I don't get why you have to become a RN first ?

[xInspiredx]

I don't quite get why you have to be a regular RN first, before you can actually have the title of a NP. Perhaps I have misread the information online though. How many years do you have to be a RN before you can actually become a NP? I understand that being a RN first will give you experience, but shouldn't this be learned during MSN school?

[elkpark]

I realize that a NP is an advanced RN, but my question had more to do with when will you be able to actually perform the NP "duties" (like prescribing). I am understanding that first you have to be a "regular" RN, and then after a couple of years(?) you can advance on, even though you have the MSN degree.

As I mentioned earlier, there are lots of "direct entry" MSN programs, which take people who are not nurses at all but have a BA/BS in another subject, put them through a year or so of basic nursing education (basically, an Accelerated BSN program) and then directly into the advanced practice education -- so you go in as a non-nurse, and come out as an MSN-prepared advanced practice nurse. Students in these programs write the NCLEX and get licensed as RNs during the course of the program, but they may or may not ever work as a "regular" RN. In some programs, that's one of the expectations of the program -- that students will work part-time as RNs during the MSN part of the program. In other programs, that's not the case. I attended a grad school (as a traditional, "experienced RN" student) that included a direct-entry program, so many of my classmates were the direct-entry students. In my program, the direct-entry students didn't even write the NCLEX until they had completed their first year of the graduate program (that's a whole 'nother discussion), and the program was so intense that none of the direct-entry students I knew had jobs, nursing or otherwise (plus, they had no intention of ever working as a "regular" RN -- they were in school to become advanced practice nurses (also a whole 'nother discussion)). They all graduated and became certified/licensed in whatever advanced practice specialty they had studied in school without ever working a single day as a "regular" RN. However, all advanced practice nurses have to be licensed, and maintain licensure, as an RN in order to be eligible for licensure as an advanced practice nurse.

You are able to "actually perform the NP duties" once you are certified/licensed as an NP, regardless of whether you've worked many years as an RN, or haven't worked a single day as an RN -- it has nothing at all to do with how long you've been licensed as an RN. It's about the NP certification/licensure.

[Spacklehead, MSN, NP]

My personal experience with my traditional NP program (meaning they took RN's who already worked at least a year) was that the NP program built upon foundations already learned/developed through the BSN program and RN work experience. The RNs in my program who worked acute care did very, very well. The RNs in my program who had no bedside experience (pharm reps, research nurses, etc) had a much harder time. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I do believe having at least a year of acute care experience under you belt is the best way to go for many various reason.

[jkpowell23]

I think that while it would definitely be possible to become a nurse practitioner through the direct entry programs, it's probably not the best idea. The skills that you practice as a nurse are so important. NP's are (in most cases) very autonomous... the time you have to get experience in your clinicals is best used to learn new/advanced skills and to upgrade the skills you have... not to learn 'nursing'. I am probably not making any sense...

Basically, assessment and critical thinking are so very important. You can learn them, but it's best to practice them. As an RN, you would have a chance to do this without the added responsibility of diagnosing and prescribing. Once you have developed your RN skills, go back to school and get your NP skills.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck!:)

[LittleWing21, RN]

There are direct-entry programs that do not require you to work as an RN first. I chose not to go this route personally because I wanted the experience that being an RN would give me (this is def something that can't be learned in school). Most NP programs are pretty short in length and totally stuffed with information. People with no healthcare experience at all tend to be pretty overwhelmed when they first start as a Nurse Practitioner.

[Dixiecup]

You do not gain experience in MSN school. You gain experience by working, period. I graduated last May with my BSN and I've been working in a major hospitals ER since, and I learn something new *every day*- and this is with a very good undergrad with a ton of clinical hours.

When you graduate your "rolodex" is not completely blank, but largely based on textbook knowledge. As you continue to practice I find my "rolodex" is filling in, bit by bit, by patient presentations. Experience is absolutely irreplaceable in the world of nursing.... no amount of school or credentials can compare.

Even if you did go and get your BSN then NP straight away, you will still be competing with BSN-level RN new grads, because that is where your clinical level of competency is.

I totally agree. Sometimes I feel like I went to the NP program just because it was required to get the degree. I honestly think I could do my job based on my 20 years of nursing experience. That's where most of my knowledge comes from when I'm working, along with the on the job training.

I'm not saying I didn't learn ANYTHING in school but most of your learning experience comes from years of nursing and when you start to work.