100% Online vs. Hybrid Nurse Practitioner Programs

barcode120x, RN, NP · May 24, 2020

In particular to the Uni of Cincinnati, I don't think you have to worry about "questionable reputation."

It definitely is intimidating to have to search for your own preceptors. I knew my PCP precepted students from the University I go to so even before I started my program, I asked if she'd be willing to have me and agreed. Later down the road, I had to find another preceptor, but fortunately one of the adjunct faculty at my school picked me. Your school's/program's faculty are a great source of preceptors, and I would definitely start asking around the MDs, DO's, NP, etc at your workplace. Many of the docs at my hospital are very open to taking NP students, especially since they know you work there already as a nurse, there is already that level of trust built.

Your choice boils down to two things, work and personal life as well as the COVID crises. I believe both hybrid and online programs are doable with a re maybe less depending on your hybrid family and/or full time work; however, with a hybrid program you will have to sacrifice time each week, maybe more maybe less depending on your program in order to commute to school and back. I would say the main advantage of going for the hybrid program is that they find your preceptor for you which is a HUGE plus during this COVID crises where many clinics and clinicians may not be taking in students at this time. At least with your hybrid program, by the time you start doing clinicals I'd assume they would have sorted all that out and have preceptors for you. Before accepting, I would personally make sure that clinical sites are set if you choose the hybrid program.

In regards to a full online FNP program, I can personally say it's the best choice I've made so far considering the fact that I was lucky enough to get preceptors (I've had some classmates that had an initial hard time finding preceptors). Everything has a set due date each semester and there aren't many changes to that so you can easily plan months ahead for things. I have been able to work full time, do 1 day of clinic, complete course work, and have time for life (then again, I don't have a family/kids and I'm kinda young). I only have to commute to school two weekends each semester for lectures/workshops on the weekend, but those are also planned way in advance. In my honest opinion, I'm not sure if it's because it's online, but the coursework is easy and very manageable.

SN2751, BSN, RN · May 25, 2020

19 hours ago, barcode120x said:
In particular to the Uni of Cincinnati, I don't think you have to worry about "questionable reputation."
It definitely is intimidating to have to search for your own preceptors. I knew my PCP precepted students from the University I go to so even before I started my program, I asked if she'd be willing to have me and agreed. Later down the road, I had to find another preceptor, but fortunately one of the adjunct faculty at my school picked me. Your school's/program's faculty are a great source of preceptors, and I would definitely start asking around the MDs, DO's, NP, etc at your workplace. Many of the docs at my hospital are very open to taking NP students, especially since they know you work there already as a nurse, there is already that level of trust built.

Your choice boils down to two things, work and personal life as well as the COVID crises. I believe both hybrid and online programs are doable with a re maybe less depending on your hybrid family and/or full time work; however, with a hybrid program you will have to sacrifice time each week, maybe more maybe less depending on your program in order to commute to school and back. I would say the main advantage of going for the hybrid program is that they find your preceptor for you which is a HUGE plus during this COVID crises where many clinics and clinicians may not be taking in students at this time. At least with your hybrid program, by the time you start doing clinicals I'd assume they would have sorted all that out and have preceptors for you. Before accepting, I would personally make sure that clinical sites are set if you choose the hybrid program.
In regards to a full online FNP program, I can personally say it's the best choice I've made so far considering the fact that I was lucky enough to get preceptors (I've had some classmates that had an initial hard time finding preceptors). Everything has a set due date each semester and there aren't many changes to that so you can easily plan months ahead for things. I have been able to work full time, do 1 day of clinic, complete course work, and have time for life (then again, I don't have a family/kids and I'm kinda young). I only have to commute to school two weekends each semester for lectures/workshops on the weekend, but those are also planned way in advance. In my honest opinion, I'm not sure if it's because it's online, but the coursework is easy and very manageable.

Barcode120x thank you for your response! I will definitely make sure that my clinical sites will be found for me prior to choosing the hybrid program. And if I choose UC, I will also start asking around my network to see if I can find preceptors. Unfortunately I am not close enough to Cincinnati to use any of the program's faculty as preceptors, but hopefully I will be able to find some connections through my workplace. The organization of the online setting with firm due dates does sound nice. I also love the idea of not having to travel to campus (1.75 hr trip for me) weekly to UNCG if I were to pick the hybrid option. Plus, being able to work more like you said is a major perk with the online option. However, UC's program has zero campus visits, and I'm not even required to go for orientation. I do wish that I had the option of going two weekends out of the semester like your program. I'd like to be able to establish a network there in person rather than fully online. That's one of the downsides for me, but still so many pros over cons with that program. Lots to thinks about! Thank you for your help!

ballerina09 · May 28, 2020

Hello,

A program finding preceptors for you is so valuable. Mine didn't and it was a complete disaster every semester. It was by far the most stressful part of my masters.

DrCOVID, DNP · Jun 22, 2020

On 5/27/2020 at 10:40 PM, ballerina09 said:
A program finding preceptors for you is so valuable. Mine didn't and it was a complete disaster every semester. It was by far the most stressful part of my masters.

I have to echo this. It was a nightmare for a lot of students at my school as well. I'm at a hybrid DNP program (please at least do hybrid) and even though school of medicine, pharmacy etc... had clinical spots... we still had to find our clinic placements. This adds to the stress and though everyone got in eventually, some started very late and barely were able to finish what they needed to stay on track with the program.

