srod79

I am an FNP, I only filled out the nurse practitioner app and furnishing app. When you are able to fill this out depends on if you have gone to a California approved college, my understanding and this was a year ago was that if you did not go to a California approved college then you had to take the boards before you could apply for your license but if you went to a California approved college you could apply when you were done with your program. This is something to look into. If you Google California approved colleges it will give you the list. I do know that I called the board and they said to send in the applications and fees before you did anything else and give a few weeks after before you have the school and which ever board you take send verification so that a file can be created for you. I do not see any categories on the board website, you are just called a nurse practitioner, there was no separate application for it. I was fortunate that even though I had to wait 3 months which is the longest, I did not have any delays. Make sure you read everything, it may help to print it out, they did not call two NPs I know because they forgot something, so take your time with the application. If you have a deficiency it can delay your application another month, which is what happened with the two NPs I know. Your question about page 7 question E. I would have to see the form to make sense of what you are saying, maybe you can attach it to the thread. I hope this helps.

I keep getting comments from this thread in my email. I responded to your post before. I think at this point you need to do what you think is best for you. One thing I can say is that I am not an accountant nor have I gone to school to be one so I cannot say what you should or should not do as far as that degree is concerned. I am a Nurse Practitioner and have been a registered nurse for years and I do not regret not finishing the degree that I started in Psychology to do nursing. You need to figure out where your passion is, and go with that. I would also speak to someone who knows you as a person. This forum is based on experiences of people who do not even know you and some of the things that have been said to you is not appropriate. Sit down with your family, close friends, or your colleagues that you work with since you are already in the medical field and figure out what to do. I know you have to make a decision soon and I wish you the best.

I get it, well I am one of those people who did worked in hospital cleaning Operating Rooms after surgeries, I think this helped me decide what I wanted to do, then CNA, LPN, RN, BSN, and MSN-FNP, this is how my life kind of worked out. I felt in school the friends I had that did Medical Assistant classes had curriculum that was similar to LPN except for the long term care part, does your hospital hire LPNs? Sometimes we have to take things in steps to accomplish our ultimate goals. LPN route would definitely get you in to nursing sooner, so I would finish the accounting and then start nursing since it will be a semester before you can start, apply for the program that starts Aug/Sept, and go from there. I would definitely take advantage of the options that would allow me to use what I already have. You have the background so you have a head start. You got this.

This is tough, you are 34, so you have to make decisions now that will get you out of school and become established in your new career, which will help you later. Do you really deep down in your heart want to be an accountant or do you want to be a nurse? Find out how long your accountant classes will last and then decide. Though you do not mind taking A&P over, it is still time keeping you from the degree since most schools you need to have at least completed A&P 1 before they consider you. The people that tried to take Anatomy 2 with nursing classes had a hard time because the both was very time consuming. ADN colleges also have waiting list and are competitive to get in, if you are at a school where you can get in quicker than do that. But if you are not able to get into nursing school immediately, then finishing the Accounting degree makes more sense while you are waiting. I had to wait on a program and ended up doing an Associate of Arts Degree with the courses I already had, this helped me when I went for BSN and MSN, and in this situation it made sense. Also in most places ADN make the same money as BSN, so it all depends on what you are going after.

Did not say that you said that, Never said that you said anything just posted your quote and "whoever told you you don't need them is a moron or ***." is the part I was referring to. Probably someone who got their information from the internet, which is not a reliable source. Other than that I was expressing my opinion on the original post and the things that they student said.

Mental Health is definitely an area that is in need of practitioners in most areas and since you are already have experience this will make it easier for you. I worked 3 days a week 36 hours and it was hard but I know 5 days a week would be impossible since I averaged 2 days a week for clinical and this was in an FNP program. Its a hard decision to make especially since after you are done you may feel like you have job opportunities where you work but in order to go back to school, 40 hours is too much. So you have to ask yourself, do I really want to do this? I stayed at a hospital during my schooling that I did not want to be at but the schedule allowed me to finish school and the 2 years went by fast. I would say do what you have to do to get where you want to be in your career. The sooner the better because the field of Nurse Practioners with all the nurses going is getting more and more competitive by the day. I wish you the best.

