Nurse Practitioner Intensivist Program

Basically the same as a acute care nurse practitioner b/c they often function as an intensivist in an ICU setting. I work with two amazing nurse practitioners that are intensivist and they love it! They are super good at what they do! Hope this helps!

Yes this does help. I am in Georgia and thinking about attending Georgia State University's Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist/Nurse Practitioner program. I dont know if you are familiar with this program. I have med-surg experience and I would like for my clinicals in NP school to have a critical care focus. Is it necessary to have critical care experience in order to be hired as an intensivist or do most hospitals have training programs after one graduates from school? Thanks for the help.

In my experience, ICU RN experience is essential to being hired as an ICU NP. And the reason is if you are not used to the ICU environment and personalities, it would be really hard to adjust as a new NP, not to mention the amount of information you need to know. There just isn't a way to learn all of it during school. What is it that you think you'd like about working in the ICU as an NP? Are you willing to transfer and work there while you are in school? Generally it seems like as long as you have at least a year there, you will be considered for jobs.

Yes, I agree with what was said above. ICU RN experience would be vital for an NP working as an intensivist! There are so many different kind of ICUs and SOOO much to learn! I say this bc I worked five yrs in L&D as an RN and have been in ICU for a year, and this has been a huge learning experience for me, but a great one! I understand that med surg is different from L/D but it is still very different! I would recommend that you maybe transfer to ICU and get some experience bc it will help tremendously!

Yes indeed my goal is to transfer to an ICU as soon as possible. I don't think I can last for a year in Med-Surg but I am trying to soak up all of the information that I can before I leave. I am also working on certifications such as ACLS and PALS. I want to work in an ICU because I truly believe that by doing so it will afford me with the opportunity to really be able to g ok through the pathophysiology of my patients illnesses. I am learning a lot about myself as I work and I feel I am up for the challenges of ICU.