Going to grad school straight from undergrad?

lkwashington · Jul 16, 2010

Hi all,
I am currently an undergraduate nursing student, and I am about to start my senior year of nursing school. I know I want to go to graduate school to become a WHNP. Do you recommend that I work for a couple of years before going to graduate school? I know a lot of programs require the experience anyway, but should I apply to programs that do not require experience if I know for sure that it is what I want to end up doing?
Thanks!

I would like to recommend to you to work on a women health unit at least prn. I believe it would help you along the way. You may need a preceptor and this would make it easier and you can collaborate with the multi-discplinary healthcare providers. You need to RESEARCH the school and their programs thoroughly. I know some students try to take the easier way out. But dont make it harder for yourself toward the end. When you going to school for any NP program you have to do some type of rotation in the hospital, outpatient, and/or even home care setting. You need to prepare yourself to be the one of the best WHNP's in the practice.

Annaiya, NP · Jul 23, 2010

I don't think you need to work a long time before applying to school, but I think you should work at least 6 months, so you can be sure it really is what you want to do. School clinicals just don't compare to actually working as an RN and a degree like WHNP is very limiting in where you can work and what you can do. I think it is a good idea to have at least some work experience before applying to a specialized graduate program. Grad school is a TON of work, and you don't want to get to the end only to find out you would have preferred another degree.

mammac5 · Jul 24, 2010

Working can't do anything but be helpful, but keep in mind that the work you would do as a WHNP doesn't have much to do with inpatient hospital care of patients. Working on an inpatient women's unit may give you great exposure to the various diagnoses you may encounter, as well as common meds used in care of the female.

Practicing as a WHNP will likely be more on an outpatient basis, though, and you will care for one patient at a time for a limited amount of time - MUCH different than working on a unit where you may care for 4-6 acutely ill women at once. The relationship between you and the patient is much different, the pace is much different, and the autonomy is much different IMHO.