New grad NP working as floor nurse

KayRN910 · May 14, 2011

The part time or per-diem job may be a good idea if she had some experience. I know in my area (of course I can't speak for all), the hospitals wont hire you part time if you dont have a year of experience, because it takes soooo long to train a new grad to get the basics under their belt.

I'm always a big fan of talking to the recruiters at the hospitals. Such as asking what they look for and how timid they are about hiring a NP with no RN experience. Plus, it may be a way to build contact information. Just a thought. Good luck!

shiningsmileRN · Aug 11, 2011

I think those are two different roads....is the concern not finding a job as a NP or not having experience in nursing??? The responsibilities and duties of a RN vs. NP are vastly different. If you've graduated from NP school and passed your NP exam, you should be able to practice with the basic level of competence as a NP. Of course you can always learn something at the bedside, despite your level of education/degree. My suggestion would be to finish RN school, work and then go back to school as a NP....that can help you decide what area you want to specialize in. Research is now starting to show that direct entry NPs are doing fine with practice.
Good luck!

this is exactly what my NP program director said, "with RN experience, one can be a good NP; without RN experience, one can still be a good NP".

JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP · Aug 12, 2011

It's hard to find per diem jobs when you're in grad school and your schedule isn't that flexible. Per diem usually means that they want you to be available when THEY need you, not that they need to work around your schedule.

missladyrn · Mar 15, 2012

I just met someone going through exactly this issue. She went right from high school into a BSN, then directly on to become an FNP. She has never had any healthcare experience other than school clinical. She spent over a year applying everywhere and eventually had to move to another state where her uncle (an MD) could get her a job as a staff RN on a med surg floor. She might be a unique situation though, because she has never had a job of any kind, not even scooping ice cream in hs or anything.

CRF250Xpert · Mar 15, 2012

Is it fear that has the OP looking at getting "experience"? If so, the only way to get experience as a NP is to go be a NP. My nurses are great, but they are great at being RNs - they don't know my job and certainly can't do my job. They really don't get experience to be able to perform my job by becoming better RN either. When my patient is R/O MI - I make all of the decisions, give verbal orders for everything and go see my next pt. You can't get the experience of doing my job by watching me and performing all of the orders I Rx.

If you are worried about the mechanics of the job - you'll never get it done. Your nurses and pharmacy will gently remind you if you get something wrong like "that can't be cut in half" or "that's only available IV", etc. I always get "is that the blue pill?" or "is that the one that comes in the box?". I answer - "I have no idea what it looks like - I know what it is and how it works - YOU need to know what you med looks like and what box it comes in".If you have a MSN forget the RN part and go get settled in.

If you want to be a NP - be a NP - get out there and flounder, sink or swim, struggle, work 70 hours a week on purpose and get better at your craft. Learn your procedures, learn the best codes for you, learn to manage your patient flow, take care of folks and make a profit. RNs can't do any of that.

alatorre_NP · Mar 15, 2012

I agree. I am a newly practicing NP and this is what all my professors said. Although, I was in the NICU and took on the Adult NP with no problem. But it surely is a legal shake up.

nomadcrna, DNP, CRNA, NP · Mar 16, 2012

That does not mean what she says is true. :)

I asked my professor at school, and she states in NYS that is totally false that you will be held to the liability of your highest license if you work as A REGISTERED NURSE even if you have a NP license.

Km8011 · Mar 17, 2012

I would not suggest going for the NP right now. I have almost 9 years experience as a RN and have been looking for a NP job for 10 months now. I have also tried to get other RN jobs to broaden my experience, but have not been successful in that because of the NP degree. The question I got in interviews was why did I just not want to pursue a job as an NP. I would fear based on what I have experienced that you could have trouble finding a job as an NP and then once you have the NP, you would not be looked at for RN jobs. The job market is extremely frustrating right now!!

mammac5 · Mar 17, 2012

According to my state's BON, you are held to the standard of your highest level of education and/or degree.

