. Mediocrity is never acceptable when it comes to education. Don't settle there. But bedside experience, pffttt. That is up to you. It won't do much, if anything for you a a NP. If you want to do it and it works into the master plan, beautiful. If not, don't fret.

That's all I have to say about that. Carry on.

P.S. Neither my wife nor I have ever worked FT, and we have always had at least one Nanny or au pair living in. We have 7 kids, and it takes a village! You youngins are clueless.

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
There are APNs that approach their role entirely medically and there are APNs that approach their role as a hybrid of nurse and physician. I have had a chance to directly observe three acute care APNs, and the much more effective one is the one who is a hybrid. She integrates nursing interventions with her medical interventions, and I was thoroughly impressed. I doubt she would have been able to hone that skill without her bedside experience.[/quote']

It may seem that way from the outside, but the cast majority (I would wager) approach the role the exact same way: as a provider. My focus is on assessment diagnosis and plan.

When I am working in the hospital, while nursing interventions are in the back of my mind, they are not my job. I leave that to the bedside nurses as that is their realm and speciality; I appreciate it and I don't presume to do their job.

In the clinic, patients always comment they can see my nursing background. You are educated in the model. You approach the patient's response to the illness as well as the illness itself, the core of nursing. But at the end of the day, I am expected to have the same outcomes as and see the same number of patients as my physician colleague.

Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.

This! This is what I was referring to. You make a wonderful point; the patient's response to illness and the illness--the focus of FNP. Physicians appear, by and large, to not have the focus of the patient response to illness, but rather management of the illness itself. It bothers me that this point has been glossed over by many that try to put the three professions in a box.

Going back to earlier comments about being experienced vs. being a new grad applying to grad school:

The way I conceptualize the whole thing from my point of view, is that I will be going to school part time and working at least part-time, if not full-time, while going to school. It would take me approximately 3-5 years to finish grad school at this rate for what I want to do. I may not be experienced now, but by the time I graduate, I will certainly have a few years under my belt experience wise. If I wait that entire time, it would be even longer and will more than likely decrease the odds of me wanting to go back to school, as I will be long out of the "swing" of school mode. Just my two cents :)

Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
Going back to earlier comments about being experienced vs. being a new grad applying to grad school:

The way I conceptualize the whole thing from my point of view, is that I will be going to school part time and working at least part-time, if not full-time, while going to school. It would take me approximately 3-5 years to finish grad school at this rate for what I want to do. I may not be experienced now, but by the time I graduate, I will certainly have a few years under my belt experience wise. If I wait that entire time, it would be even longer and will more than likely decrease the odds of me wanting to go back to school, as I will be long out of the "swing" of school mode. Just my two cents :)

This is essentially what my RN-BS/MS-FNP program is aimed at. You need at least 1-year experience in the inpatient setting before you apply to the program, and you must maintain at least part-time employment while you complete the program in order to maintain your nursing skills and experience in the field. I find that this is increasingly common and I do not disagree that this is a good way to balance the two!

Specializes in Urology NP.

Amen, BlueDevil. Amen.

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