Nurse Pracitioners in Urology

[bookworm33]

Hello, I am currently an RN with a year and a half of hospital experience. I was wondering if anyone has any information or experience on becoming a Nurse Practitioner in urology. I work on a floor with many urological patients and the field seems wonderful. How does one go about becoming a NP in uro? Are there different settings in which they would work? Thank you!

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I'm a nephrology APN and there is no specific urology APN. Best bet is to get an FNP at least in my area.

[dbroadfoot]

Hello,

I noticed your post was from Dec of 2013. Hopefully this is something you still may be wondering about.

I am currently an NP in urology.

Prior to starting the program, I always knew I wanted to specialize as a NP. At the time, I had been working on a surgical med-surg floor, which specialized in urology, ortho, and GI surgeries. From this experience, I knew I wanted to specialize in a field where I could see patients in clinic and in the hospital.

I chose to go the Family Nurse Practitioner route because it would ensure that I would not have any age restrictions in my practice. After graduation, I started looking for jobs in specialized fields and thankfully came upon a job opportunity in urology. My previous experience in urology as a floor nurse helped me to get the job. Otherwise, they did not require any other specialized training including surgical first assist, which is something I worried about.

I will say that urology is an awesome field to get into. You get a variety of patients, which you'll see both in clinic and in the hospital. In addition, there are many procedures done in urology including prostate biopsies, cystoscopies, and much more.

There is no specific route to becoming a nurse practitioner in urology.

Let me know if there are any other questions.. Maybe now, you have already started the NP program.

[Yesyes]

How do you like working in Urology? Can u give me a idea of your typical day? Is there work life balance? If your ok can u tell me your salary? I just interview and accepted a Urology NP job and set to start next week. How did you study and what resources should I use to help me study? I felt like I was low balled in salary! I was offered 91k but after trained will have to work independently in clinic and felt like it should've been more $$. I have a yr experience as an FNP.

[chiomaigah]

91K sounds reasonable for a start. I have been in urology as an NP not too long but i can say that after your training when you start running the clinic you will not find 91K funny. You might renegotiate then but let them see how fast you can learn.