MSN/NP school question

[ztaw15]

I am wondering if anyone here might be able to help me out. I am going to be starting medical school soon, and my (soon to be) wife is a nurse (BSN/RN). She has gone back and forth with the idea of going back to school to pursue her MSN or DNP and become an NP. I have been encouraging her to do it, because I think if she doesn't do it while we are young and without children then it won't ever happen, and she is so smart and good at what she does (I may be biased) I think it would be such a waste if she didn't. That said, I have been trying to help find information about some programs. More to the point, I am trying to find more information about the length of critical care practice time required, the application timelines, and how competitive it is to get in. She has a great GPA, even by medical school standards, so I wouldn't imagine that being a problem. I looked at the website for a school in an area we will potentially be in, but it couldn't (didn't) provide these details. Any input appreciated, and sorry for the length.

To Summarize:

How competitive are MSN/NP programs?

When do you apply?

What are some general application requirements, specifically regarding length of critical care practice required before applying?

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

You do not necessarily need critical care experience; depends on the type of NP program you're applying to - ANP, FNP, ACNP? What are her goals in obtaining the NP in terms of what patient population she wants to work with?

You definitely need critical care exp (1-2+ yrs) for nurse anesthesia, and you generally need "acute care" experience for ACNP programs.

As to how competitive, depends on the school and the program.

Why doesn't she sign up here for herself and have a read as there is a lot of info posted here in the NP forum.