NP w/no desire for RN?

Well, not so much NO desire...but are there any NP's out there that wanted to become (and had their sights set on being an NP from day 1) an NP with no real 'drive' to be an RN first? My cousin is finishing up her RN-MSN program and never really wanted to become an RN, but she really wanted to become an NP, so she went the RN route to become an NP (which I know you have to do).

I know this is somewhat rare, but wondering are there any other NP's out there that looked at RN as kinda pre-NP school/clinical stuff in order to become an NP? Like, they may not be real thrilled with what they are doing (RN) but they know they have to do it in order to become an NP. Keep in mind I'm not saying you would hate being an RN or hate RN's or anything to that affect, but you dream has been to become an NP and RN school/work is a sort of necessary 'not the most enthusiastic' hurdle?

A)I think it relates to this thread

because the RN experience before NP program is influenced by

those obese old abusive nurses too.

A2)I had one of those obese abusive RN, gone out to smoke outside.

A3)Health care is people care. That people include health care providers

also. Unless we the providers care ourselves and chasten each

other, the whole health care system would go down much

faster.

(The above does not apply to theme of the thread. Resolution - begin a thread concerning your issue.)

B)I work 3-12 hr shifts as

ER tech and get all kinds of s*** from nasty nurses.

B2)while I was doing EKGs and found pt SVT-ing, a doctor and another

RN laughing at my EKG because the lines were swaying

like spagettie, took 5 minutes to have another doctor pay

attention to the EKG and finally start Tx-ing the pt.

B3)when they sit around and gossip.

(The above does not apply to the theme of the thread. Resolution - begin a threading concerning this issue.)

D))I do plan to attend NP program sometime so I watch the flow as much as I can, from triage to Ax, Lab, Dx, Tx, and to admission or D/C. I apply

critical thinking and start to do decision-making.

D2) I know what I try to learn is limited. I see many things though. And one of the valuable lessons is the networking. There are so many interactions

among many levels of care, docs, RNs, techs, CT techs,

on-call docs, etc. Learning how these things work would help

a lot doing NP duties in the future. It is something that

a book or school cannot teach.

(The above does apply to theme by stating your opinion of experience will enhance your knowledge, education, skills and most important critical thinking.)

Amitai.

Hello, Amitai

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

This thread is not about a health care applied to the provide. It does not show experience or no experience as a rn going into the nurse practitioner program at all. As I stated above it is bashing and off the topic of this thread. Anyone can begin a thread concerning any issue that would provide positive criticism and a resolution. In your post the description of the nurse practitioner does not show the theme of this thread at all. Your post reveals other issues that are concerning to you. 1) Lack of respect for you as an ER tech. 2) Lack of respect by your patient and medical personnel. 3) The negative attitudes by medical personnel due to the lack of education and skills of ER techs. 4) The lack of communication by medical personnel and ER Techs. Those are some of the issues that I derive from your post.

In addition, part of the post spoke about your experience in the ER and the desire to continue your education of becoming an NP. Before, you can become a NP, one must become a nurse and the issue is the experience or no experience to attend nurse practitioner program. This shows the theme of the thread. Therefore, the theme and your thoughts/concerning experience or no experience prior attending a nurse practioner program is experience

would be necessary to be successful according to your post.

Any one can develop a thread on the site and reveal an issue that is concerning as well as to provide a resolution to the issue.

Have a Safe and exciting day with your family and friends.

Buttons

one of the reasons mds have and nps don't have an internship is $$$$. the residency for mds is paid by your tax dollars. nps are not eligible for the same program. all residents, no matter where they graduated from (us or outside us) receive their salaries from the us government via our tax dollars. wouldn't it be great if nps could take a year after graduation to hone their skills and receive a modest salary under the direction of a residency program.

thanks for this info. i'm not aware of how residency programs are funded. is this true in every program?

indulge me this bit of speculation ....

makes me wonder -- i've read that fewer med students are going into ob and that ob residencies are going unfilled in some places. i know cnm's scope of practice is "more limited than" an md, but wouldn't it be nice if some leeway was given to "allow" cnm grads to fill some of those first year residency positions, which are primarily l&d and clinic, not surgery (learning to be a surgical first assist could be incorporated into this year ...) ?

and given that aprns are overtaking primary care from mds, who are specializing more and more -- more of them are "allowed" into primary care residencies, at least for a year?

happy thanksgiving to all, esp those of you who are working today!

I work 3-12 hr shifts as

ER tech and get all kinds of s*** from nasty nurses. It's ok,

it's my job to take care of them, doing IVs, monitor pts, when

they sit around and gossip. I do plan to attend NP program

sometime so I watch the flow as much as I can, from triage

to Ax, Lab, Dx, Tx, and to admission or D/C. But until I apply

critical thinking and start to do decision-making, I know what

I try to learn is limited. I see many things though.

