Parkland Hospital?

JM-WHNP · Jan 16, 2014

Hi WomensHealthNP-BC, I recently graduated from a WHNP program and I am currently studying for boards and seeking a new career as a WHNP. I have read your posts and I am curious as to what you decided to do? Did you accept the position? If so, do you recommend Parkland as a place for new NPs to begin their practice? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.

WomensHealthNP-BC · Jan 23, 2014

Hi JM-WHNP,

I ultimately ended up accepting the position. However, I haven't started yet! Be aware while you are looking for jobs that privileging & credentialing at most institutions can take up to 2-4 months. It's been almost 3 months since I accepted the position, but this delay is mostly due to the fact that I did not have my TX RN/APRN licenses when I accepted, and TX takes a VERY long time to process applications and issue licenses. This is definitely important if you are considering leaving your current job to accept an NP job, or to job search in another state--begin the licensing process ASAP & make sure you have enough saved to fall back on in case of delays! Good luck with studying & the job search! I will be sure to post an update about my experience as soon as I start!

JM-WHNP · Jan 26, 2014

Thank you so much for responding. :) Just to make sure I understand your delay in the credentialing process you live out of state and took boards in that state and became board certified through NCC in your home state. Then, accepted a position in Texas. So, now you are trying to get your license in Texas as an APRN to practice. So, home BON to Texas BON the process is very slow. Is that right?

What was the interview process like for you? Phone interview and/or in person interview?

Also, I have been studying for boards. I have used the Fitzgerald and Kelsey's certification review guide and practice question book. I am currently waiting on NCC to send my ATT. After you applied to NCC, how long did it take for you to receive your ATT? After passing boards did it really take 21 days to receive your official pass results from NCC? I've read a lot of posts and most reviewers say the test was pretty straight forward. They aren't trying to trick you like NCLEX.

I appreciate any feedback on this post as you recently went through the process I am currently going through. Thank you for your advice. I look forward to reading your post once you start your new job as an APRN. So exciting!

WomensHealthNP-BC · Jan 27, 2014

Yes, you're correct, the delay was due to processing in the state of TX. I took the NCC boards in PA, where I worked as an RN. I planned to move back to MA to work as an NP. I applied for my MA RN license early in the process, while I was studying for boards. Then, as soon as I passed I applied for my MA APRN. Since everything was in place for my MA APRN license to be issued, the process was fairly quick. But, my decision to move to TX wasn't what I had initially planned (boyfriend lives here), so I had to start from scratch (RN license, APRN license) as soon as I accepted the job--and that took almost 3 months.

Looking back, I applied to the NCC on 7/22 and received an email for computer eligibility on 7/30, which stated that I would receive an eligibility letter in the mail within 3 business days, and I was able to sign up for a test date on 8/3. Classmates of mine were able to sign up for as early as 8/12 I believe, but I waited until 8/28. So that would be less than 2 weeks to receive the ATT. As far as the results, I can't find any evidence of it taking 21 days to receive official pass results. I was in the middle of a move, so I believe my results got mailed to my home address and were overlooked until I got home on 9/17--but had been sitting there for a while :)

I used the Kelsey review guide and practice question book at first, but found it difficult to stay engaged. I ended up purchasing the Fitzgerald review course because the short 20 min bursts of review with audio and visual, which was a great way to keep the review structured and feel like I was actually accomplishing something on my study days. I ended up with a system of reading the Kelsey review guide and looking up info I wasn't clear on, and taking notes in the margins. This served as my knowledge base, then I would listen the the Fitzgerald review to reinforce the most important topics. Finally, I would test myself on those topic areas using the Kelsey question book. I definitely think the questions were more straightforward than the NCLEX, no tricks. It really was a test of "entry to practice" and what a new NP should have in their basic knowledge bank.

For interviews, I ended up in person for all. First, I interviewed in person at a women's health clinic in Boston with the executive director and medical director (didn't get it, they ended up hiring an experienced midwife). Second, I interviewed at a MGH research unit with the chief of the unit (decided not to pursue it because it was only 60% clinical). I sent my resume to every other hospital and clinic I could find in the Boston and greater Boston area over the course of 2-3 months, even if they weren't hiring. I applied to a few other positions, like breast oncology or family practice with a women's health component, but there were very few general ob/gyn positions available in the Boston area. That's where TX came in. For Parkland, I first had a phone interview with a recruiter. After that, I was moved along in the process to interview with the clinical managers and NPs at two different sites. I actually ended up making a list of all of the interview questions I was asked during the entire process, to send out to friends who were in the process of preparing for interviews:

