Does any NP regret becoming one

Specialties NP

Published

Hi, there are many posts of RNs career regret. I wonder does any NP regret becoming one and if so, what do you wish you would have pursued?

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Moved to AN's Nurse Practitioners (NP) forum for best chance NP member advice.

:)

Specializes in Internal Medicine.

While I'm sure there are some NP's out there with career regret, I feel like most career regret in nursing likely stems from job regret. When you look at most peoples reasoning for their career regret, it boils down to a catalyst job or series of jobs that completely burns them out.

When I first started as a new nurse, I was working in a CVICU/SICU/MICU in a level I trauma center with terrible staffing, and a pretty poor management. By the end of my first year I was seriously questioning my decision to become a nurse. Luckily, I moved to a new area of the country, found another job in critical care, and have been doing it for over 6 years now. The only reason I will be leaving is because of my upcoming graduation as an FNP, but had I not gone back to school, I could honestly see myself staying here for a very long time.

The beauty of nursing is our diversity. Our degree grants us the opportunity to work across a variety of medical disciplines, and I truly believe there is something out there for just about everyone. The only people I see really struggle in the profession are those that get into it for job security and lack people and communication skills.

Many nurses find they are unhappy because nursing has become a very blue collar type position (based on the way bedside nurses are treated). Nurses are expected to jump when the hospital says jump, and basically devote their lives to the job. In many cases, employers don't care about personal events that you might miss by working a specific day, and a nurse is seen as an easily replaceable hourly laborer.

At the NP level, there is just more respect. Nurse practitioners are seen as individuals, and (because they generate revenue) employers strive to keep them happy. It's a move from blue collar to white collar in terms of employers and coworker attitudes.​

Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

I don't regret becoming an NP but I sometimes regret my choice of specialty. I still feel that pediatrics is the best fit for me in terms of personality and aptitude, but I wish I had gone with a higher-paying choice. Also, the FNP program was only one semester longer than PNP and I could have done peds but had so many more opportunities open to me.

I've only been an NP for a few months, but I must say that it is probably the best decision I ever made. I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to go to school with my husband's support and blessing. I can't imagine ever regretting making this career choice. Even if I was in a position that I hated, I could take a different position. There are opportunities to change and grow all the time. No regrets here.

I personally am soooo happy with my specialty in NP. But I have classmates who went back to bedside nursing.

I don't regret becoming a NP but I do not agree with the statement that we are afforded more respect. I work for a hospital system that looks at NPs as being a dime a dozen, our benefits have been cut, no salary increases in more than 2 years, etc. But they are they only game in town and I'm not currently able to relocate due to family obligations. As more and more practices are purchased by hospital systems, I do have some concern that we will see this across the US before long.

Specializes in Internal Medicine.
I don't regret becoming a NP but I do not agree with the statement that we are afforded more respect. I work for a hospital system that looks at NPs as being a dime a dozen, our benefits have been cut, no salary increases in more than 2 years, etc. But they are they only game in town and I'm not currently able to relocate due to family obligations. As more and more practices are purchased by hospital systems, I do have some concern that we will see this across the US before long.

This is your own anecdote and does not represent NPs or even nursing as a whole. Not feeling respected or feeling respected has more to do with where you are working versus what you are doing.

Similarly, just because your hospital system is not respectful, doesn't mean all are that way. My anecdote is that NPs at my hospital are treated as providers and afforded all the privileges of physicians, including premium parking, physician lounge access, etc. I personally don't know an NP in my area that doesn't feel valued and respected. The ones that I know that have felt that way got new jobs.

This is your own anecdote and does not represent NPs or even nursing as a whole. Not feeling respected or feeling respected has more to do with where you are working versus what you are doing.

Similarly, just because your hospital system is not respectful, doesn't mean all are that way. My anecdote is that NPs at my hospital are treated as providers and afforded all the privileges of physicians, including premium parking, physician lounge access, etc. I personally don't know an NP in my area that doesn't feel valued and respected. The ones that I know that have felt that way got new jobs.

*shrugging my shoulders* I thought we were being asked for our own anecdotal experiences. I've never once claimed to respond in any way to represent all NPs or all RNs.

Responses like these are one of the reasons why I come to AllNurses now and then, realize people on here sometimes want to nitpick and get angry, so then I won't contribute again for months. Life's too short.

Specializes in Internal Medicine.
*shrugging my shoulders* I thought we were being asked for our own anecdotal experiences. I've never once claimed to respond in any way to represent all NPs or all RNs.

Responses like these are one of the reasons why I come to AllNurses now and then, realize people on here sometimes want to nitpick and get angry, so then I won't contribute again for months. Life's too short.

I apologize if I misunderstood your post. When you said that you disagreed that "WE" (meaning all NP's) are afforded more respect, it sounds like you are implying that NP's everywhere aren't afforded more respect based on your own personal experience.

The "we" part was what threw me off since it seems like you are trying to generalize and speak for the profession as a whole, which I then took exception to since I believe we are greatly respected. Again, I apologize if this was not your intent, I apologize if I upset you, and I am in no way angry or trying to nitpick. I simply thought your anecdote was an unfair generalization of the profession as a whole.

Overall though, your post added valuable information to the topic since you were able to articulate the point of view of an NP that isn't necessarily dissatisfied with your own career choice, but likely dissatisfied with your job choice. This somewhat exemplifies my first post in this thread, as well as answers the OP. Thank you for sharing your experience, and I'm sorry again if I upset you or made you not want to post here.

Specializes in Internal Medicine.
Many nurses find they are unhappy because nursing has become a very blue collar type position (based on the way bedside nurses are treated). Nurses are expected to jump when the hospital says jump, and basically devote their lives to the job. In many cases, employers don't care about personal events that you might miss by working a specific day, and a nurse is seen as an easily replaceable hourly laborer.

Just out of curiosity what region of the country do you work where nurses are treated this way? I've been a traveller all over the country and am yet to experience a hospital system or group of employers that treats or views their employees this way. Even now I work at a hospital owned by the largest healthcare system in the country, and don't feel this way.

Additionally, nursing has always been a blue collar type of job. If anything, I feel like it's transitioning away from it's blue collar roots, and being viewed as a higher class profession. Not many professions in this country can provide a respectable income right out of 4 year (or even community) college with lots of opportunity for advancement, while providing a plethora of different job opportunities across a broad spectrum of medical disciplines. You also might be interested to know that nursing (as in RN's) is what generates the some of the best revenue for a hospital system.

That said, I absolutely agree that the NP role achieves more respect, both from peers, and also from the community. People with even a basic grasp of our scope of practice greatly value our expertise and knowledge.

+ Add a Comment