I have a passion for exceptional nursing care, but realizing I don't want to be an FNP

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After 22 amazing, scary, beautiful, tearful, hopeful, joyful, and enlightening years of bedside nursing, I'm ready to move forward and be more cerebral and less physical in my career. I have an absolute love and passion for excellent nursing care. I am two weeks away from applying for schools for my MSN, FNP. I've always thought I would be an educator, but not willing to deal with job insecurity and less salary than what I make at bedside. I would love to teach the next generation of fresh new nurses or assist with process improvement in hospitals, or med offices. Just very clearly confused because I know FNPs make a decent salary, but I lay awake at night listening to my heart tell me that's not what I am meant to do. Any advice on what direction I can take or where to start my soul searching for my next career?

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What about getting finishing your NP then getting an additional MSN-Ed degree/bridge? Most schools will let you skip some of the intro classes for the second masters. Then teach part-time in addition to working as an FNP. I teach online classes and find that it fulfills some of my desire to "pass the torch" to the next generation but you could teach clinicals or online. FNP jobs can be flexible so you could work three days a week as an FNP and the rest as an instructor.

And what about higher-level positions in the hospital like nurse educator?

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Specializes in Adult Nurse Practitioner.

You actually have 2 choices...going on for your MSN in education OR staying as a bedside nurse. As many FNPs are writing in...jobs are becoming more scarce and the pay is not that great. Many nurses have gone on to get their FNP figuring it was the "answer" to money worries or job security...that is not so. Not all nurses are cut out to become a healthcare provider. The problem is the CNS degree does not seem to account for much in the hospital setting although that is a degree that many NPs would actually be better striving for. If your heart is telling you NOT to go for the FNP...don't. Just my 2 cents worth:D

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I got my master's in 2014, and felt the same way about going for the FNP. Of the three tracks offered at my university (healthcare leadership, community health, and education), I did a dual track for the first two. Education/teaching wasn't in my heart. FNP would have been an additional few qtrs.

As a fairly new nurse (I went from a non-nurse to a master's prepared nurse in 5 years), it's been difficult to find any management roles because of my lack of official supervisory experience. It's been 3 years now, and I still have not landed a role that fully utilizes my degree.

In retrospect, I feel like I should have continued and gotten the FNP, so that I would more likely get an entry level position and actually use my degree.

In your case, even NP isn't in your heart, but you want to earn a higher degree, I say go for it. Unless there's another, less specialized MN program you can apply for instead. But having the FNP would give you something to fall back on. And, in my job searching experience, just having a master's in nursing opens doors for teaching opportunities. I took a per diem lab instructor position at a local university, but don't really hope they'll ever need me.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Its great to be a wonderful passionate nursing but cutting to the chase, you gotta prove your worth. In other words, healthcare is a business and if you can bill for your services ie be a provider, your worth is higher.

I truly wish I had gotten an MBA so I would have been better able to cope with all the changes upon as healthcare providers.

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Specializes in FNP.

Pray about it.

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