I want to become a Nurse Practitioner, any advice?

Penguin67 · May 3, 2009

What is an "ACNP"?

Reno1978, BSN, RN · May 3, 2009

My guess would be Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.

joshindfw · May 3, 2009

LOL, yes sorry, that is correct, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.

core0 · May 4, 2009

Hello everyone, I wanted to get some information from nurses who are NP's or RN's that work with NP's. I have often thought about getting an MD, but I want be more patient oriented. I know NP's and RN's have a difficult duty on their jobs and it isnt easy. I am currently taking my prereq's for nursing school.
Some people tell me go for MD, some say go for nursing. I also have a passion for the study of pharmacology as well. I know for the most part, RN's and NP's both have to study pharmacology.
The thing is I really enjoy helping people, at the same time, I love being able to find what is wrong with patients and diagnose what may be the problem. So I guess what I am trying to ask is, being an NP, do you ever diagnose patients? I truley want to be a NP, I just want to make sure that I know what I am in store for.
Some people are telling me while I am getting my prereq's out of the way, i should get a cna license and then when i am done with nursing school, I will become a RN, and then to BSN, then so on so forth.
I just have so many questions i dont even know where to start. Some enlightenment would be appreciated. Thank you
I know the money is nice, but my overall reason for doing this is because I want to make a difference in someone's life.

https://allnurses.com/nurse-practitioners-np/

Try the stickies first.

David Carpenter, PA-C

Jubilayhee · May 4, 2009

WEll, if you want to be an NP then you might as well go for MD, because they both spent similiar time with patients. Not to mention similiar kind of work. If you were already an RN I would say go for NP but since your just starting then I would say MD.

GilaRRT · May 4, 2009

WEll, if you want to be an NP then you might as well go for MD, because they both spent similiar time with patients. Not to mention similiar kind of work. If you were already an RN I would say go for NP but since your just starting then I would say MD.

Actually, they are profoundly different careers, with different education and patient care experience. If advanced nursing practice and mid level care is your forte, go the NP route; however, MD is completely different.

Whispera, MSN, RN · May 4, 2009

It takes less time to become an NP. Sometimes NPs get more time with each patient than MDs do. NPs do diagnose.

EarthChild1130 · May 4, 2009

I work with a PMHNP (Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner) and she runs our clinic. We have 2 MDs but the NP is the senior prescriber as she has been there the longest. She also oversees our Crisis Center and the residential facility for our forensic patients. She also formulates the diagnosis for each patient assigned to her. It seems to me that she gets a lot more one-on-one time with patients than most MDs I know...I think the rules for NP practice vary from state to state...for instance, I know in my state she has full prescriptive authority, including benzos, but some states don't recognize this, which is a hassle if patients want to use mail-order pharmacies from out of state...(we have to get one of the MDs who also see patients in the clinic to do the script).

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · May 4, 2009

WEll, if you want to be an NP then you might as well go for MD, because they both spent similiar time with patients. Not to mention similiar kind of work. If you were already an RN I would say go for NP but since your just starting then I would say MD.

In our BMT program, each patient has an NP assigned to them that they consistently see, and MDs rotate weekly. They see their NP way more than any of the MDs and are often closer to them.

joshindfw · May 4, 2009

Thank you all for your feedback. I really want this so bad and I am making sure I have good grades right now so I can get into NS. I thought about becoming an MD, but I am more into patient care than I am in "other aspects" of medicine. I know it is a long route. It is still early enough for me to decide which area I would like to specialize in, but I believe it is better that I start looking into specialties now than later on. I know money is a big issue sometimes, but overall I am either going to pick the be a FNP or ACNP.

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · May 4, 2009

If I can offer up a little advice...go see if you can work in a doc's office over the summer that has NPs....I'm a big believer in watching before doing. I see a lot of students in my school who want to be a nurse practicioner, nurse anesthetist, etc., but have never actually talked to one, can't tell you what they do, etc. I did some volunteer work, went with out parish nurse to see wound care, etc., to make sure I wasn't starting out on something that I would decide I couldn't do....