You willhave bad apples everywhere you go. Just keep learning all you can. One thing I did as a new trauma nurse was to read everything I could get my hands on...even outside my scope of practice, such as interpretation of xrays, etc.. I'd try to second guess what was going to be done on every patient and why. Couple of my friends did the same thing and the trauma chief asked them to stop ordering labs and tests so his residents could learn something, lol! :chuckle

Button2cute:

I am not trying to "bash" anyone, rather I am telling it like it is. Having worked in several different healthcare settings, I have made the general observation that especially in the hospital setting, there is a problem with RN's being overweight, eating junk all the time, having an extremely negative attitide, and being rude. Oh, I forgot smoking. How many people have ever driven past a hospital and seen the nurses in the back by the dumpster "having a smoke". Hmmmm...real good image for a healthcare institution. Nevertheless, you see it all the time, at any given time, any place in the US.

With all due respect Button, if we cannot express our views freely, we no longer live in a democratic society. And, as we in the US have learned, we are all better people for being able to express our viewpoint so that we may all be the better for it.

There is an epidemic of diabetes and heart disease in the US. Our own healthcare institutions need to take some responsibility in modeling healthy behaviours, starting with its largest and most visible employee base....its nurses! Better yet, as healers, how about we take the responsibility to step up the plate on our own? Such a large part of our job is serving as a teacher to our patient. As for the mind, it has been proven that patients will heal better in positive environs. How does this obese nurse who's cranky because she needs "a smoke break" help to heal the patient?

PS. I will take a walk today, eat a healthful dinner and give thanks. I recognize that it is my responsiblity to be healthy...for myself, my family, my coworkers and patients. We are only as strong as our weakest link.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone-especially those who will be spending thanksgiving with thier friends at work! I am a nursing student and will graduate December 2006. I am in an Accelerated BSN program and we have the option of beginning the MSN program our last semester. I am pondering the same question right now. I do want to be a nurse but my heart is set on being a NP. I am thinking about starting early and going straight through but I might start August 2006. Nursing school so stressful and I can't imagine adding graduate course work to the load, I have a 6 y.o. son and I work as a Clinical Associate. At my school you can start the theory courses early but you have to have a liscence to do clinicals. Nursing is such a dynamic field and I am so thankful to the many career paths it offers.

Specializes in LTC.

I'm not going to take sides on the "thread-busting" issue, but I do have a suggestion that the LPN moderator posted:

If a subject comes up that is not directly related to the point of the original post, start a new thread so that it's easier for others to follow the original post.

I think the point about nurses caring for their own health is a great topic for discussion and I think it deserves its own thread. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone

Brown,

I am not saying that your post is not appropriate at all. I am saying that your post should be place in a thread that express your concerns or you can begin a thread about healthy health care personnel. This is a thread concerning a student who would like to become a np without the desire of being a RN. The student is trying to stimulate feedback from everyone about going into a NP program without practicing as a RN. He never mention in his post about healthy lifestyles for health care professionals. It is about experience or not experience going into NP school. Therefore, your concerns for healthy lifestyles can be the beginning of a new thread and not in this thread.

Express yourself and concerns as well as resolutions to the issues that are display in your own thread. Then you can receive responses from anyone who would like to voice their thoughts and opinions. Therefore, your voice will be heard loudly and clearly about the healthy lifestyle of health care workers.

Have a great Thanksgiving, Brownrice.......

As million of people in our society will have a healthy meal as you will. In addition, numerous of people in our society will have the best meal for their budget and those who are homeless may not have the healthy meal as you and others today. Therefore, society has not be equal to everyone and those who are able to have a great thanksgiving dinner please remember someone is going hungry.

Buttons

Buttons,

I didn't mean to be rude and I don't think that obesity

has anything to do with this thread. I wanted to tell the

initiator of this thread my experience as an ER tech who is

planning to attend direct entry MSN program (2 yr) and another

year for NP course and clinicals. I think the human dynamics in any

health care setting is what drives the institution and in that

sense I wanted to say that my experience with some RNs would

be valuable in the future if I work as an NP. (because

NP is closely working for/with physicians and RNs.)

This path is my second career (1st one was scientist.)

I started ER tech job couple of months ago so I am still

learning. I had to pick up the heart rate before I did EKG but

the pt behaved so normal and I kind of missed the changing

signs. This would be a good lesson for a future NP-to-be.

