How do you feel about new grads going for their np with little experience?

[garn12]

I've been an RN for a year and a month. I started on a medsurg/orthospine surgical unit. after a year I recently transferred to a neuro step down unit and now I feel like a new graduate again. My question is how do you all feel about the new grads going just to get their "one year" out the way and go back for graduate school to make midlevel decisions? I personally feel its a disrespect to the profession and a slap in the face to those that have many years of experience in many different specialties that have now gone back for their NP? How do you think this effects the nursing profession as a whole?

[TU RN, DNP, CRNA]

Many experienced nurses at my hospital have gone back for their NP and various other continued nursing education and have pretty much unanimously recommended to go back while "the student in you is still fresh." To go back to school while you still have all the study habits and test-taking skills well-honed. Makes sense as far as starting a family/kids/house - that can be a lot to balance with school and work too. However I've also known a lot of nurses to finish their NP class-by-class while they're working, if they can plan their schedule out with their manager. Obviously this would take longer to complete, but you'd be gaining bedside experience at the same time.

I don't think you should be worried about not having enough bedside experience - nurse theorists have estimated that it takes anywhere from 2-5 years before a graduate nurse is truly comfortable and proficient in their role as a bedside nurse. Do you really need to be a proficient bedside nurse before being an NP? My opinion is no. Spend that 2-5 years becoming truly comfortable and proficient in the role you want to end up in - nurse practitioner.

[Asystole RN]

Do physicians have to work as medical assistants, PAs, or nurses for X amount of time before becoming a physician? Why should it be different for nurse practitioners?

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Do physicians have to work as medical assistants, PAs, or nurses for X amount of time before becoming a physician? Why should it be different for nurse practitioners?

Not really an apples to apples comparison, as physicians have multi-year residencies before practicing independently.

[The_Optimist]

I feel that another's career decision has nothing to do with you and you would do well to focus on your life's goal. Understand that another's career decision does not take away from you.It is not and should not be a competition.The only person you should be competing against is yourself.

Can you cite an instance of an NP practicing dangerously?

[Asystole RN]

Not really an apples to apples comparison, as physicians have multi-year residencies before practicing independently.

Although true, the scope of practice for MDs tends to be greater, necessitating a longer residency.

If a longer residency is required for a nurse practitioner to gain experience then the nurse practitioner should be getting that longer residency.

I would think 1 year of NP residency would be far more helpful for the practice of a NP than 1 more year of experience as a registered nurse. Granted in the real world the NP may not get a sufficient residency BUT why would we throttle our own profession instead of advocating a more common sense approach?

Being a registered nurse for 20 years and then becoming a nurse practitioner makes a single novice nurse practitioner. Being a nurse practitioner for 20 years makes a nurse practitioner with 20 years of experience.

[Bringonthenight]

In Australia, NPs are very experienced RNs who have worked in their specialty area for years as well as completing post grad certificates and diplomas in the same specialty.

In fact if a new grad nurse would like to pursue NP right out of university it would take 7-8 years of continuous study in addition to working in a speciality area in an advanced practice role.

In comparison, you can do a graduate entry medical degree in 4 years...

I'm torn on this issue. I think Australia needs more NPs and a shorter education time would encourage more nurses to pursue that path, however if I went to see an NP I would prefer them to be super experienced as opposed to someone fresh out of school and has barely even worked as an RN.

[The_Optimist]

Although true, the scope of practice for MDs tends to be greater, necessitating a longer residency.

If a longer residency is required for a nurse practitioner to gain experience then the nurse practitioner should be getting that longer residency.

I would think 1 year of NP residency would be far more helpful for the practice of a NP than 1 more year of experience as a registered nurse. Granted in the real world the NP may not get a sufficient residency BUT why would we throttle our own profession instead of advocating a more common sense approach?

Being a registered nurse for 20 years and then becoming a nurse practitioner makes a single novice nurse practitioner. Being a nurse practitioner for 20 years makes a nurse practitioner with 20 years of experience.

I totally understand your point. I also understand that there is little to no autonomy in nursing hence the pull for nurses to go the way of NP and should not be faulted. If you have an opportunity to put yourself in a better position, I feel it is to your own detriment not to avail oneself of that opportunity.

Nursing is a very fragmented profession. But until it is able to unify, situations (or perhaps opportunities) such as this will continue:yes:

[TU RN, DNP, CRNA]

With the emphasis the United States healthcare system is beginning to place on primary care, I really don't foresee more experience requirements and more rigorous study for nurse practitioner programs. Then again on the other side of the coin, if more nurses are flooding into the NP career path I could definitely see universities expanding their programs to get the extra tuition years. The metaphorical balance of healthcare seems to be profit VS altruism, with the profit side touching the floor and the altruism side flimsily flapping in the wind. Good thing I chose nursing because I love a breath of fresh air :)

[mhy12784]

I dont think its a big deal especially if they are working while going to school.

I mean you have 1 year of work, then 3-4 years of school + work

So theyll be an NP with 5~ years of bedside nursing experience

I think the biggest issue is whether a hospital is going to want to hire and pay an NP 6 figures if they decided to go to be a nurse for ONLY 1 year then JUST go to NP school. Most hospitals want bedside nurses to have at least 2 years of experience, I highly doubt most are going to want NPs who have only 1 year of it.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

In my unit, we've had some horrible experience with NPs who have little or no bedside experience. We're not even hiring anyone with less than two years at the bedside before they started their NP program. I'd like to see the admission requirements for NP schools go back to the five years of experience it USED to require.

[dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN]

In my unit, we've had some horrible experience with NPs who have little or no bedside experience. We're not even hiring anyone with less than two years at the bedside before they started their NP program. I'd like to see the admission requirements for NP schools go back to the five years of experience it USED to require.

I work on a NP driven unit with high turnover for both RNs and NPs. All our NPs just suck for a while until they get the routine down. The new NPs suck more than the experienced NPs. Bedside RN experience has nothing to do with suckiness other then the fact that they tend to listen to us (the RNs who have been around for a while) more. At least for the first couple of months. Which is also kind of aggravating because I should not literally have to sit down and put in initial admission orders for the NP or have the final call on whether we actually admit a patient or not.

We get the occasional resident thrown our way, too, and they suck just as much. But they tend to suck a little less a lot more faster than any of our NPs - bedside experience, experienced NP, or whatever.

In summation: the suck, it is everywhere.