Is hospital experience required for FNP application?

[AMH24]

I am a new grad nurse hoping to apply for DNP- Family nurse next year. Should I work the one year that I can gain experience in either 1) the primary care outpatient clinic where I also want to work after I graduate FNP program OR 2) a cardiology unit in a large hospital with acute care experience.

My goal and focus is primary care but I am also scared that having no hospital experience will look bad on my application even though I'm applying for primary care. 

I really appreciate your thoughts and advice.

[RNNPICU, BSN, RN]

While I don't have my NP nor do I want one, why would you want to go directly into a NP Program with zero experience.  You need to be able to touch and see what different diagnosis are, what nursing care looks like, what care planning looks like. How to escalate, when to escalate, lab values and patient correlation.  Learning to talk with families especially crucial conversations. These are things you cannot learn in school rather through experience.  You do not want to be an NP with no knowledge except what you learned in school. 

[weizgrl, BSN, MSN, NP]

My 2 cents as someone who has been in healthcare for 25+ yrs, RN 15yrs and just got my NP. I have huge issue with gatekeeping people's growth in nursing ie "you need to do your time" It happens a lot in nursing! 

However, that being said there are a lot of clinical skills and soft skill you need to get that you can only get through experience. 

 You will need to know what disease process looks like and sequela of specific illnesses in order to prevent.

You will also need to understand nuance and develop your intuition in nursing practice. There are something's that are not in front of your face and you need to be able to understand and identify subtleties that lead you down the correct path for the patient. Acute care experience sharpens this skill quickly and efficiently. 

You will need to develop communication skills for all types of patients and their families who are not in their best moments. You will need to learn how to handle things politically with your coworkers and supervisors to get best outcomes for patients. 

That all being said NP is entirely different role. The lens at which we look at the patient is shifted so you will need to understand the nursing process and scope process very well so you can adjust. In outpatient clinics those lines get very blurry compared to acute care. You may find out you like cardiac care and may sub specialize in that area. 

Getting a job after NP school is a challenge as well, you will need to have some good experience clocked in that resume. 

Remember these schools are in the business of making money. You are ultimately responsible for your care you give that could potentially harm someone. You need to have the chops behind those credentials. 

 

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

Either one is fine.  However, if you want to work in primary care, then primary care experience will be more beneficial, as it will be related to what you will be doing.  If you think you would like specialize in ambulatory cardiology as an NP, then take the cardiology job.

I also want to address the myth that RN experience is required to be a good NP.  It is not.  I went straight thru from ABSN to AGPCNP and had no performance issues. Some of my peers had RN experience and they did not no better than me and did not get better performance reviews.  Primary care is NOT acute care.  This is obvious.  Working as a primary care provider is very different from working in a hospital.  

Recently, I wrote an evidence review and the evidence supports that RN experience does NOT improve NP competency:

https://allnurses.com/does-RN-experience-improve-NP-t757243/