Nurse Practitioner Needed/Not Needed?

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Please note... I know nurse practitioner schools are pushing for more nurse practitioners and say there is a need. The fact is NPs have grown over 100,000 just in the past few years. Before you decide to go to nurse practitioner school, look to see how many jobs there are in your area. You may be surprised at the fact that you may have to travel or relocate for work. Remember nurse practitioner schools want you to go to school so they can make money. Please also consider CRNA positions, as the salary is 3Xs NP salary in some locations. Please no negative comments...I speak from experience.

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Agreed. The degree mills are churning out NPs faster than a mile a minute ( a bot exaggeration on my part but you catch my drift). Not to mention NP school is expensive and student loan debts are a total different story!! CRNA school is definitely an option but only if that is what you want to do. I personally am not drawn to it and wanted to be a FNP so I took that route. I live in California- specifically the central valley so there are always places hiring NP's. I had no problem getting a job after I graduated and found a job (space of 4 months) but I do advise everyone who now asks me about NP school to do their research.

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Specializes in NICU.

Entirely depends on where you live and your specialty. There is a shortage of PCPs in many rural areas and there is a shortage of neonatal NPs in most areas of the country.

Additionally- I think it’s unrealistic for NPs to expect that their perfect job will be local when starting out. Doctors move during residency, fellowship, and first attending job nearly all the time. I don’t know why NPs have a different mentality.

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Specializes in anesthesiology.
9 hours ago, Sigrimis said:

Please note... I know nurse practitioner schools are pushing for more nurse practitioners and say there is a need. The fact is NPs have grown over 100,000 just in the past few years. Before you decide to go to nurse practitioner school, look to see how many jobs there are in your area. You may be surprised at the fact that you may have to travel or relocate for work. Remember nurse practitioner schools want you to go to school so they can make money. Please also consider CRNA positions, as the salary is 3Xs NP salary in some locations. Please no negative comments...I speak from experience.

May I ask what experience you are speaking from?

It's a little silly to flippantly suggest CRNA school as an easy alternative to NP school. The barriers to entry are a lot higher, the path more arduous, and the required sacrifices greater.

It's possible to work full-time while going to NP school full time. There's barely enough time to successfully accomplish CRNA school all by itself.

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I'm afraid you missed the area of focus.

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Specializes in anesthesiology.
7 hours ago, Sigrimis said:

I'm afraid you missed the area of focus.

No, I understand your general premise, the over saturation of NPs in large metros is obvious, I'm sorry it wasn't for you before you wasted your money. I'm choosing to elaborate on the part of your statement that needed some clarification. It's silly to say "please consider CRNA positions". You actually have to go to CRNA school before you can consider a position, and it's not the same as NP school.

Where do you live? What school did you go to? Are you ACNP or FNP? Did you have experience before you started?

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That’s why texting/typing is a poor way to communicate, you can’t see my face lol, but I do appreciate your directness. I live on east coastish. Family full of nurses, nephew CRNA. I’m AANP. LOVE what I do, not a waste of money at all. I like to sit back and quietly observe, and speak about what I see. NP and CRNA school is very different, much more intense, just wanting the young ones on here some facts that the need for CRNA is still great. What tips can you share for new grades? What side of States do you practice? How long?

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19 hours ago, murseman24 said:

May I ask what experience you are speaking from?

It's a little silly to flippantly suggest CRNA school as an easy alternative to NP school. The barriers to entry are a lot higher, the path more arduous, and the required sacrifices greater.

It's possible to work full-time while going to NP school full time. There's barely enough time to successfully accomplish CRNA school all by itself.

She/he never commented on the difficulty of CRNA school. If anything, you're supporting her point by saying how difficult the barriers are to CRNA school, thus limiting saturation.

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Specializes in Stepdown . Telemetry.

Do a quick google search on the primary care shortage and you will see they are needed.

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Specializes in anesthesiology.
On 2/6/2020 at 11:36 AM, Sigrimis said:

That’s why texting/typing is a poor way to communicate, you can’t see my face lol, but I do appreciate your directness. I live on east coastish. Family full of nurses, nephew CRNA. I’m AANP. LOVE what I do, not a waste of money at all. I like to sit back and quietly observe, and speak about what I see. NP and CRNA school is very different, much more intense, just wanting the young ones on here some facts that the need for CRNA is still great. What tips can you share for new grades? What side of States do you practice? How long?

Awesome, glad you are enjoying your practice. I love what I do as well. Southeast U.S. for 5 years. I would say find a job where you can practice to your full scope and make yourself marketable. After that you can do whatever you want.

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There is a need for nurse practitioners... for experienced nurse practitioners, that it.

There are stories of new grad NPs having to leave their home states for employment, but, it is their home states' loss. Down the road, their home states' politicians could cry about the lack of providers for all I care.

As a new grad, I am likely to leave my home state for employment, but, on the bright side, the other state is more appealing.

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There is a need for nurse practitioners... for experienced nurse practitioners, that is*.

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