It seems to me that having an NP degree but then seeking an RN position and working in that capacity for a period of time would be a negative for your potential to be hired as an NP later on. Why? Because when I'm reviewing resumes as a potential employer looking to find a NP for an open position, I'm going to wonder why you didn't work as an NP after your education and licensure. Were you lacking in confidence? Did you interview for NP jobs and give us because no one wanted to hire you? We you afraid to take on the responsibilities of a provider? Once all those questions start flying around in my head, I shred that resume and move on to interviewing the next person.

That entire thought process may have absolutely nothing to do with your abilities, but as an employer I'm not going to waste my time interviewing someone who doesn't seem like a slam dunk.

Km8011 · Mar 17, 2012

mammac5, you really gave me something to think about from the perspective of an employer looking for NPs. What would you suggest would be the best course of action for my situation? My certification is Acute Care PNP, which is somewhat limiting as I have found out. Plus having no critical care experience is even more limiting. It seems that if you do not have experience in a specific speciality, your application will not even be looked at. I do understand the reasoning behind this, but it closes out even more job opportunities. My only thinking in getting other RN jobs was to get experience in other specialities, so I could qualify for more jobs. The experience you have as an RN is the only thing that seems to matter in the interviews that I have went on, and clinical experiences while in school are not as significant. This has been a very frustrating process and is certainly not how I expected it to be when I graduated.

CCRNDiva, BSN, RN · Mar 18, 2012

I frequently look at job postings for ACNPs and they all want someone with experience. Most say they would consider a new grad NP with critical care nursing experience. Many of these positions are posted for either ACNPs or PAs. They want their PAs to have experience as a PA. Even the medical centers affiliated with universities that have direct-entry programs are reluctant to hire a new NP who doesn't have nursing experience (check out the job postings for Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, etc). I know people say that the roles are not the same and PAs are often without experience prior to becoming PAs. PAs get at least twice the clinical hours of NPs during their programs and many of their programs prefer applicants with healthcare experience.

We have to be realistic. This is a competitive job market and every little bit of experience helps. It is easy to question why she would consider working as a RN after becoming a NP but what is she supposed to do if she can't get hired without RN experience? Just sit around and wait for an offer to materialize or do something about it by getting that experience?

I understand the OPs predicament and I probably would have started grad school if I were in her position as well. I would suggest looking at facilities that utilize RNs and NPs within their organization. That way you could start as a RN but then move into a NP role and the organization wouldn't feel like they wasted $$ investing in you. Another option is to apply for a NP residency or fellowship after graduation. That type of experience should trump RN experience

mammac5 · Mar 18, 2012

No acute care experience is a tough one for someone going into PNP. But your clinical experiences in your program should be very relevant and even persuasive to potential employers. One place to start in making yourself attractive is to have excellent letters of reference from those who supervised you and/or worked alongside you in your clinical rotations. These people can speak to your worth and help an employer see how you can be valuable to them. Even though it isn't standard practice, I would include 2 or 3 really fabulous letters along with the resume you send since that may make the difference between getting called for an interview or not.

Once you get the interview, you have to impress at the very outset. I know it's trite, but looking professional and put together - along with a firm, confident handshake - sets the tone for the interview. Eye contact. Be ready and prepared to answer the tough questions: What makes you qualified as a new graduate? Don't you think RNs should have ____ years of experience prior to applying to a NP program? Why didn't you practice as an RN before you went back for your NP? And so forth.

Pull out all the experiences you've had and use them. When they ask you about your decision-making ability as a new provider, point out specific instances from your clinical rotations where you had to make tough or pressured decisions and were able to handle that. OR point out a specific instance where decision making was difficult for you and how you learned from that and what you plan to do differently in the future.

First, you have to get in the door and that means a very, very good resume with the facts and no fluff. It means having excellent references right up front. It means impressing on the telephone when you're called to schedule the interview. And it means showing your confidence and poise when you walk in the door.