Looking for advice from NPs

Trauma Columnist · Jan 18, 2016

My RN experience was 10 years level 1 trauma ED and 2 years adult ICU and 1 yr Peds ICU. I got a nephrology APN job and have been here almost 10 years now.

I had absolutely no nephrology experience.

The skill that got me hired was that I could assess pts well and could think on my feet. So...I think it may not be the exact experience situation that you bring to the table but the skill set - does that make sense.

What skill set would aesthetics bring to ER? And I do apologize for saying this but I personally view aesthetics as taking care of relatively well clientele undergoing elective procedures, correct? So, that type of pt is not going to be your typical ER pt. However, if you are assessing them, doing medication reconciliations, titrating meds based on renal function, etc., perhaps the experience would cross over.

Not sure.

BH303 · Jan 19, 2016

Thanks for your input. You are right about selling yourself and transferrable skills in order to get a position. I have been working as an ED nurse for a while now, so I am just wondering if I should stay in the ER or work in plastic surgery/aesthetics. I don't really like plastic surgery but I am interested in medical derm. I have been thinking that if I can stick it out working in plastic surgery for a year before I start clinical rotations, then I will have an easier time getting into derm later on when I am an NP. But if I end up in primary care for a while, I'll be better off with more ED experience. Am I thinking way too far ahead? Will it really help me that much to have worked in plastic surgery for a year, a specialty that seems very competitive? I think id rather be in the ED for now because I have more time to study and I really like it. But I would work in plastics just to give myself an advantage for later on.

allnurses Guide · Jan 20, 2016

How much do you think your RN experience affects or influences your ability to get a particular NP job? I am an FNP student and was offered a RN job in plastics/aesthetics and am wondering it this experience will make much of a difference for me when I am working as an NP. I think I would eventually like to work in dermatology, but I also like ED/urgent care. Would an employer rather see that I have ER experience which is pretty well rounded, or should I take this opportunity to learn a specialty?
Thanks so much

I think it very much depends on where you are applying. I think all RN experience can be beneficial, as any other types of experience. For instance, if you work as an RN in plastic and get an ED job you may have better minor surgical skills than a novice without that experience. Same for primary care. Procedures are billable so that's a nice selling point.

teretate · Feb 28, 2016

Ultimately, it depends on where you want to go in your career. If you are uncertain, I would go to the ER/urgent care. You will see a variety of patients with a variety of conditions. If you select the plastics/aesthetics position, I think it will be harder to transition to a position requiring a broader scope of knowledge later. Hope this helps.