Knowledge of a Pediatric nurse practitioner

[Jamiediane]

Hey guys! So i just got accepted into a nursing program I'm super excited, i feel old I'm 27 but its ok cause ill either be 33 with a bsn or 33 with nothing :) So i already know in the future i am going to want to become a pediatric nurse practitioner. From my volunteer experience and working as a cna i loved helping the nurses out i love what the nurses do and how they are so personal with the patients which is incredibly important to me but I'm curious about one thing. I never want to be a doctor, i don't like there job duties however i know that doctors go through 36 months of pediatric residency which is all focused on pediatrics and that is why they are very knowledgeable in pediatrics and i know that nurse practitioners who specialize in pediatrics have about a year and a half i heard 4 months but i don't think that is accurate of pediatric focus and so that makes it seem like they are pushing out nurse practitioners with very little knowledge so I'm wondering how many years it took some of you nurse practitioners to feel comfortable in the knowledge or if you never actually got to that place? Once again i don't want to be a doctor i just want to be extremely knowledgable in my area of expertise.

thank you guys for any input

[staphylococci, NP]

If you enjoy the duties of the nurses and not the physicians, I would seriously rethink about becoming a nurse practitioner. What we do day-to-day mirrors our physician counterparts even though our academic preparation is different. You can still obtain expertise in your clinical area as an RN through certification, continuing education, experience, and self-reflective practice. For example, there is the PNCB for both registered nurses and nurse practitioners to obtain specialty certification in pediatrics.

[Jamiediane]

oh yay! I'm glad you can gain more knowledge :) i loved the difference of care that was given by the NP vs md in the clinic i was working in, it really inspired me. I do have a question and i hope i don't come off as rude if you believe that what they do day to day mirrors that of a MD why did you choose NP? Was it because you were already a nurse but knew you wanted to further your education or would it have been to much to go back to medical school?