ICU Nurse- What To do for Grad School?

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Hello Everyone,

I need some suggestions and pointers... I'm currently an ICU nurse in a combined medical-surgical-cardiac ICU, and I'm looking at grad school program options. I really love bedside nursing, but I have a desire to continue my education...now the hard part, I am interested in so many different areas that I can't decide on the best route to take in order to give me employment flexibility in the future (i.e. I'm not married and don't have children yet, but I'm not sure I want to commit to hospital 12-hr schedule forever)... Everyone I work with is telling me to do an FNP program, BUT, I have absolutely no interest in working with the pediatric population in this fashion...So I applied for an Adult NP program, but now I'm wondering if I'm not really considering all of my options. I've also considered the Adult Acute Care NP option and I'd like to hear from everyone out there...If you do the Adult Acute Care NP program can you only work in a hospital, or does anyone with this background work outside of the hospital? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the ICU, I just don't know what the future holds and would like to be somewhat flexible. I've also considered CRNA, but the general impression I had after looking into a few programs is that I would have to completely stop working for the duration of these programs, and I'm not sure that, that will work for me financially... Thoughts and opinions please!!!

Thank You!

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The only comment I have is to not let finances alone deter you from the program you want. You will be able to apply for loans that cover living expenses as well as schooling, and the income potential might just make it worth it.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

If you love the bedside and don't know what you'd like to do with any graduate degree you might accumulate, wait. Save your money and keep expanding, consolidating your knowledge base by working in the ICU. When you KNOW what you want to do, that's the time to make the committment to the time and money involved in going to grad school.

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.

I am an ICU Nurse and suggest a Master of Science Degree in Nursing/Clinical Nurse Leader.

My program grants me a Public Health Nurse certificate as well as NP level courses in Adv physical assessment, Adv Patho & Adv Pharm.

If/when I decide to continue on, I will be less than 20 credits away from an FNP or an ACNP.

If you want to stay at the bedside, the CNL is a very attractive option that has a lot of mobility to branch out.

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