Is it frowned upon by supervisors and coworkers if a new grad nurse pursues DNP?

[jeexrn]

I am a new grad nurse and started working on a neuro unit in Oct 2020. Due to the hiring freeze at hospitals cause of COVID-19, I had couple months of break between the time I passed the NCLEX and when I landed the job. I always wanted to pursue higher education and during my "break" period, I applied to a PMHNP program. I have always been interested in psych and that's where I want to head towards in my career. By the time I start PMHNP program (if I get accepted), I will have 10 months of experience. My hospital offers tuition assistance after 6 months and wanted to apply for it when the time comes. However, some of my friends told me to keep it a secret even after I get accepted since supervisors and coworkers will not like the fact that I am going back to school so soon. I don't see it as a big deal because by the time I finish school, I will have about 4-5 years of nursing total. I was wondering if I can get some of you guys' opinions and thoughts about this issue!! Should I just keep the news to myself or is it okay to let my supervisors know?? Thank you!

[caliotter3]

Even though it is none of their business what you do outside of work, do yourself a favor and keep the info to yourself. You don’t want ‘braggadocio’ associated with your name.

[jeexrn]

Thank you for your input! The reason why I want to let my supervisors know is so that I can apply for tuition assistance through my hospital, not to brag that I applied or got accepted to a DNP program. Wanted to clarify that!

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I would hold off on all the notifying UNTIL you get accepted. You can apply if and when that happens. 

[umbdude, MSN, APRN]

Some people will frown upon it, some won't. You can't please everybody. I started my PMHNP program 9 months after I graduated from BSN. I didn't announce it to everyone, but I did not hide it. Most people didn't care, and some were happy for me (I worked in a psych facility).

I would recommend getting some psych nursing experience if you're going into PMHNP. Neuro knowledge is great, but pretty different from what will be useful as a PMHNP.

[amoLucia]

There might just be one glitch in this discussion. As you become more involved deeper into your school program, SCHOOL becomes your priority. Your work/job will prob become second place. That might make the employer 'benefactor' unhappy. They're holding the purse-strings.

And that's pretty much the school/job direction goes from the readings I've seen here.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

3 hours ago, amoLucia said:

There might just be one glitch in this discussion. As you become more involved deeper into your school program, SCHOOL becomes your priority. Your work/job will prob become second place. That might make the employer 'benefactor' unhappy. They're holding the purse-strings.

And that's pretty much the school/job direction goes from the readings I've seen here.

PLUS you've just telegraphed your intention to leave in your first three weeks of employment. . 

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

You'll have to tell your manager once you are admitted to the program for practical reasons, not just because you're asking for tuition reimbursement (which in my case didn't need to have a manager approval) but also because your schedule requests would reflect your school commitment.  You don't have to tell co-workers unless they have to know (like if you were trying to switch schedules with someone).  I would advise against speaking of what you're learning to correct someone's practice unless it's a safety risk situation.  Even then, I wouldn't phrase it as "I was taught to do this in NP school" kind of thing.

When I was attending my NP Program, my manager and many of the other nurses knew I was in school.  I was working in a large ED where 2 other nurses are in the very same class as myself and one other nurse was attending another program in the area.  It wasn't such a big deal in my experience but the ED had a lot of senior nurses and never had a shortage of new and qualified applicants when we have an opening.  Many expected that I won't be there long.

[jeexrn]

11 hours ago, umbdude said:

Some people will frown upon it, some won't. You can't please everybody. I started my PMHNP program 9 months after I graduated from BSN. I didn't announce it to everyone, but I did not hide it. Most people didn't care, and some were happy for me (I worked in a psych facility).

I would recommend getting some psych nursing experience if you're going into PMHNP. Neuro knowledge is great, but pretty different from what will be useful as a PMHNP.

After working on my floor for about 6 months, I plan to either take a per diem job at a psych unit or after 1 year, get a job as a psych nurse! Well, that’s my plan anyway so hopefully this happens.

[jeexrn]

Thank you everyone for replying! I definitely won’t announce it to everyone and will let my supervisors know when and if I get accepted for scheduling purposes.

[londonflo]

On 10/17/2020 at 1:54 AM, caliotter3 said:

do yourself a favor and keep the info to yourself. You don’t want ‘braggadocio’ associated with your name.

Why don't we in nursing 'celebrate' our coworkers achievements. What was the OP supposed to do -- sit at home watching the soaps and not doing anything to better themself? Just plain jealousy. Others resent the efforts to achieve. I know your advice is the best but when do we confont the real issue?

Oh I forgot - we do celebrate the 50 years of  faithful bedside nursing (no call outs !) you are recognized for when you retire,

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

You usually apply for tuition assistance through HR or another separate department, not via your manager. 

I don't see it as a jealousy issue, but there's not much more irritating to a hiring manager and preceptors than people who flat out tell you upon hire that they plan to leave - I work in CTICU and 90% of our new staff plan to work a year for their resume, then go to NP/CRNA school. It's huge time and energy investment to train and mentor new staff, and pretty disrespectful when they can't even pretend to be interested in the unit for its own sake. (Not saying that's what you would do, just an opinion from the other side).