grad school advice

[hbaldocchi]

Hi! I'm currently working on getting a BSN degree. My long term goal is to get my NP. How long should I wait after finishing my undergrad before applying to grad school? My ultimate goal is to work overseas as an NP and I want to get there as quickly as possible. I was just thinking of applying to grad school after finishing my undergrad and then working as an RN while working on my NP. Also, what can I be doing to prepare myself for grad school as an undergrad? In other words, what would make my resume all the more appealing for grad school=) Oh, and are there any UCSF grads that could give some insight regarding the NP programs there? Thanks in advance!

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Moved to the NP forum

[mom and nurse]

Hi - I recently just finished receiving my graduate degree (Adult NP). I've only been an RN for 4 years. I would say that it helped that I worked in a hospital about a year or so before going to graduate school. Definitely would not recommend going straight through the BSN to the MSN without working as an RN first (though others have done it and passed... and there's a whole thread on this topic in the NP forum titled something like..."Becoming an NP with little to no RN experience".

I would say it depends on the person and the specialty. If I wanted to be a Pediatric NP I would have hoped to have had a background working in pediatrics... With Adult NP my background was with adult folks in an acute rehabilitation hospital where we saw many geriatric patients (which is the group I'm interested in). I would have liked to have more LTC experience since I'm interested in geriatrics but at least working in a hospital I was familiar with the medications and reading the labs......

It's different for everyone. I'm sure others will tell you though that the more medical surgical experiences you have the better..... though others may disagree...