Xerath

Jocy Anne, May I ask if you know why people grimace and tell you that you should be doing FNP or PNP?

Hi all, I am interested in applying to UCSF whenever the next round occurs. On their website, I see a description of NNP program with requirements, but no dates or deadlines. Can anyone give me any information on the timing of it all, and how they found this information? Will they basically update their general website as dates approach? Is there anyone there I can contact to get on a mailing list for potential applicants? Just trying to be as prepared as possible.

Thanks to everyone for this thread! I have 3 years experience in level III NICU as a bedside RN. I am seriously considering NP school, and it seems from the comments this is the minimum amount of experience to start thinking about it. I have just recently hit that point where I realized that I am capable of directing care without doing it myself- a surprising revelation since I have been learning my entire time in NICU how to do bedside better and how to be MORE hands on, and in general be as useful as a bedside nurse as possible. As a result of being charge, precepting new hires, and being involved in various process improvement initiatives, I have had the chance to direct care and keep tabs on patients and nurses on more of the unit level. I feel like in my own ways being in these roles, I experience a little of what babyNP described about the satisfaction of putting an order in and seeing a baby get better. The role of our NPs at my hospital very closely resemble what babyNP has described. My first general topic of questions is, how do you NNPs feel about "leaving bedside"? From what I can tell, the job is different so the skills are different, and managing care of many patients necessitates that you cannot do what you order on the baby yourself. I've read on here that being a solid NICU nurse helps you transition to NP, but what happens to all our technical skills? How often do you feel you get to brush up on basic things like IV starts and bottle feeding difficult PO feeders, just to name a few examples. I guess behind these questions, being a "younger" NICU nurse, is whether or not I will retain skills and be able to rightly gain respect as an NP who is an advanced practice nurse, or will I kind of lose touch with bedside for the sake of a related but different role. My interest in being an NNP is also driven by the fact that I feel as a bedside nurse I am primarily learning how to carry out orders more efficiently and developing technical skills. I know that experience is the best teacher, but at this point realistically I am not always able to just stand there and learn from NPs and doctors sharing their knowledge during rounds or talking to parents. I would love to learn more about everything so that I can understand what they are thinking about, how they interpret results, and how they make their decisions. This is why I feel going back to school will help me, because it will be a dedicated time to learn something deeper rather than trying to glean information while I have a job to do. Does this sound like I am on the right track, picking NNP?