Nurse Practitioner -FNP

Specialties NP

Published

Specializes in MedSurg.

Hi all,

I'm interested in becoming an NP and have always planned to be a provider. I was wondering if FNPs can give me a better insight on what they do and the stress level. What do you like and don't like about it? Basically what will I be getting myself into. I want to settle down with a family later and a 9 to 5 job as a provider at an office is best for me but I am open to other options as well. If FNPs can talk about what their day is like and what type of location or setting you are working at (I.e. office, hospital, home health ect.) that would be great. Thank you very much.

Specializes in Advanced Practice Critical Care and Family Nursing.

Apologies no one has responded to your common question. I'll crack the ice as simply as possible. First, I'd suggest you do your research regarding where you want to live and practice as FNP may not be the way to go if jobs are unavailable. From experience I would also recommend multi-certification to cover you in a time of APRN credential amalgamation. For example I have post-masters certs in adult acute care, family, and occupational health, with PhD in progress. The ACNP has afforded me numerous hospital based positions during my career. FNP, along with the occ med cert, has provided options for community care, whereby I have practiced in urgent care, DOT, and rural clinics. I plan to use my PhD to finish my career teaching and lobbying for future APRNs in my state.

I currently co-manage a high volume urgent care that went urban pre-hospital COVID triage and collection center overnight. We are also adjunct to a large teaching system where I am among academic faculty. We work off 40 hour weeks, with varying day flex shifts. Teaching hours vary with class size and enrollment, along with online options. Pay is all contractual, but I'm 50 and debt free so it's been good to me.

Best advice I can give you is think in terms of liability. Always ask yourself if called to court, does my cert cover me for this, no matter what. For hospital jobs, you'll have to have some form of acute care training to be fully covered. That's a hot debate that's getting hotter as jobs become more competitive between acute care and family APRNs, which is partly why I got both. Nevertheless, we work in an equal opportunity environment for litigation, it's simply a matter of what personal risk you are will to take. Really wish you the best. Hope you get some more good feedback than my rant here. Godspeed.

4 Votes
Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

Hi,

FNP here. I work in a private specialty outpatient practice-Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. We are physician owned and are not affiliated with a health care system. My practice is split pretty evenly between adults and peds, so having the FNP certification is a necessity. My previous experience is in adult internal med and Urgent Care. I work 5 8 hour days in the office. I have no hospital responsibilities. My job can be stressful, but I like the predictable schedule and not working nights, weekends, and holidays. I rarely stay late, but I do take home at least a little work most nights.

I hope this is helpful. Best of luck to you.

2 Votes
Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

Decide:

- where you want to work (hospital, clinic, SNF, etc)

- target specialty

- adults, kids, women, men, newborn, geri, doesn't matter

- OK with psychiatry or hate it

FNP offers the widest spectrum but limits (in some places) your ability to work in acute care and many specialties. Play from your current and past experiences and play from there. FNP provides excellent foundation but it is possible (although absolutely not 100% mandatory) that you will need additional certificates down the road. I am an FNP and going for acute care certificate next year although I already work as a hospitalist, just out of consideration that my family might want to move in another state at some point.

As a provider, especially at start, whenever you end up, you will experience very high level of stress and exponential learning curve. No kind of RN job will prepare you for this and a strong NP school provides only the starter pack of knowledge, nowhere near the level you actually need it, although it can send you on the right path if the program avoids fluff and buff. You'll likely have to work more hours than a bedside RN. There likely will be holidays and weekends and call nights, as well as 5 to 7 or even 12 days in a row work "runs" before you get experience, find a better position and start enjoying your life.

Your experience as an RN will matter little if anything at all. You start from square zero and go up from there.

The main thing which makes or breaks many new NPs is responsibility level. It is immencely higher than one for bedside RN of any rank or role. You won't have that beloved option of "if in any doubt, just call and ask" for more than a few weeks at the very beginning, you have to think and make decisions and bear the burden of them. You won't be able completely leave it for anyone else, even for physician under whose license you are supposed to practice.

It will be the world of REAL, evidence-based medicine. No "nursing diagnosis" and other fluff, only hard language of numbers and experience, in which you will bring a human touch and some special things only we nurses know.

