More questions, this time not medical! =-)

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Alright, I just read the thread about those who have regrets or don't have regrets about going into nursing. Most of those who responded were RN's.

I'm just about to apply for the RN program at the school I'm currently attending. However, I don't plan on stopping there, I plan on going all the way through to NP before going back into the workplace. I'm 28 years old, and figure that it makes more sense for me to complete all the schooling towards my goal in one lump sum, as I'm starting towards that goal later than a lot of people. I'm planning on minoring in psychology, and am also taking Spanish so as to be bi-lingual. These were choices I've made hoping to increase my desirability in the work force.

What's your opinion on going straight through to a masters degree?

Is working for the state as a psych NP working with foster kids a reasonable goal fresh out of college?

I've already gotten my CNA certification, and was allowed to shadow the ER psych nurse due to having most of my list checked off quickly. I feel very flattered to admit that several of the nurses and CNA's that I worked with during my clinicals asked me if I was just getting my certification for this state, and were surprised when I told them that I was as new to the job as someone fresh out of high school. I really feel that nursing is the the right profession for me, even if every day wasn't perfect, the job was. Granted clinicals aren't the longest trial run, but at my school at least they run you through your paces. You work on the surgery floor, the PACU, and sometimes the OB wing at the hospital, then you're moved over to a nursing home, where they move you from wing to wing so that you work with people who are just recovering their independence all the way through to the hospice patients. The hardest part of the job for me was not being able to talk about my day with any specificity to my husband.

Any general thoughts and advice?

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Alright, I just read the thread about those who have regrets or don't have regrets about going into nursing. Most of those who responded were RN's.

I'm just about to apply for the RN program at the school I'm currently attending. However, I don't plan on stopping there, I plan on going all the way through to NP before going back into the workplace. I'm 28 years old, and figure that it makes more sense for me to complete all the schooling towards my goal in one lump sum, as I'm starting towards that goal later than a lot of people. I'm planning on minoring in psychology, and am also taking Spanish so as to be bi-lingual. These were choices I've made hoping to increase my desirability in the work force.

What's your opinion on going straight through to a masters degree?

Is working for the state as a psych NP working with foster kids a reasonable goal fresh out of college?

I've already gotten my CNA certification, and was allowed to shadow the ER psych nurse due to having most of my list checked off quickly. I feel very flattered to admit that several of the nurses and CNA's that I worked with during my clinicals asked me if I was just getting my certification for this state, and were surprised when I told them that I was as new to the job as someone fresh out of high school. I really feel that nursing is the the right profession for me, even if every day wasn't perfect, the job was. Granted clinicals aren't the longest trial run, but at my school at least they run you through your paces. You work on the surgery floor, the PACU, and sometimes the OB wing at the hospital, then you're moved over to a nursing home, where they move you from wing to wing so that you work with people who are just recovering their independence all the way through to the hospice patients. The hardest part of the job for me was not being able to talk about my day with any specificity to my husband.

Any general thoughts and advice?

There are NP programs that will admit without experience. My NP program required a minimum of two years experience. Regardless of the type of NP you want to be, a minimum of two years experience, as a R.N., should be considered. I got my first Masters after four years of work experience.My second one after twenty-five. I was glad I did.

Your goal of working with foster kids is a good one. I think you migt be more comfortable if you worked in peds for a year or two.

GrannyRN65

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I tend to agree with the above post. I'm not an expert on ALL NP programs, but in my experience, the nursing masters programs that don't require experience are those whose focus is outside of direct patient care. In any case, I echo the advice above, that you should have AT LEAST 1-2 years of nursing experience before getting going on to an NP program.

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Specializes in ICU.

Regardless of the program requirements, it would be a good idea to have real world experience prior to the NP. Your chances of being taken seriously without it are slim.

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Sounds exciting for you! While many NP programs do NOT require RN bedside experience prior to starting the program, I have heard that many employers will not hire NP's who do not have prior bedside nursing experience. Just a thought to keep in the back of your head.... Good luck!

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A year or two in Peds first? What about in a Psych ward? Perhaps a facility for troubled teens? Those places would need an RN wouldn't they?

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Sounds exciting for you! While many NP programs do NOT require RN bedside experience prior to starting the program, I have heard that many employers will not hire NP's who do not have prior bedside nursing experience. Just a thought to keep in the back of your head.... Good luck!

good point

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What about going ahead through school to get my MSN, but applying for RN jobs when I graduate? The thought of stopping school only to have to go back again seems dangerous, as if the momentum to finish might dissipate once I got back out in the real world again. Is that a feasible way to work it?

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What about going ahead through school to get my MSN, but applying for RN jobs when I graduate? The thought of stopping school only to have to go back again seems dangerous, as if the momentum to finish might dissipate once I got back out in the real world again. Is that a feasible way to work it?

Not in my opinion, but I don't have time right now to go into details as to why. A better way, I think, would be to get an ADN, get licensed, then work part-time while doing an RN-MSN program. That way you would have experience by the time you graduate with your master's.

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Specializes in Medical, Surgical, Pediatrics.

I have been working as an RN for a couple years now and I plan to go back to NP school in the next couple years, however, before I even began nursing school, I had the same plans as you, not stop until I reach the end. After my first semester of nursing school my plans quickly changed. Nursing school can be very time consuming, and by the time I completed my BSN program and got my RN liscense, I welcomed to opportunity to take a break and work in the "real world" for a few years. There is so much more that you will learn once you are working as an RN, and to be able to apply so much more of what you learned in the classroom will definitely make confusing concepts much more understandable. There just simply isnt enough clinical time in nursing school.

Im so happy I decided to wait it out, rather than try to go all the way through. There is so much more that I have learned since nursing school that I probably never would have fully grasped unless I worked for a few years.

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It also seems wise to consider your income while on the journey to NP. Het your RN, work & get paid as an RN while still working to your ultimate goal. You will get some experience, paid decent & may qualify for tuition reimbursement while on your way to your ultimate goal.

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Can someone explain why NPs "need" to have some years of experience before being considered an effective NP, while PAs can work in several medical areas out of school and not have the same sort of scrutiny about their experience and viability as a medical professional? Do NPs get less training than PAs or inferior training from PAs? I know some people who went strait to a Masters program to become an advanced practice nurse right after their BSN... I've seen some job postings that state something like, "PA New Grad or NP New Grad with years of RN experience..." Why is it that? There's a lot of PAs and Pharmacists who have never touched a patient or filled a pill bottle until they were in grad school for their majors. If the NP programs are so inferior that nurses who graduate from them without years of RN experience are essentially useless, then why not phase them out completely and make PA as the standard for midlevel practitioners? Someone please explain... cuz I have nothing against people who know what they want in life, but there seems to be a nurse-on-nurse crime on this issue. I've heard about it nursing school, I've heard about it in the hospitals, and I've seen it on this forum.

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