NP programs in Michigan

I went to Wayne State University's Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program and graduated Winter 2003. My nursing background was mainly in adult specialties (Med-Surg, Rehab, SICU) although I did work in the ED and had some exposure to Peds and Women's Health during the time I was an ER nurse. WSU was recommended to me by a couple of NP's working in Cardiology at a hospital I used to work in. They were alumni of the program. I also looked into other programs such as U of M and Oakland. U of M's tuition was too expensive for me. Oakland only offered FNP and ANP but I wanted to focus on Acute Care which they didn't offer. At the time, I also found that many clinical faculty at Oakland were WSU alumni so that just sealed the deal in favor of WSU for me. However, I know some FNP grads from Oakland and I think they are great clinicians and that does say much about their program. U of D offers FNP and is a private institution with an expensive tuition so I didn't consider their program at all.

I found WSU's ACNP program as very nurse friendly. Lectures are held on campus in the evenings and are once or twice a week 3-hour blocks. Clinicals can be tough for a nurse working full time. There are 3 semesters of intensive clinicals and one needs to complete at least 180 hours for each. Many students collect their CTO time at work so that by the time they start clinicals, they can be off work during clinicals. Some end up working weekend cadre. The Pathophysiology course was offered at the School of Medicine and taught by Physicians but was kinda tough because it was fast paced - there was too much information squeezed into too little time to learn stuff. The Pharmacology course was offered at the College of Pharmacy and taught by Clinical Pharmacists when I was a student but it has been changed lately to where College of Nursing professors teach the course.

I found WSU's tuition affordable. I paid my tuition with my salary as a nurse. WSU offers many opportunities for receiving funding for your education. I applied for scholarships there and was awarded an Advanced Nursing Education Traineeship grant that paid for 3 semesters of tuition of the total 6 semesters I was in the program. Spring and Summer are combined as one semester. I am lucky to have graduated with no student loans.

REPLY:

That is what I am thinking of doing, the LORD willing, after I complete my RN.

Which schools NP programs have you looked at?

I understand the accrediting board is demanding a DOCTORATE for a NP in 2015 but that some schools are demanding it now. Will you be pursuing a NP as a MSN or as a PhD?

What is your specialty focus for your NP?

What are your priorities for your NP?

What are your long-term goals?

Where do you want to practice?

Urban or Rural?

Alone, in a clinical, with another NP, in a MD office, in a hospital, in the USA or mission field - etc.?

What programs will best meet your long-term goals?

:wink2:

Didn't mean to butt in but just want to clarify:

The doctoral degree being proposed for advanced practice nursing is actually not a PhD, it is a DNP or Doctor of Nursing Practice. The PhD in Nursing is the doctoral degree for those whose future plans involve conducting nursing research, developing nursing science and nursing theories, and teaching in academic settings. The DNP is the doctoral degree for nurse clinicians in healthcare settings.

The year 2015 was established as a timeframe from when all advanced practice nursing programs will offer the DNP instead of a MSN. This position is held by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. However, this date is not carved in stone yet. MSN prepared NP's will be grandfathered once the DNP becomes mandatory as the entry degree.

Currently, Michigan universities that offer the DNP are Oakland University (offered only as a MSN to DNP), and Wayne State University (offered as MSN to DNP, BSN to DNP, and non-APN MSN to DNP). University of Michigan-Flint is developing their DNP program and will likely offer it in the Fall 2009 per their website.

Current requirements to be nationally certified as a nurse practitioner include graduation from a CCNE or NLN accredited nurse practitioner program. Both DNP programs in Michigan are not acrredited yet as the accrediting bodies are just starting the accreditation process for all DNP program in the US. It may be wiser to finish an MSN for now as these are the only CCNE accredited programs for NP's.

You absolutely can work through the ACNP program on a part-time basis. The good thing about WSU's program is that it is a rolling admission. You can start the progam at any semester and you have the option to take just one class at a time. Be aware that certain classes are only offered on certain semesters (i.e., Advanced Patho in the Fall, Advanced Pharm in the Winter, Advanced Physical Assessmt in the Spring/Summer). The Graduate School requires a grade of B or better in all your coursework and that the program be finished in 6 years. Six years is more than enough to finish a Master's degree program with 42 credits of coursework. However, I do not know when WSU will mandate that all NP programs be offered as a DNP. If that happens, it will definitely change the amount of credits required to finish the program.

CCNP's obviously work in ICU's. There are a few hospitals in the metro area that have CCNP's on staff. I work in this capacity in one of the hospitals in the area. Our role includes patient management under collaboration with an intensivist and we are also credentialed to perform invasive procedures such as insertion of central lines and arterial lines, chest tubes, and bronchoscopies. However, other CCNP's in other hospitals probably do not have as much responsibilities in their job description. Unfortunately, the NP job market is not always the greatest as far as job choices and that's the way it's been even when the economy was better than it is now. Sometimes, NP's have to accept a job where most of the responsibilities revolve around "paper work" as you mentioned. But also bear in mind that although you only see NP's you've observed writing stuff on charts, there is probably more patient management involved in that activity than you think.

The best advice is to diversify your nursing experience to improve your future job options as a NP. I notice you are going to work in the SICU in the near future. That will definitely help your chances of finding a job in the ICU once you become a NP. Also, it is a good idea to shadow a few NP's in different roles and settings so that you can get a feel of how diverse the role is and hopefully, figure out which role and setting you like the best.