PNP or FNP for increased job opportunities?

Specialties NP

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Ok, I have applied for the University of South Alabama for their PNP-PC program and I really have only ever done Peds. I absolutely know that I don't want to do adults. I keep being told that I really need to do the FNP program because by only doing PNP I am severly restricting my job opportunities after graduation. I was told the same thing when graduating nursing school, that I should work on a Medicine unit for at least a year then transfer to a more specialized area. I NEVER worked on a Medicine or Telemetry unit and don't have the desire to. My location is south Louisiana. What are your thoughts as far as finding a PNP position in this area pretty easily after graduation? Thanks in advance for your input.

Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
Then your school is NOT following the consensus model. They are only hurting you although I fail to see how they teach "only" pediatric pharmacology. LOL When you finish school and actually become a NP you may figure out that there is really no difference in pharmacology. You just don't have the knowledge or experience to understand at this point. Do you really think PCN given for strep throat in a 25yo works different in a 10yo? Do you think treating a UTI in a 13yo with septra is different than treating a UTI in a 30yo? Does it magically work different?[/quote']

And I guess you missed that my school requires two pharmacology courses...so not hurting. This class is specific to the needs of the pediatric patient...which is different. It isn't that the meds work differently but peds are not small adults.

So again...not basically the same education happens in one quarter.

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Specializes in Anesthesia, Pain, Emergency Medicine.

Sorry, still does not add up.

List the school and courses?

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
Sorry still does not add up. List the school and courses?[/quote']

I take advanced pharmacology and I take a peds pharmacology. What doesn't add up about that?

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
When you finish school and actually become a NP you may figure out that there is really no difference in pharmacology.[/quote']

Are you saying there is no difference in PK or PD with variances in age? I most wholeheartedly disagree.

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I agree with IrishizRN here...they already took an advanced pharm course as required by the NP accreditation board. Now on top of that, they are supplementing it by taking a pediatric pharmacology class which will teach about issues related only to those under 18. It makes perfect sense, dosing is different in children, there specific medications made only for children, there are alternatives to strong medications made for children, etc. I do think FNPs are trained to see children but I think PNPs definitely have more training out of school and are better equipped for that population.

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Specializes in critical care.
Most of this is simply not true. 1. FNP can work anywhere so if it saturated in one part of the country PNPs will also be saturated. 2. I am fairly sure that there are very few places that are saturated. 3. FNPs get basically the same pediatric training and there is no difference in care vs PNPS. [/quote']

#3 isn't true. A pediatric program focuses almost entirely on peds from day one. The FNP programs I've scoped out so far cover peds for no more than one semester. The FNP program in my school actually splits that one semester in half with women's health, so ultimately you get half a semester in peds. Local pediatricians here will NOT hire a FNP.

OP, talk to employers in your area. Ask the hospitals' HR departments and local pediatric MDs to see what their preferences are. Some won't mind it, others will. Only they can steer you right.

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Specializes in Anesthesia, Pain, Emergency Medicine.

Are you an NP?

No?

Are you an RN? No?

Then it is pretty much impossible for you to understand that yes, FNPs do the same with peds and there is NO difference in outcomes.

Sorry but that is just the truth.

#3 isn't true. A pediatric program focuses almost entirely on peds from day one. The FNP programs I've scoped out so far cover peds for no more than one semester. The FNP program in my school actually splits that one semester in half with women's health, so ultimately you get half a semester in peds. Local pediatricians here will NOT hire a FNP.

OP, talk to employers in your area. Ask the hospitals' HR departments and local pediatric MDs to see what their preferences are. Some won't mind it, others will. Only they can steer you right.

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Specializes in Anesthesia, Pain, Emergency Medicine.

[h=1]Notice the identical pharmacology.

Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Certification Eligibility Criteria (formerly known as Pediatric Nurse Practitioner)[/h]Credential Awarded: PPCNP-BC (formerly PNP-BC)

Eligibility CriteriaHold a current, active RN license in a state or territory of the United States or hold the professional, legally recognized equivalent in another country. International Applicants: Learn about additional requirements for candidates outside the US.

Hold a master's, postgraduate, or doctoral degree* from a pediatric primary care nurse practitioner program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) (formerly NLNAC | National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission). A minimum of 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours must be included in your pediatric primary care nurse practitioner program.

