How much does your RN experience count?

[Hoosiernurse, ADN, RN]

I have been an RN for 12 years. In the rural area I live in there are primarily nursing home jobs to choose from, some home health, and some better choices if you are willing to drive an hour in either direction. While my experiences have been valuable, I have had a lot of painful things done to my self esteem in my jobs. Horrible bosses, cruel coworkers, dangerous understanding, being lied to by bosses, etc. I have had a lot of short term jobs where, once I realized.the danger of the situation, I walked. Sometimes without notice, depending on how bad it was. Sometimes during the first couple weeks while still in training. Other jobs I have been at for 2-3 years and left with notice. I have wantes to leave bedaide nursing and the constant demands and abuses for a long time. I want to have more autonomy and focus more on science, which are strengths of mine. I'm trying to decide about.going ahead and becoming an NP, but I wonder if my large number of short term positions that will pop up on a work history will damage my chances of employment. For the record, I have overcome a debilitating anxiety and depression problem that has also contributed to my issues with work. Bedside nursing and I have always had a rough relationship....I love science!

Any advice?

[Oldmahubbard]

Your story sounds very much like mine. I did work in mental health for several years before becoming a Psych NP. That's how I got my first job.

My experience was that once you get NP after your name, nobody cares about your RN career anymore. Even if it was crappy, and I went through some real crap.

[Hoosiernurse, ADN, RN]

Thank goodness. I really think I can shine as an NP. I just need a fresh start.

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

I think if you're going back 12 years of employment, you don't need to include all of that information on a resume. And the good thing about nursing is that there's usually a reasonable explanation of "not a good fit" to explain frequent employment changes. Good luck with school and with starting a new career.

[RN58140]

From reading posts in the NP forum the consensus seemed to be that employers at the NP level did not really care about your RN experience because you will not be practicing as an RN for them. They care about your professionalism, your ability to function as an advanced provider and many people mentioned having a portfolio of some kind to show off the experiences they gained during their clinical year/s

[db2xs]

16 hours ago, RN58140 said:

From reading posts in the NP forum the consensus seemed to be that employers at the NP level did not really care about your RN experience because you will not be practicing as an RN for them. They care about your professionalism, your ability to function as an advanced provider and many people mentioned having a portfolio of some kind to show off the experiences they gained during their clinical year/s

I wouldn't say that as a blanket statement. I think your background also depends on what you decided to do as an NP. For example, oncology NP positions prefer NPs who had oncology experience as RNs. That's my experience, at least.