Online program recommendations

Specialties NP

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I am thinking of doing my FNP at Rutgers I live in NJ. Any recommendations for programs in my state or online programs?

TY

Another point I must make is that online programs often do not use the internet in a way that could provide a richer experience. It's very easy for a school to assign readings, have a discussion group, and then say the class is online.

So, I still assert that, having done both online and brick and mortar, that brick and mortar has given me a richer experience.

Oldiebutgoodie

It's one thing to state your opinion comparing the 2 modalities, it's another to overgeneralize about online programs not doing this or that.

This is a quite from my ONLINE MSN program manual

Women's Health Nurse Practitioner preceptor requirements

To be chosen by the student and approved by the faculty. The preceptor must be a credentialed,

licensed advanced practice nurse or MD who is currently in practice. The primary preceptor for

a women’s health nurse practitioner must be an advanced nurse practitioner with a Master’s

degree or higher and one year of clinical experience. The preceptor must be licensed to practice

in the jurisdiction of their employment with evidence of continuing professional development.

Computer literacy is required. A current copy of their Curriculum Vitae and practice license

needs to be submitted for accreditation purposes.

Seldom do I see interactive tutorials, practice quizzes, web-cam lectures or the like in online formats. The technology is not being used as it could be.
The program I am attending does ALL of these things and more. Again, don't let a few inferior online programs create bias in evaluating which program is better.

The truth is, some students do better in a classroom setting, others do better online. It's up to the student to decide and choose a school appropriately.

To generalize that EITHER way of learning is superior is no different than saying "doctors are better than NP's", etc.

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And on a purely annecdotal note, I know a nurse of 20 years who attended the distance ANP program at Vandy and dropped out 6 weeks into the first semester because the amount of work was overwhelming. She is now in the traditional program at ETSU and says the workload is much more managable. She is a single mom of 3 teens and works 48 hours a week. I know another FNP graduate of ETSU who says there is no way in hell anyone could go through that program while parenting and/or working! I think it is all depends on the individual. Likewise, I know some really **** poor nurses with BSNs from "good" schools, and I know some fantastic nurses with ADNs from community colleges (I've been one of the latter). I have an outstanding professional reputation because of the calibre of my performance, not due to the school I attended. I don't expect that to change in my new role as an FNP.

sorry for serial posting

I completed the ANP/GNP program at and the only thing "distance" about it at that time were the clinicals (we submitted papers over the internet). We were only allowed to do our clinicals in our home town if we were experienced BSN's. Some of the programs, like the FNP program, aren't offered in the "block" format though. Our preceptors had to be approved by the faculty and they verified their qualifications. We were also checked off on H&P's and basic skills before we were allowed to start clinicals with a preceptor. We were told, "We don't want you to be embarrassed and we certainly don't want you to embarrass our school." I can't even imagine having to rely on a preceptor to teach basic assessment skills. I spent a lot of money traveling back and forth to Vandy every month, but it was worth it.

I can see why your friend dropped out of the ANP program at Vandy, b/c it's not possible to work fulltime and take those classes. I only worked 2 weekends per month and that was close to impossible.

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I've seen online NP students who spent their clinical hours at inappropriate sites. They never had to worry, because their instructors never showed up to monitor them. I know of one FNP who spent almost her entire clinical hours with a NEUROLOGIST who didn't see kids! I've seen online schools that don't check out the preceptors' credentials and students get trained by non-board certified physicians. It's difficult to find preceptors and some NP's may end up staying at places where they can just "rack up hours," even though they aren't getting the training they need. Since there's no one to monitor them, they get away with it. Most of the FNP programs only require 500-700 clinical hours and it's disturbing to think that those few hours aren't even being spent in the appropriate setting.

As far as PA's and MD's, I would be very skeptical about being a patient of a MD who received his education online. Don't get me wrong, he might be a perfectly good doctor, but there's something bothersome about someone at that level who didn't attend a traditional medical school. How do I know that he/she didn't have someone else take their online tests? How do I know they were trained by board certified physicians?

Everyone has their own opinion and I'm entitled to mine.

You are not just stating your opinion, you are making assumptions, generalizations and overall providing complete inaccuracies to anyone reading this forum.

Btw, what kind of programs have you been involved with? As someone else mentioned, you would be more accurate if you said, "Online MSN programs I have evaluated have been subpar"

The MSN-online program I am in, and others I considered, require over 900 clinical hours. My preceptor requirements also clearly state that no student is to EVER do ANYTHING without direct supervision, and daily written evaluations are required.