I guess its because the internet tells you that the test measures your basic knowledge of Mathematics, Science, English and Language Usage, and Reading, however, this also would be different depending on the education you receive before college. There are many people that failed the TEAS test where I am from but passed A&P, so I think there is more to it. I do think that if you are not somewhat fluent not in English but proper English since this is what the test uses it may be a problem. Basic English classes that we take in grade school are where we are supposed to learn these skills but not everyone does. You can go to amazon.com and order books that may be able to help you with this. There are TEAS practice test online that you can use to help guide you in what you need help on. Nursing school is not easy, actually the TEAS test is easier, so in order not to waste time prepare yourself in your weak areas before you start nursing school. Most schools require some type of entrance exam, so be prepared for this. You may have to relocate if you are unable to find a school near you that will accept your failing the test twice. The nursing career is not something to take lightly. Make sure that you are at your best since this will help you in the future.

Some people feel some kind of way about people that stand up for themselves. You did nothing wrong. I have worked Salary and hourly and I was not sticking around longer than I had to in either situation. They will get over it. I mean you can always explain your stand if you think you need to, perhaps your Preceptor was offended by what you said because you were so direct, some people cannot handle this but I do not feel you should be penalized.

Do you want to be stuck on a shift that you really do not want? Are you on night shift right now, and if not are you sure you can adjust to night shift?

I see the Procedure nurse on the unit daily. The hospital has not had any central line associated infections for the past year since this Change.

There are schools that allow you to not have experience to start the NP program, Samuel Merritt is one of them, there was a student that started his program after me and was finished before me, I guess that’s all built into the program. I made a decision years ago that I wanted to wait before I started my NP program, I have been a nurse for 9 years. Most importantly though once I finished school I wanted to find a place where I could work with a Doctor that I trust. I am fortunate that I found someone who is willing to teach me what I need to know specifically for the specialty I chose. Not that I do not know things but with his experience and knowledge, working with him will make me so much better. I do believe that there needs to be requirements for admission and I do not think that every university should have an NP program. I did a lot more in my program than the other nurses that I work with who did their NP at other universities. The bottom line is that not all experience is good experience. Not all hospitals offer good experience. So regardless the outcome may still be the same as if they had no experience.

I did not have any problems except for the fact it took three months and that was with everything done correctly. I had micro and chem, I did speak to several nurses who did not have micro and could not apply. This was 4 years ago so things may have changed but I doubt it.

Even with 7 years of RN experience which is great and will help you care for patients, you are still considered a new grad when starting out. Now there is acute care NP and if you are interested in remaining in the hospital then this is what you should go for and you would probably get better pay this way. There are so many people going to school for FNP, some who started their program the first day that they became an RN, I do feel your experience will help you above them. Though you are required to maintain an RN license in order to remain an FNP, you have to think of this as a completely different career and base your expectations from that point. The pay can range from $70K-$125K a year. It all depends on your state and the practice you choose to work in. Some places can pay more because they are larger in size than another place, so more revenue. Once you figure out what area you want to work in, you can get a better idea of the pay.

I have a friend that just finished her FNP and has found a school that will allow her to do her Doctorate in mental health NP, she ask me one day did I look at the salary for this type of NP, she gave me a number that in her state is very high and this is the reason why she wanted to go for this. As long as people keep advertising money people are going to make decisions such as the one my friend is making, then eventually just like with the FNP profession now the pay will not be what it was because there are so many, and people competing for jobs will take anything. I worked in the prison system for 5 years as a nurse and it was definitely an experience. Mental Health patients are not stable, in my home town an EMT got attacked when approaching a mental health patient that was down and seemingly unresponsive, he is now blind in one eye. I don't remember mental health in my curriculum and you need to know all the mental health disorders and how to treat and deal with them. I feel like they deserve to get paid more, take it from someone who dealt with mental health patients for 5 years.

I think that the best thing to do is what has already been said and that is to review the contract carefully. I have only had experience with contracts when I was a traveling nurse and one word can make the difference sometimes. You have to do what is best for you. I live in California and trust me it is hard out here too, with so many people coming out of nursing school the lines of nurses with more than 1 year is long but the new grad line is unbelievable. The pay is better here and nurse ratios as well, so you have to weigh your options. As for your friends, they will be your friends even if they left the country if they were real friends.