Question BSN To NP

[spade11]

Hi,

I'm not sure if I put this in the right place, so I'm extremely sorry if I didn't. I do have a quick question and google is starting to make my head hurt so I'm hoping someone could help me here.

Working in the hospital is really not working out for me. In my personal life I've had so many unfortunate bumps in the road and the few work environments that I did choose to be a part of we're not the best of places. I've always put myself in high stress jobs from the beginning (ICU, OR) and now that I've gotten older I've realized that those weren't smart decisions on my part. I want to go back to school to become an NP. My ideal situation would to be working as an NP outside of the hospital in a doctor's office.

My road block at the moment is that I don't even know where to start. At the current moment my father is battling cancer harder than ever (this has been my achilles heel all throughout my nursing career, only now it's taken a turn for the worst.) I was wondering if there was a way that I could take core required classes online so that I could be home with my father and then transfer to a school or is there a reputable program online where I could enroll and just clearly have to go in for clinicals? Would that be frowned upon? I unfortunately don't have the money for a big name school.

I know I don't want to go into Pediatric NP, Geriatric NP, Mental Health NP, Women's Health Care NP, Neonatal NP or Occupational Health NP programs.

This leaves me with Family NP, Adult NP or Acute Care NP programs, I think. Trying to find specific information on each is harder than I expected.

I hope someone can point me in the right direction

[zmansc, ASN, RN]

As you have probably figured out, there are a large number of programs in the various specific NP tracks you are considering. I would think that you might want to consider the +/- of the three types of NPs first and pick one. Then you would need to research those programs. Yes there are programs that are mostly online, and many of those are as reputable as some B&M programs. There are also less reputable programs of each type to be weary of.

Some of the issues you are likely to run into:

- preceptors for clinicals. A few programs manage the finding of preceptors, many do not. You will need to have an established network of providers you can call on to help you with this if your program does not help you with it. Also, having an established network of NPs that know you and can advise you can come in very handy when discussing the pros and cons of a few programs.

- You might want to look at the requirements for admissions in the programs, in general they are going to be fairly similar, so you might want to see what you meet and what you do not. If you meet the requirements for several programs, than your probably good to go. If not, you might want to look at what it is going to take to get you there.

- Quality of the programs. Some programs have been around for a long time, and have established a good reputation for many years. Others are just starting and are more of a wildcard, especially if their school does not have an established reputation as an institution. I would consider the reputation of the program, and how past students feel the program operated. I.e. did the program have lectures, was it organized, etc. Match the programs strengths and yours so that you are not in a program that you are unprepared for. I have friends in both B&M and online programs who feel like they are not getting anything for their money, they are not learning, the classes are poorly organized, they are considering changing programs which is expensive and would make them have to start all over again. Not a situation I would put on anyone.

The research to figure out how and what to do to get into this profession is not trivial or easily done online with google. Yes, you can get alot of information that way, but in reality your best bet is to start with things like joining a local NP organization, shadowing some NPs to get a feel for their day and starting to build a network of NP providers who know you and wouldn't mind helping you figure out a pathway that will help you obtain your goal.

[spade11]

Clearly I wasn't planning on using google as my sole source of information. I was using it as a starting block. Working in the OR, at least in my hospital, I don't have access to NPs. I work with MDs and PAs, neither of which can help me in this endeavor. So I came here to ask questions, if I could've asked questions elsewhere I would've.

[zmansc, ASN, RN]

Really? That's what you got out of my post?

+ No one suggested you were or had indicated google was your sole source of information, I certainly did not. I simply said the research to get into this profession is non-trivial and not easily done on google. It's going to take alot of leg work. I suggested a way to help you do that leg work. If you don't like that suggestion, I'm sorry.

+ Just because the providers you know from your work are MD/DO/PA, does not mean they don't work with NPs, or know NPs. While your job is an easy way to start interfacing with providers it is not the only place you can come in contact with them either.

I'm sorry you didn't like my post/answer to your query. If you have a question I didn't answer, maybe rephrasing it would be a way to clarify what isn't being answered.

[futureeastcoastNP]

Zmansc gave you a lot of info and you responded fairly negatively. Lighten up, he wasn't attacking you.