New Grad Primary Care

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I am completing my BSN program this May and do not yet have a job. In five years or so I can see myself working as a Nurse Practitioner in a clinic, preferably with the adolescent population. Does it make sense to work in a hospital for a couple years?

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Specializes in Mental and Behavioral Health.

It does. You need the experience to make yourself marketable. Do everything you can to get it.

Right now, new nurses have to take jobs where they can get them, and be glad they have one. Do a resume and cover letter. Study interview techniques. If you want to work in this economy, pull out all the stops. Make looking for a job your job until you get one. Don't be too surprised if you have to relocate to find work. New grads are going for months without finding jobs, because there are not many jobs to be had. I'll pray for you.

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

...besides, most schools won't let you into NP programs without some nursing experience....

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Specializes in ER.

I haven't researched what the requirements are for NP school and how to best prepare yourself. However, I am going back to school now to get my BSN, then on from there (NP, PA, or Midwife). I think I'm getting pretty well prepared for what a PA/NP does during the day. My job is to do vitals on pts, get a detailed history of the present illness and relevent other info, and relay it to the doc/NP/PA. I like to guess what the final diagnosis will be, and many times I am right. I work with many talented providers that love to teach and show me what I missed or should be looking for. Though, common cold is easy to dx. I have a lot of time to go back and look at the lab results and how they coincide with the clinical presentation. I can follow trends from one visit to another, not something that a floor nurse would have access to or the time for.

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