RNrdj21, BSN · Feb 17, 2023

SN2751 said:

I was recently accepted into two different nurse practitioner programs. One is a fully online FNP masters program through the University of Cincinnati, and the other is a hybrid DNP AGPCNP program at UNC Greensboro. UNCG finds your clinical sites for you, whereas Cincinnati requires you to find your own. I have been reading mixed reviews on how people question the reputation of 100% online programs that require one to find their own clinical sites. However, I have also read that the University of Cincinnati is a top-ranked online program. I am not sure which path to choose, but I have been leaning towards UC as I would prefer FNP over AGPCNP. However, I am a little scared about finding my own preceptors, especially with COVID, as I've heard this has complicated things for some students. I would love some input from anyone with experience as a nurse practitioner or student nurse practitioner. Do you feel that 100% online programs have a questionable reputation? How has it been/how was it for those of you who had to find your own preceptors? Thank you in advance!

Which school did you decide to go with? I have also been accepted into both programs and am trying to decide which is the best fit!

SN2751, BSN, RN · Feb 17, 2023

@RNrdj21

So...I actually started at UNCG and went there for one semester, and then decided to switch to UC online.

Pros UNCG:

-they find your preceptors

Cons UNCG:

-the program is AGPCNP (you can only work with ages 13+ and this really limits your opportunities in the job market)

-they only had a DNP option, so the program is 3 years

-it was a far drive from where I live

-even though they find your preceptors they can't guarantee it will be close to where you live

-no part-time option

-if you need to take any time off (potential pregnancy/newborn was my concern) then you have to take off an ENTIRE YEAR before continuing the program

As you can see, the con list ended up being much longer than the pro list for going to UNCG for me. Also, in the 2nd semester clinical rotations start and my first rotation was in Greensboro. So I was going to be driving a very far distance from where I live (1 hr 45 mins in one direction) at least twice per week. This ended up being too much for me with my schedule. I had deferred my acceptance at UC, so I started there the following semester. I have had a great experience, and I highly recommend the program. I will go over the pros and cons for UC.

Pros:

-part-time option

-flexibility

-master's option (2 years full time)

-FNP (can work with all ages)

-ability to take time off if needed (again was considering pregnancy/newborn)

Cons:

-they don't find your clinical sites

-no in-person labs/hands-on training on campus

Honestly the reason why I chose UNCG initially was because I let the people in these forums get to me. Are there things about NP programs that need to change? Absolutely! However, the argument that you need to go to to a brick and mortar program vs. online is simply an unfounded opinion. The truth is I've been to both, and from an educational perspective there was very little difference. The ONLY thing is that we did get hands-on experience at UNCG prior to starting our clinical rotations, and we were able to do ONE PAP, beast, DRE, and testicular/penile exam. I should highlight we only did this ONCE. So, at the end of the day did that ONE exam make me feel more prepared, not really. The fact of the matter is no matter where you go for NP school you get out what you put in. NP school requires a lot of self-teaching.

Also, I know some people have a hard time finding clinical rotations, but in all honesty if you put forth the effort it is not that difficult. UC has a list of preceptors that have been used before within your area/state with contact information. I formatted an email with my resume attached, and sent out probably close to 50 emails to all the places where I was interested in doing clinical near me + all of the preceptors that had previously been used on the list. I personally think cold calling/showing up unannounced is a waste of your time and the providers (if you even get that far). A lot of people will not respond, but remember you only need a few. I ended up getting responses from more than enough preceptors who were willing to work with me. Just be willing to expand your search slightly beyond the city you live in if absolutely necessary. If you need more advice on finding clinical sites let me know and I'll do my best to help (especially if you live in NC)! Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Best of luck!!

RNrdj21, BSN · Feb 17, 2023

Thank you so much for responding!

I am about. 1.5 hours from UNCG, so distance has definitely been one of my concerns. You also mentioned a few other things that I hadn't thought about, so I definitely appreciate you giving a detailed response!

SN2751, BSN, RN · Feb 18, 2023

@RNrdj21

I should clarify that both are great options, it really just comes down to what works for you! Feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

Guest1144461 · Feb 18, 2023

University of C is a well-known school in general, but they have been known as an easy-entry, low rent online NP school for while. Top online NP Program based on what? You have to look at more than the surface level.

FNPs can see kids. Do you want to see kids? Do you really think 500 clinical hours (more like 150 in peds) and 1-2 classes qualify you to treat kids at any significant level?

It's a joke every other health profession gets assigned preceptors except NPs and yes it does become a nightmare. A MD may give you the green when you knock on his door but the clinic could say no. Sometimes they already have too many students (med schools nearby) and often they don't want to. Think about it, you are PAYING for school. The school's education is pre-recorded/reused and low quality lectures and a discussion board. Then you have to find your clinical experiences (which may be poor quality). What are they doing for you again?

If you must do NP, do UNC

People of course are going to defend their online or NP experience in general, but that's what we all CONFIRMATION BIAS

RNrdj21, BSN · Feb 18, 2023

@SN2751 I have tried to message you, but it won't let me for some reason!

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 18, 2023

RNrdj21 said:

@SN2751 I have tried to message you, but it won't let me for some reason!

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