Matthew RN

1) I misread your comment, "I can see why NP will be looked down upon from other healthcare professionals." Thinking you were talking about PAs looking down on NPs, so I'm good here. 1.5) As far as the medical model vs. the nursing model. I have known nurses that go on to become PAs because they feel the same way. However medicine is trying all the time to be more holistic (it is as much a buzzword in medicine as it is in nursing) and NP programs are truthfully trying to be more medical. The models are not as different as you would imagine. 2) You might want to (re)research this. The keywords to search would be "full practice authority". For the states that have this (21 states) NPs do not have to work under an MD (or DO)'s license at all. Assuming you live in a state that does not give full practice authority then yes it might never come up. You were initially talking about having future options. "Hey am not interested in this now" is different than, "Hey I will never be interested in this." This is one area that the NP has increased options over a PA. https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/state/state-practice-environment https://onlinenursing.simmons.edu/nursing-blog/nurse-practitioners-scope-of-practice-map/ 3) I'm not sure about your use of FNP vs NP here. I think you meant PA instead of FNP so I will respond in that way. The NP does not have more ability to move on vs. a PA, but a similar ability. Your previous example of working Ortho and moving on to Cardiology and having to get additional schooling as an NP is not correct. The NP with an FNP specialty would not require any additional schooling. You might want to talk to PAs that have been working for years and see how easy they can jump specialties. 4) This is an interesting response in how much you apparently are upset about it. I'm not sure how someone saying "Could be called a doctor" is suggesting an NP is the equal to a physician (suggest using physician instead of MD in your vocab as the DO degree is a medical physician in the same way as an MD but not an MD). I'm not actually overly impressed with DNPs that want to be called "doctor". There are quite a few degrees that confer a doctorate and then the person is a doctor, someone with a Ph.d. in chemistry for example could be called a doctor. I agree this does not make the person equal to a physician. In the medical world there is an argument that calling anyone but physicians "doctor" is then taking away from the physicians authority (or allowing entrance into an exclusive club). So then we need a committee to decide which providers get to be a "doctor". Most people are good with calling people with a DDS, DMD, OD, DPT, DVM, DPM or DCM a "doctor". This is not saying that any of these people are physicians and doesn't seem to take away from physicians. Some areas call DPT or PharmD or DNPs doctors, some states have passed legislation saying they may not. Not a debate I even care about. I think you have given some strong arguments (right or wrong it is how you feel) for why you would like to be a PA. This is probably worth pursuing. You might think about the RN to PA route as it gives the option of well paying work while in school.

You might have a good chance at appeal, if you were not eligible for admittance then why did they admit you? An appeal can be stressful, but probably not any more stressful than not being admitted. If you want to be in the program I suggest an appeal. You might ask the old classmate her experience. The question of "Why do you let other people back in and not me?" Might be a help or a hindrance upon appeal.

I'm going to try to clarify some of your misconceptions on PA vs NP. Respect: Which one is more respected really depends on your area, they are both mid-levels and close to equivalency. In my area NPs appear to be more respected. Oversight: 21 states let NPs practice without any physician oversight (could have own practice). Not ever an option for a PA. Specialties: PAs specialize. Sometimes this is part of their schooling, for example I know someone who completed a PA program that was geared toward pediatrics specifically. If you as a PA were trained by a Ortho physician to be his ortho PA you cannot switch to cardiology without finding a cardiologist who wants to train you from scratch. Suggest you look at what the NP specialties really are. They are broad enough for what you are saying you want to do. An FNP for example is pretty broad, an FNP could work in almost any kind of physician's office. For example an FNP could work in an ortho office and then switch to a cardiology office, this would not require additional schooling (same issues as the PA switching). I know a recent grad FNP who got a job working for a neurosurgeon (could have been almost any physician). However, the surgeon wanted the NP to also help with surgery so paid for her to complete an RN-FA program (so in this instance they did need some additional school). Degree: NPs can get a Masters NP or a DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice). The DNP is a terminal degree (there is a national push to make this the entry NP degree). DNP could be called doctor (some states have passed laws prohibiting this). PA master's is a terminal degree. Schooling: Both require a Bachelor's prior to applying. Initial RN degree is usually more difficult than other degrees. Once you have your bachelor degree PA will be full-time. An NP degree should be full-time if you want to complete in a timely manner. Can be part-time but adds 1-2 years to completion.