The fact that you are familiar with schools that allow students to go unsupervised or to gain their entire clinical experience from one narrow focus is downright APPALING.

I think you are very proud of your education (we all should be), however it also can be said there are some excellent online MSN programs that are clearly superior to the online programs you are familiar with.

It would have been so easy to have completed my programs online and far less stressful as well.

I think taking 7 hours of online courses at a school that you have insinuated is subpar does not give you a fair assessment of GOOD online programs.

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Specializes in CTICU.

Man, there's no way in HELL I would attend a program that required the students to practice pelvic exams on each other!!!

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Btw, what kind of programs have you been involved with?

quote]

I precept online NP students!

I would advise you to check out the comments regarding online NP programs over at "Student Doctor Network." They will be our future employers, so go read their opinions regarding online NP programs. I tried to post several excerpts from their posts, but they were deleted by the staff.

Good luck getting a job from one of those doctors!

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That's too bad you work with idiots. Perhaps they need to go back to a proper distance education NP program and learn the proper procedures from qualified faculty. As for me, I feel pretty comfortable learning the way I do and then having my skills verified by my preceptor who's just been nominated nurse practitioner of the year in California.

Tammy79,

Is this the online medical school you were referring to? Does your online NP school operate along the same format?

http://zlatkomed.org/blog/home/

Have a good day!

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Man, there's no way in HELL I would attend a program that required the students to practice pelvic exams on each other!!!

We practiced on paid surrogates. A lot of them were medical students who needed cash. I believe they were allowed to get a maximum of 7 prostate or pelvic exams per day. Not the way I would want to make extra cash, that's for sure!

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It's one thing to state your opinion comparing the 2 modalities, it's another to overgeneralize about online programs not doing this or that.

To generalize that EITHER way of learning is superior is no different than saying "doctors are better than NP's", etc.

I was not "overgeneralizing", I was stating my experience. Furthermore, I said that "often" online programs do not use the richer technology that is available. That is also not a generalization. A generalization would be if I said "All online programs don't use the technology well" or something like that.

Please be more respectful, everyone, in your postings. I have found this thread to be rather disturbing in its lack of critical thinking. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but I am just seeing this getting personal.

Oldiebutgoodie

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NMP2009:

You are right. I should not make brash assumptions about Duke vs ETSU. I just went with Nat'l reputation and competiveness of entry, which does not really speak at all to the quality of the specific programs and/or faculty. That really was unfair on my part, because the very crux of very argument is that the school does not make the practitioner, the practitioner makes him/herself, regardless of school and level of practice! Study, dilligence, character, native intelligence, effort, committment, etc are far more valuable attributes than a Petersons guide rating!!!

Is it OK if I PM you a few questions about Duke sometime?

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Specializes in Emergency.
NMP2009: Is it OK if I PM you a few questions about Duke sometime?

Wunderkind, Since I have not posted 15 times yet so you can email me at "fnp2009 at gmail.com" and I'll reply with my normal e-mail address. (It was easier to create a new e-mail than post 8 more times!). My non-nursing online discussion is limited to woodturning, so I'm not used to so much anonymity.

I've only posted here a few times since joining a couple of years ago. I have not had time for non-required discussion boards. I'll probably join as a premium member after money is not so tight.

On an encouraging note, I took an elderly relative to see a specialist at a major academic med center yesterday. I interacted with the specialist a good bit during the encounter and as we were leaving he asked if I were in the medical profession. I mentioned I was soon finishing the Duke online FNP program. We talked a bit about the program and my background. He gave me the name another MD and e-mail to contact about a new position there that will be available there mid-next year. It would be a long commute, definitely out of the realm of primary care, and back into a very intensive environment. I mentioned my degree was a FNP, not ACNP and he said because of the age limitations an FNP would be more preferable and training was expected. I'll definitely pursue it farther. I'm keeping all options open.

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Specializes in CTICU.

(You won't be able to do PMs until you have 15 posts)

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Ok everyone! We (APNs in general) pride ourselves in being patient advocates as well as advocates for advanced education. What we are showing towards the end of this 13 page thread is that we can't even come to some understanding that its okay to agree to disagree.

Those of us that are practicing APNs have both education and experience in which to form our opinions. We chose the APN route for various reasons and we chose various modalities to achieve our goals.

As nurses, we need to remain united instead of divided. As one poster stated, using critical thinking skills is what we are suposed to be doing to come to a conclusion. The reason we have online, brick and mortar and some hybrid programs is just the same reason not all of us chose the same APN track.

Please be respectful of each other. In the end, when we are personalizing everything said, we lose our professionalism.

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