Three separate, comprehensive graduate-level courses in:

  • Advanced physiology/pathophysiology, including general principles that apply across the life span
  • Advanced health assessment, which includes assessment of all human systems, advanced assessment techniques, concepts, and approaches
  • Advanced pharmacology, which includes pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacotherapeutics of all broad categories of agents

Content in:

  • Health promotion and/or maintenance
  • Differential diagnosis and disease management, including the use and prescription of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions

[h=1]Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Eligibility Criteria[/h]Credential Awarded: FNP-BC

Eligibility Criteria

Hold a current, active RN license in a state or territory of the United States or hold the professional, legally recognized equivalent in another country. International Applicants: Learn about additional requirements for candidates outside the US.

Hold a master's, postgraduate, or doctoral degree* from a family nurse practitioner program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) (formerly NLNAC | National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission). A minimum of 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours must be included in your family nurse practitioner program.

Three separate, comprehensive graduate-level courses in:

  • Advanced physiology/pathophysiology, including general principles that apply across the life span
  • Advanced health assessment, which includes assessment of all human systems, advanced assessment techniques, concepts, and approaches
  • Advanced pharmacology, which includes pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacotherapeutics of all broad categories of agents

Content in:

  • Health promotion and/or maintenance
  • Differential diagnosis and disease management, including the use and prescription of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
Are you an NP? No? Are you an RN? No? Then it is pretty much impossible for you to understand that yes FNPs do the same with peds and there is NO difference in outcomes. Sorry but that is just the truth. [/quote']

Nobody said that FNPs can't do the same as PNPs. As far as outcomes...I haven't seen any studies to suggest equality in treatment. What was said was that they have basically the same education. That is not true. FNPs don't have basically the same education as PNPs in regards to pediatric patients when, at most, the FNP student spends one semester or quarter on peds specific issues. That isn't basically the same as several semesters and quarters.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

Both PNP and FNP programs prepare novice practitioners for entry-to-practice; both are certified to practice in the pediatric population. A quality FNP program has far more than a "half a semester/quarter" on pediatrics.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
Both PNP and FNP programs prepare novice practitioners for entry-to-practice; both are certified to practice in the pediatric population. A quality FNP program has far more than a "half a semester/quarter" on pediatrics.

Being certified in the population doesn't equal "basically the same education" as another has stated. Saying "basically the same education" suggests the PNP program is filled with "stuff" to take up time. What else are we doing with our time if the FNP learns basically the same thing in a semester? It just isn't reasonable to say the FNP gets basically the same eduction. Yes, they are educated to care for the pediatric population. That doesn't mean equally educated in that population as the PNP.

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Specializes in critical care.
Are you an NP? No? Are you an RN? No? Then it is pretty much impossible for you to understand that yes FNPs do the same with peds and there is NO difference in outcomes. Sorry but that is just the truth. [/quote']

Well if this is the game we are playing, are you a PNP? No? Then it is pretty much impossible for you to know that yes, PNPs have a much more in depth, focused education on pediatric populations than FNPs. Sorry, but that is just the truth. (P.S. Simply saying something is the truth doesn't make it so.)

And to the poster above me who indicated that a half semester in peds and women's health does not make a quality program, I 1,000,000% agree and it is largely what made me decide I have no interest in completing my graduate degree there. It's a shame, too, because I love face to face learning and this is the only brick and mortar school with 2 hours of here with graduate programs.

I've been quite obsessively studying the differences between all of the programs I could reasonably apply to and attend after graduating with my BSN and the differences in courses, expectations, and depth of knowledge are pretty large. Nomad, I will give you this much. It's very possible the programs you've been exposed to DID do pediatrics justice, but not all do. (For example, the FNP at my university with its half semester in peds.) You can't make blanketed statements expressing that all PNP programs and all FNP programs give the same level of preparation in pediatrics. The fact that I haven't completed any of these programs does give my opinion less weight in the discussion. I recognize that. However, with this being the path I am considering in my life, and the level of research I've done on the topic (I can't stress the word "obsessively" enough), there are differences in the programs, pediatric populations do have different needs, and those needs are examined with lengthier detail in a PNP program.

This is bugging me, so I'm just going to say it.... Even with my almost BSN, one of the things that has been stressed pretty clearly is that metabolism of medications is different in children due to immature organs developing and rapidly changing weight. Now, can this be addressed in a regular advanced pharmacology class? Probably, but I did want to point out that the need for instruction based specifically on pediatric populations is there, whether FNP or PNP. This is actually a large reason pediatricians here aren't hiring FNPs. They don't have enough prescribing knowledge in pediatrics.

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