Is it worth it?

[Acmnurse]

Hello,

I'm new to this site, but I'd really like some help from people that have been through this already! I've wanted to be a nurse practitioner since I started nursing school. Now I'm a few months into my first nursing jobs. I just found out the hospital I work for isn't going to help pay for me to go back to school like I was hoping.

So, is it worth the time and money to get a masters or DNP? I really want my DNP. I think I could be good at it and I would enjoy it, but I am also worried about going into a ton of debt to get a degree that might be more of a liability than I am prepared for. Any thoughts?

[riaeg]

If becoming a NP is your passion, then by all means yes it is worth it. I was in same dilemma years ago while working in the hospital. My employer wanted me to change the certification area from acute care to family nurse practitioner, since it was more versatile to them and I wouldn't be limited from seeing children. The school I was attending at the time said that wasn't a good enough reason to change tracks. I ended up changing schools instead:)

Anyway, when I graduated, I did have debt as I had to take out student loans. The hospital where I worked only had one position open, 1.5 hr drive away, and at only $1.00 per hr raise over what I had been making due to being employed there at that point for many years. So..... I ended up going to rural health clinic and applying for loan repayment through HRSA to pay off my loans. It was totally worth it and I discovered I enjoyed working with under served population. Within a year, I started back for my DNP and completed it. Now trying to find another way to get loan repayment. The DNP for me was not necessarily beneficial enough to justify the additional debt, but I am glad I did it anyway!

[db2xs]

Acmnurse, if it's being an NP that you really want to do, then do that. The DNP curriculum, despite the higher ups saying that it's a clinical degree, is not really a clinical degree. All the classes are theory-based. So unless you want to become a DON or CNO, I would say hold off on the DNP portion. That is what I am doing. I was enrolled in a post-BSN to DNP program and then the clouds parted and I saw the light. There are zero clinical classes in the DNP program. Compare the curriculum with a DPT, MD, PharmD. Even a Doctor of Music degree has classes in improving performance. I've talked to some DNP-trained NPs who admitted to me that the DNP did nothing for them clinically.

I'm sorry your work won't help with your schooling. Perhaps you can consider going part-time, as well as applying for scholarships. That's what I'm doing. Good luck!

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Spend some time shadowing before you make any serious decisions.

[Buyer beware, BSN]

OP: 1.Calculate the cost.

2. Who's going to pay. (you or employer)

3. Estimate ROI post DNR

4. Passion notwithstanding, is it still

worth it? Only you know.