Nurse Practitioner Interview Questions

Career Questions
- Why did you want to be a nurse practitioner?
- Why women’s health?
- Where do you see yourself in 1, 5, 10 years?
- What are your professional goals?
[*]Work History Questions
- Describe 1) the best and 2) the worst qualities and experiences you have had with a manager and why? Be specific.
- What is the best thing a manager ever did for you?
- How would your last manager describe you?
- What work environment do you like best and why?
- Do you have any issues delegating to other employees such as MAs, RNs?
- Describe a relevant situation, your action, and the outcome
  - Patient from a different culture than your own
  - Conflict with a coworker, how you resolved it, and the outcome
  - A time when you stuck to your decision when others opposed it
  - A time when you received criticism and how you reacted to it
  [*]Describe your approach to a ‘difficult’ patient
[*]Personality Questions
- Describe yourself in three words
- Why, specifically, should we hire you?
- What drives you to do this? Money, recognition, achievement, etc? What is the driving factor?
- What is your biggest accomplishment in your life, aside from your education and your family?
- What brings you joy?
- What is the most interesting thing you have done in the past three years besides school and volunteer work?
[*]Experience/Education Questions
- What procedures did you do as a WHNP student?
- What three women’s health issues are you most interested in?
- How comfortable are you with your time management skills?
- How comfortable are you with a large caseload?
- If you could change one thing about the NP profession, what would it be and why?
- Have you considered getting a DNP?
[*]Resume Questions
- How will you incorporate your interest in research into the work place?
- Describe in detail your role as a peer advisor
- Describe the education modules you designed and how they could be adapted here
- Are you interested in administration? Why? What do you think makes you a good leader?
- Why do you volunteer—reasons specific to each volunteer endeavor?
[*]Training Questions
- What do you want from an orientation?
- What do you expect from a preceptor?
- What learning environment/relationship with a preceptor would be most beneficial to you?

Sorry about the length of the post, but I hope this helps!!!

JM-WHNP · Jan 28, 2014

Thank you so much for all of the information! You have been so helpful and I genuinely appreciate all of your advice. I have the same feelings about the Kelsey vs. Fitzgerald review. I think they are both good study options each has pros and cons. Several days ago I applied to NCC for boards I am hoping to receive an e-mail/letter by the end of this month (fingers crossed). Have you found the pay rate in Texas as a new grad what you had hoped? I understand it is different depending on the state/area your practice for WHNPs.

WomensHealthNP-BC · Jan 28, 2014

No problem! Salary is always a tough question, because no one ever wants to give you a straight answer! So, here it is:

I found that salary reports vary based on specialty, experience, and location. According to Pearson Report (I believe this was my resource) I found that median/average salary (not sure which) was:

-Massachusetts NP - 91k

-Boston NP - 91k

-Urban NP - 94k

-Women's Health NP - 84k

-MSN education - 93k

HOWEVER, from my experience, at Mass General the minimum salary for NPs with 0-2 years experience was about 77k, but could be increased depending on the setting/specialty (I was told that the research NP opportunity would most likely not be increased above this minimum). The Boston area clinic that I interviewed at was offering $48/hour (~100k)--much more than I had expected, but the cost of living in Boston is high and the neighborhood that the clinic is in isn't the safest.

During my program we were told that $50/hour was not unreasonable to ask for, but I would have thought that as a new grad in women's health, 90k would definitely be an acceptable base.

As for the experience of others, my friend who is working at a Philadelphia hospital in high risk OB is making $44.65/hour (~93k), where the cost of living is high, but not as high as Boston. Another classmate of mine who is working in NJ in infertility makes a little above 90k as well.

So taking that all into consideration, when I was offered $42/hour (~87k) as a new grad in TX, I was happy given the lower cost of living and lack of income tax here. I am not sure how that compares to other hospitals in the area (although that would probably be important to know!). I tried to gauge it using a cost of living calculator (The New York Times - Jobs - Salary Tools), which told me that 87k in Dallas would be comparable to a ~96k salary in Boston and ~90k salary in Philadelphia.

Hopefully this helps! Fingers crossed that you get your ATT soon!

JM-WHNP · Jan 29, 2014

That certainly helps me get an idea of what to expect. If you don't mind me asking, what is your nursing background/years experience? I am a labor and delivery nurse with almost 5 years experience. I hope to get a job working in an OB/GYN clinic setting either working with OB, GYN, or OB/GYN patients. I am not sure how it works as far as what experience they (hiring managers) prefer and if it makes a difference on the pay scale. They might just go off a grid like you mentioned (0-2 yrs experience makes X).

WomensHealthNP-BC · Jan 29, 2014

That's exactly what I was looking for--I didn't want to work in a specialty practice as a new NP, because I want to gain confidence in my general ob/gyn skills & clinical knowledge before (if ever) choosing a specialty.

I think that 5 years of L&D experience will be a huge strength for you as a candidate for an NP position! I have

Hopefully that all makes sense! :)

JM-WHNP · Jan 30, 2014

That definitely makes sense. My goal right now is to focus on boards. Once I pass, I will start applying for jobs. ALL of the information you have provided has been so helpful, thank you! I'll keep you posted. :)

WomensHealthNP-BC · Jan 30, 2014

Good luck!!! :)

JM-WHNP · Feb 14, 2014

I passed!!! :)