Nurse practitioner

ronchelednik · Sep 17, 2014

I would hope it's a BSN nursing program you didn't state. I Don't recommend an online program for a FNP, go to a Brick and morar University. Don't tell ANYBODY when you get your RN job when you graduate nursing school about your desire to be an NP, they won't hire you and if you tell your coworkers they will eat you alive trust me. Keep your NP dreams to yourself to at least 6 month after your employed then share what you are doing. You will want to work nights and in a row like a Fri, Sat, Sun 7p to 7a so when you in the FNP program you can make it work because school is usually one day a week (2 classes at a time for about 8 hours) and you need time for studying and don't want to break up the work week. Your desire to be a NP and allow nothing to take away your dreams.

brittaaaaany13 · Sep 17, 2014

I would hope it's a BSN nursing program you didn't state. I Don't recommend an online program for a FNP, go to a Brick and morar University. Don't tell ANYBODY when you get your RN job when you graduate nursing school about your desire to be an NP, they won't hire you and if you tell your coworkers they will eat you alive trust me. Keep your NP dreams to yourself to at least 6 month after your employed then share what you are doing. You will want to work nights and in a row like a Fri, Sat, Sun 7p to 7a so when you in the FNP program you can make it work because school is usually one day a week (2 classes at a time for about 8 hours) and you need time for studying and don't want to break up the work week. Your desire to be a NP and allow nothing to take away your dreams.

Yes I am in a BSN program. Thank you so much for this advice and encouragement! :) This really helps. How long have you been a NP for?

zmansc, ASN, RN · Sep 19, 2014

I would hope it's a BSN nursing program you didn't state. I Don't recommend an online program for a FNP, go to a Brick and morar University. Don't tell ANYBODY when you get your RN job when you graduate nursing school about your desire to be an NP, they won't hire you and if you tell your coworkers they will eat you alive trust me. Keep your NP dreams to yourself to at least 6 month after your employed then share what you are doing. You will want to work nights and in a row like a Fri, Sat, Sun 7p to 7a so when you in the FNP program you can make it work because school is usually one day a week (2 classes at a time for about 8 hours) and you need time for studying and don't want to break up the work week. Your desire to be a NP and allow nothing to take away your dreams.

Interesting, when I graduated from my RN program, I told my future employer that I had intentions of going to grad school at some point... They actually looked at it as a good thing, and told me all about the tuition reimbursement program the hospital had at that time. So, I would question the "don't tell anyone" part of this advice.

I know many who work nights and go to school, it seems to work for some, but for others like me it would never work. Nights messes with me, I can't concentrate or focus on school work, reading, etc. It all puts me to sleep. So, I waited until I could get a day shift before I went back to school. I choose to go PRN at my job when I went to school because it allowed me more flexibility to work around my school, but I think how you fit work/school/personal life is a very personal and situational decision.

Finally, I go to a very respected online program, and don't find it to be deficient to a B&M program in any way. Again, I think this is situational and personal choice. A bigger issue to me, would be find a program that has a good reputation, where the program's mission matches yours. I live in a very rural area, and one of the programs that fit me the best happens to have a mission to help rural providers, a good fit for me, not necessarily a good fit for someone who might live in downtown (insert name of big city here).

I would suggest starting to get to know the providers you come in contact with. I started doing this when I was in nursing school and was amazed that if approached well none of them bit my head off even though the professors were certain they would! From there it became very easy to get folks to let me shadow them and pick their brains about career choices, their own school choices, good and bad programs, etc. They also often would provide introductions to other providers who might be able to give me good insight. It is never too early to start building a network, and for the most part these are people who are willing to help out others as long as they are not being rudely interrupted, etc.

ronchelednik · Sep 21, 2014

Yes I am in a BSN program. Thank you so much for this advice and encouragement! :) This really helps. How long have you been a NP for?

I'm a retired business owner. My wife is a student FNP and works in an ICU dept. She is my life and I mentor her with encouragement and support. I desire to help all those to better themselves that are reaching out.

Cococure · Sep 28, 2014

First thing to do is finish nursing school pass your boards and get experience as a RN. I have had no problems expressing my desire for education to my employers in fact my boss does not schedule me to work on the day I have class. As far as support many of my co-workers are either getting their BSN like me or pursuing their MSN and we all support each other. It was actually nurses that are now NP's that gently encouraged to continue for MSN. Choosing a school is a very personal choice and depends on many factors money, time your family obligations, if you have a family that is...Some people learn better in a classroom environment some learn better in a self paced program. Just do your research and speak with current or past student of the program you are interested in that will serve as a good guide!

Good luck in school

aprnKate · Sep 28, 2014

I would hope it's a BSN nursing program you didn't state. I Don't recommend an online program for a FNP, go to a Brick and morar University. Don't tell ANYBODY when you get your RN job when you graduate nursing school about your desire to be an NP, they won't hire you and if you tell your coworkers they will eat you alive trust me. Keep your NP dreams to yourself to at least 6 month after your employed then share what you are doing. You will want to work nights and in a row like a Fri, Sat, Sun 7p to 7a so when you in the FNP program you can make it work because school is usually one day a week (2 classes at a time for about 8 hours) and you need time for studying and don't want to break up the work week. Your desire to be a NP and allow nothing to take away your dreams.

It depends on the online program. I went to a brick and mortar school with a FNP online program only we met 4-5 times in person throughout the whole program, met with instructors on skype, and phone calls on other times. Not all online programs are bad. Most brick and mortar schools around my area might as well be online since they do lessons and submit all their work online and meet just once monthly and do their clinical practicums in person with a preceptor

What a RN who wants to go into MSN program needs to do is check whether the FNP school is accredited and investigate the percentage of students passing education curriculums and the certification exams and perhaps, if possible, asks students that go to the school how the program is run, what are the pros and cons of going to that school.

There are also factors that you may also take into consideration like does the school assign you preceptors or do you have to find your own? Costs of tuition and books? How do you take your tests/quizzes/exams?...do you need to find a proctor or will you be monitored at home taking the test with a webcam?

Another thing you need to know is that school and work at the same time is stressful. The volume of material that you need to learn is a lot. Therefore, you need to find balance between work and school ….realize also that further in your FNP education you may need to give up one… so be prepared. Also, MSN programs are a lot of independent study. You are assumed to take responsibility for your own learning! And a lot has to do with self-motivation.

As far as telling someone at your job or future employer that you are going to FNP school…that’s a 50/50. I’ve had experience where I got turned down because of I told them I am going to FNP school and I had one job where they didn’t mind…I guess it depends on how much they really need a nurse to work for them and how desperate they are (both of these jobs I applied for were in the same hospital different floors). I’ve also had co-workers that were supportive and I’ve also had co-workers who became spiteful towards me when I was in NP school. Just be careful who you associate with and when someone asks you about NP school and how you are doing in NP school…just take it as a grain of salt that your reply of excitement may be misinterpreted as arrogance/bragging and may invoke feelings of jealousy from others. I’ve learned to watch what I say and also I choose inform only certain people I am comfortable with as to how I am doing with NP school.