I am a foreigner, so, I get treated with prejudice

by techs who are 20 years younger than I am. I don't get

along with the young folks (the 'in-group') and there is

nothing I can do about it. This was the reason that I

had hard time showing the EKG. It' not my ER, it's MY

problem. I take this whole thing as a

character-building experience, not really to prepare for

NP program. I believe there would be a place for me

when I finish my study and get licensed as an NP.

Going beyond my realm of work and life to start something

new fresh in my middle age was and is a huge challenge.

In conclusion, doing RNs before NP program is good and

recommended. I would do it like 10 years if I were a lot younger.

If your NP program doesn't require RN experience, go for it.

They should know what they are doing and even after

you graduate and become a new NP and you are

still not confident, then you should get some kind of internship.

For all RNs who worked this Thanksgiving, cheers!

Amitai.

Hello All,

Please enlighten me concerning the role of a NP vs. a PC - my impression is a PA is "married" to a doctor professionally, while NPs can be much more autonomous. While the health care industry is constantly trying to cut costs, I think this means NP will have more and more opportunities to practice.

Diahni

my heart wants to agree with you, but the "research" suggests little to no difference in performance after completion of a np program using years of experience as the independent variable.

prairieenp, since i will be starting a nurse practitioner program with only two years of rn experience and not in the field that my np will be in, i would love to read the research you are referring to. can you please give us the link or where we can find it? thanks krisssy

Wow, I have noticed the same thing about the older nurses. Many are overweight and eat junk food, smoke, and then complain they feel like crap.

They see me eating healthy food and say they don't have time to eat healthy. Well, I work full time, go to two college classes, have a husband and a child at home, etc, etc. so I don't know what they are talking about.

I think they love their unhealthy way of life.[/quote

Within the last five years, I have spent a lot of time in hospitals both as an RN and as a patient. I have watched and observed. I don't think poor nursing has anything to do with being "old, overweight, eating junk food or smoking". It has to do with being arrogant, uncaring and having absolutely no empathy for patients or students or new RN's in the workplace. I have seen this attitude in the young as well as the old (whatever you consider old to be), in the fat as well as the skinny, and in the smokers and the non smokers. Some nurses just appear to be unhappy with their profession, and they just aren't nice to anyone. They bash the patients who are "annoying", the families who are "annoying", the students and new or inexperienced RN's who need some help, and anyone else they come in contact with. Once we start saying that these characteristics are a certain age or weight, we are not being fair. I certainly agree that talking about nurses with eating problems, smoking problems or any other kind of personal problem including drugs , alcohol or mental illness, this is for another thread-and there are many of them. I don't see age as being a problem. I have seen many young nurses with horrible attitudes and many older nurses who are so motivated and empatetic and helpful, it is unbelievable. It could be that the particular nurses you work with just happen to have the attributes you describe.

Getting back to the topic of this thread, I have shared before that I am an "older" nurse , with very little experience. I am starting school to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner. I will get the experience I need in whatever ways I can. I intend to begin the program and then see where it leads me. Maybe I will work as a staff psych RN, maybe I will find a great residency program, maybe there are other options I don't know about now. But I will never be a psych NP without the proper experience. I couldn't get the usual experience in psych when I was younger, because I got involved in another profession, and I am not sorry about that. I am highly motivated, very smart, great with patients and students and very empathetic. Just because I am unable to do this in the traditional way, and just because I am older doesn't mean that I can't have a goal for myself. I would never never put a patient in jeopardy and work without the proper experience. I may just have to go about it in a different way than the traditional way. Let's remember that there are so many different case scenerios in this thread, and let's give ideas and suggestions to eachother to help us reach our goals instead of being negative and saying it can only be done in one particular way.

Krisssy,

You missed my point! Being an RN who smokes, is obese, and of crankinees means that he/she cannot possibly serve as a credible role model/teacher to his/her patients in the name of promoting good health and well-being. In other words, healthcare providers must HEAL THYSELF before expecting to help heal anyone else.

Buttons:

Yes, this has everything to do with the original post by Pinoy: NP's basic charter is "holistic healthcare". Also, I have worked around many, many NP's and have yet to meet just one who smokes, is obese, or that has a really bad attitude. Many students are desiring to skip the tortuous journey of precept under the angry, cranky, obese RNs, to instead learn about being an NP. Afterall, why spend your time having a 50 year old nurse with a *"certificate of nursing" assigning you to empty urinals/reomve breakfast trays when your true interest is in learning about lab values...Go for it Pinoy, skip the RN hell and go directly to NP school!!

*Yes, there are many of these "RN"s who never even attended a two year program. They attended a quickie program, and were grandfathered in to the profession. They are usually not too happy to be guiding a BSN.

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