6 Votes
Specializes in MedSurg.
On ‎5‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 11:58 AM, Uroboros said:

Apologies no one has responded to your common question. I'll crack the ice as simply as possible. First, I'd suggest you do your research regarding where you want to live and practice as FNP may not be the way to go if jobs are unavailable. From experience I would also recommend multi-certification to cover you in a time of APRN credential amalgamation. For example I have post-masters certs in adult acute care, family, and occupational health, with PhD in progress. The ACNP has afforded me numerous hospital based positions during my career. FNP, along with the occ med cert, has provided options for community care, whereby I have practiced in urgent care, DOT, and rural clinics. I plan to use my PhD to finish my career teaching and lobbying for future APRNs in my state.

I currently co-manage a high volume urgent care that went urban pre-hospital COVID triage and collection center overnight. We are also adjunct to a large teaching system where I am among academic faculty. We work off 40 hour weeks, with varying day flex shifts. Teaching hours vary with class size and enrollment, along with online options. Pay is all contractual, but I'm 50 and debt free so it's been good to me.

Best advice I can give you is think in terms of liability. Always ask yourself if called to court, does my cert cover me for this, no matter what. For hospital jobs, you'll have to have some form of acute care training to be fully covered. That's a hot debate that's getting hotter as jobs become more competitive between acute care and family APRNs, which is partly why I got both. Nevertheless, we work in an equal opportunity environment for litigation, it's simply a matter of what personal risk you are will to take. Really wish you the best. Hope you get some more good feedback than my rant here. Godspeed.

Thank you for sharing! yes the litigations and possibility of going to court scares me. I decided to do FNP because I couldn't narrow down which population I liked to work with. for getting multiple certifications I assume you get your FNP or whatever specialization you are aiming for first then go back to school to get certified in another specialization? Thank you for your advices.

On ‎5‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 3:45 PM, BCgradnurse said:

Hi,

FNP here. I work in a private specialty outpatient practice-Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. We are physician owned and are not affiliated with a health care system. My practice is split pretty evenly between adults and peds, so having the FNP certification is a necessity. My previous experience is in adult internal med and Urgent Care. I work 5 8 hour days in the office. I have no hospital responsibilities. My job can be stressful, but I like the predictable schedule and not working nights, weekends, and holidays. I rarely stay late, but I do take home at least a little work most nights.

I hope this is helpful. Best of luck to you.

This really helps! How did you decide that you wanted to work in a practice specializing in allergy, asthma and immunology? if I am going to work in a practice that has a "specialty" do I need to have some RN experience in that specialty? thanks

Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
26 minutes ago, nursing#101 said:

if I am going to work in a practice that has a "specialty" do I need to have some RN experience in that specialty? thanks

You do not actually need RN experience to become NP, much less that of particular specialty. It can marginally help with knowing people and system, and only if you stay in the same place. Otherwise, your RN experience counts as zero once you become advanced provider.

If you are afraid of responsibility and everything it entails including litigation aspects, please go do some kind of administrative DNP and enjoy your quiet life ever after. It takes to fear nothing and nobody to succeed as a clinician.

1 Votes

sorta late to the party but can an FNP work soley in peds or in neonatal?

Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
8 hours ago, strawberry9090 said:

sorta late to the party but can an FNP work soley in peds or in neonatal?

Neonatal - no, at all.

Peds - with some luck, yes but only outpatient.

5 hours ago, KatieMI said:

Neonatal - no, at all.

Peds - with some luck, yes but only outpatient.

How can FNP work in just primary care pediatrics? Do they need a certification?

Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

Many physicians and practices do not care for a second about NP credentials.

FNPs are trained in school to manage "baseline" pediatrics, they can be trained further, Peds NPs are relatively rare and mostly pursuing jobs in hospitals or specialties. FNPs fill the gap in primary care offices.

4 minutes ago, KatieMI said:

Many physicians and practices do not care for a second about NP credentials.

FNPs are trained in school to manage "baseline" pediatrics, they can be trained further, Peds NPs are relatively rare and mostly pursuing jobs in hospitals or specialties. FNPs fill the gap in primary care offices.

There is a program at John Hopkins that allows you to get a degree in peds after post masters in FNP. So I was considering that option...but the cons is it will be more schooling and the tuition is expensive!

So based on what you are saying, as an FNP without the second certification, can I work in pediatric primary care or pediatric urgent care?

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