in need of NP advice

[nurseswannabe]

I am currenty in an accelerated BSN program in NY and I will be graduating this summer. I am very unsure of where to go from here. My long term goal is to become a nurse practitioner but I am unsure of how to achieve this.

For one, I would really like to continue with my education but I have no previous nursing experience. Are there programs in NY that accept students without any experience? And even if there are such programs (are there?) I was told it is unwise to continue on without any experience. The truth is that I went to nursing school in order to become an NP. Are they not two very different, distict jobs? Do I really need the nursing skills from working in a hospital to be a competent NP?

Second, there seems to be so many options in terms of the schooling to become an NP. I am living in NY and I am interested in the best program for the least amount of money. Columbia and NYU seem very good but they are very expensive, are there cheaper yet still efficient NP programs? What about the online programs? Will I get an adequate(preferably good) education from online colleges?

Also, I was advised to work before so that the hospital will pay for my education. Is that true? In the limited research I did I found that hospitals were only wsilling to reimburse like 5k a year. With NYU at 1k a credit that does not come close to 100% reimbursement! Are there any scholarships (preferably academic) that help pay for college without requiring years of working as a nurse in return?

Third(and last) , I am confused as to which type of NP to become. I enjoy working with babies up to adults, although I am not crazy about geriatrics, so I am not sure whether to go for FNP or NP. I see myself working in a few years in collaboration with a doctor, which masters would be the least self limiting. Would pediatricians (or for that matter a peds floor) only take a PNP or do they accept FNPs as well? Since FNP encompasses everything it sounds like it would leave me with more options, but I am nervous that it will in fact limit me in that I will not be able to gets a peds position if I choose to do so. I do enjoy working with kids, but I am hesitant that a PNP will limit me as well in that I will ONLY be able to work in pediatrics. What should I do????? Thank you for your help,

utterly confused!!!

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

you sound like a lot of students entering the profession. i am not an np (nor do i plan on becoming one), but i was in an np program for 2 semesters (then i switched to nursing ed).

the thing that strikes me the most about your post is this: if you are so indecisive (which is normal), maybe you shouldn't rush into a program. where in ny are you (the city?) i go to molloy on long island, where they offer a few different np programs. if you're not sure about the type (pnp, fnp, anp), you should consider going as a non matric or undecided, and take some core classes. at my school, everyone takes advanced theory, satistics, research and a couple of other core courses, regardless of their track (even for admin. or ed.). that way you can take your time to decide what your interests are.

having said that, my opinion is, yes, you should get some experience. true, they are two different things, but depending on where you work, you may certainly be doing 'nursing' things. and in my opinion, one builds on the other. also, you may be limiting yourself in your opportunities. for example, you may decide you want to teach, or become a cns. contrary to what others may think, you do need to know how to do before yo can teach (at least you should :chuckle ).

also, you may want to get an idea of what nps do first hand. that was actually one of the reasons i switched majors (i wasn't too impressed with what they did).

finally, there is an on-line program in ny (not that it matters where it is, if it's on line!!). http://www.usb.edu (suny stony brook). this is where i started th np program. it is very independent (a little too independent for me), but it's cheap. and i think they take new grads.