One thing to be aware that WGU doesn't always transfer well. The do have national accredidation, but because of the way WGU grades their nursing sometimes it transfers as pass/fail without transferring actual grades or it can transfer as a B average (some programs require a 3.5 GPA which is higher than a B). I would double check schools that you would be interested in pursuing your post-master's and see how well WGU degrees transfer there. However, I have heard some pretty strong rumors that WGU will have a NP degree soon.

Everything being equal it does look a little bad on a resume, however it happens all the time, when moving it is easy to see why. Be prepared to explain why. So yes you are still marketable, you will still find a new job. However, you don't want your resume to show a trend of job hopping, I would suggest staying at least a year at your next job.

Find nurses to talk too, see if your hospital will let you shadow a nurse. If you want to send me a private message I can give you my phone number and I can tell you my experience, what I like and don’t like, things to look for etc.

It would count towards generals. Even an accelerated program doesn’t count towards anything but generals, they are designed to be shorter because you don’t have to take non-nursing courses. I would look at different programs and see credits, cost and length or program. We have quite a few students with previous bachelors enter our ADN program. We give slight preference toward admissions for previous degrees (and no preference based on gender so check your program).

Nursing school is ultra competitive, so I would apply to multiple programs if you are serious. Cops, EMTs, paramedics and So on fit in just fine, the experience is usually helpful. Men make up less than 10% if nurses so sometimes it’s a shock to be one of the few or even the only man in a class. Upon graduation even a macho personality can fit into nursing the ICU or ED both have higher percentages of males.

As mentioned it depends on the area. Pediatrics is one of the smallest units in my hospital, and they don't have open positions as often (once went 2 years between openings). However, when we do have open positions we often hire new-grads.

I would first note, that you don't have to do an accelerated program. In my area all firefighters are EMTs or paramedics. I see them do just fine in nursing. We also have former police officers do just fine. The only ones who struggle are the ones who believe they already know everything. Nursing doesn't usually have issues with macho attitudes. ?

Is it bad or inappropriate to directly email the manager, I would say generally not, depending on the manager. Under most circumstances this is helpful in finding a job. Sometimes there is a disconnect between recruiters and managers. A local nursing unit will hire new grads even though the requirements list experience required. Sometimes a nursing unit will newly post an opening once they know someone is interested. I once called a nurse manager and said, "I will be in the area interviewing with some employers, this date, it will be your only chance to interview me." This phone call did result in an interview and a job offer. The flipside to all this is it is possible it won't help. Some managers find people reaching out to them individually annoying. Some hospitals only want contact between potential nurses and recruiters, not between managers and potential nurses. I would actually try to talk to the manager while you are at the unit doing clinicals, most hospitals have a hard time staffing oncology units, so knowing you are interested then the manager can ask your preceptors and get a good feel for you personally.

It's pretty common, there is a significant percentage of new nurses who totally leave the nursing profession within a year or two of graduation. What didn't work? What do you like about nursing? What would your perfect job entail? There are other options- OR, PACU, Public Health, Home Health, Psych nursing and many other areas could be places you could work.

Most people addressed the shortness as being a detriment on your resume, I agree, but will address psych as a jumping point. True or not, the feeling in most hospitals is that psych nurses quickly lose all their clinical skills. Most places psych nursing is non-clinical, for example at my hospital a patient needs to be cleared as having no medical problems prior to transferring to the psych unit. Knowing most hospitals feel that psych nurses are not good clinical, then yes psych experience won't help in any way get to the ICU.

Do you find that you are an anxious person generally? Nursing school increases anxiety for more people. I think looking at helps for anxiety might be a good way to go. "The Feeling Good Handbook" is a decent self-help book that deals with anxiety. Nursing school is very intense but it is doable. I suggest looking at every assignment as a learning opportunity and deciding before you start to never put in just the bare minimum.

This is a whole other can of worms, but California is an at-will state. You might also ask yourself, "Since I already know I'm not going to get a good reference from this job, what are my reasons for submitting a 2-week notice rather than quitting on the spot?" While it is unprofessional to leave without a 2-week notice sometime it can be best under the circumstances.