xtclass08

No I am no longer in CT. Sorry npstudentct. I know how hard it is to find clinicals. That's why for my DNP I'm going to a local school that provides clinics sites. Thank God!

Hello all, so I finally found a new job with a community health center that serves the indigent population. The pay isn't that great but it's definitely a learning opportunity since they have a very sick patient population. I was told that what you see in that clinic is stuff most people only see in textbooks..... and they repay 50k in student loans so I'll take the pay cut. Anyways, thanks you guys for all the words of encouragement and advice!!

Hi Sonia, Thanks for your response. I definitely hear you. I too have considered that fact and have gone over and over what I.can do differently but nothing really sticks out. Since May I would actually have to go back through all my emails and my schedule to determine how many phone calls and interviews I've schedule but i know it's at least 15.....and that from mid-May until now and does not include places like pain management clinics that contacted me. Also, I NEVER mention the MinuteClinic. I didn't even put it on my resume because I didn't consider it to be an adequate clinical rotation

Hi Sonia, Thanks for your response. I definitely hear you. I too have considered that fact and have gone over and over what I.can do differently but nothing really sticks out. Since May I would actually have to go back through all my emails and my schedule to determine how many phone calls and interviews I've schedule but i know it's at least 15.....and that from mid-May until now and does not include places like pain management clinics that contacted me. Also, I NEVER mention the MinuteClinic. I didn't even put it on my resume because I didn't consider it to be an adequate clinical rotation

Also I did my clinical rotation at two internal medicine offices. One on/gyn office affiliated with a large teaching hospital. A pediatric office that served a high concentration of indigent children and a SNF. These were all in Florida...oh except the minute clinic that I did in the beginning....that one was in ct

BostonFNP, believe me, I asked myself the same question. The problem is sometimes before I even get to the question portion, I'm getting blocked and receiving the cold shoulder. For example, I was communicating back and forth with a certain physician owned company's hiring manager and HR representative. We talked on the phone a couple times and she did her portion of the interview via phone with questions like where do I see myself in a couple years, what type of practice am I looking for, how do you deal with noncompliant patients etc. She seemed to really like me and wanted to get me in to meet the physicians. We scheduled a date and time. I showed up 15min early as usual when I go to an interview . She, the HR representative, came out and said she would call me back in a few. I waited 25 min past my interview time until she finally came out and told me the physicians wouldn't be joining us today because they were running behind schedule at their office. Ok this was kind of a waste of my time but no problem, I sat down with the two individuals I had talked to a couple times over the phone and we went through some of their company's policies, beliefs, benefits etc. Took maybe a total of 5 min. I asked a few questions like how many patients would I be expected to see...what is the patient population like....what type of training would I receive.....etc. She then stated that she had two different locations that could be of interest to me but I needed to pick just one so they could send my resume to that group....she stated that I could still be considered for other positions but they just needed to narrow it down for the time being. My initial thought was....then exactly what physician(s) were suppose to come to THIS interview? So basically she had either lied to me earlier over the phone about a IM group being interested or she was lying at the time of the interview when she said they (the physicians) were delayed at their office. The total interview lasted a total of 10min with very little interaction on their part. At the end she stated she would give me a call on Tuesday after she sent the resume off. Tuesday rolled around didn't hear anything. So I sent a follow-up email on Thursday thanking them for their time and telling them I look forward to hearing from them. Later that day I received an email back from the hiring manager that stated that that particular office had decided to go with a NP that they had already met but they would keep my resume on file for other opportunities. Of course I continued to apply for other jobs and I noticed online that this particular company had plenty of new opportunities available for new grads. Even though they stated they were keeping my resume on file I applied anyways and shot the hiring manager an email. Never heard back from her again. Despite the fact that she originally stated over the phone she liked my "bubbly personality", my resume and critical care skills were excellent blah blah blah. Now it could be they just had more qualified candidates but I can't shake the feeling of the way they treated me when they first met me in person.

Zmansc, it is interesting that you asked that. No I did not do most of my clinicals in NE. I spent one semester at MinuteClinic and it was awful. I learned absolutely nothing other than how to do an assessment (which I already knew how to do). My preceptor was also a nightmare. I attempted to find clinicals at an actual practice, but I could not find anyone willing to take on a student unfortunately. My father is a physician in FL so I had to move back there for a year and do clinicals with a lot of his colleagues (they were of all different races. Some were AA, some were caucasian, and some were middle eastern). I had no trouble in Florida, but I think that was mostly because I had connections. I received very positive feedback from every single one of them and even received two job offers (which I would have taken had I not had to move back to CT).

I should also add that I can understand people wanting to go with practitioners they feel most comfortable with. I mean some women will only go to other women for ob/gyn purposes, and many people feel more comfortable and have more trust in people they feel they can relate to.

No, you will never feel "completely ready". In fact, I didn't even think I passed the AANP exam after I took it so I was really surprised when it said I passed . If you have been studying for 8 hours a day for 6 weeks then you are as ready as you ever will be. Take a deep breath, relax, hope for the best and good luck!! I am sure you will do great!!!!

So this thread is really just a vent. I graduated May 3rd and immediately took the boards nearly a week later. I passed, and then I immediately started applying to NP jobs. I was pessimistic in the beginning because I thought that since I attended an online university (despite the fact that it was a pretty good school), I would have trouble landing a job in this particular area since there was so many great nursing schools in the area (i.e UConn, UMass, Farfield, Quinnipiac, Yale etc). However, it was quite the opposite.. I received so many call backs, phone interviews, and scheduled a ridiculous amount of in-person interviews. Unfortunately none of those in-person interviews resulted in me being hired. It was really puzzling to me because these individuals sounded so eager to get me in and hire me, but the moment they met me their demeanors changed immediately. At first I thought that I must be doing something inappropriate in the in-person interview process, but what? I was dressed appropriately with dress pants a button down dress shirt and a business jacket or sweater. My shoes were appropriate. I had no inappropriate tattoos or piercings showing. I arrived 15 minutes before the the interview. I brought extra resumes and typed questions. I made sure to smile and make everyone feel comfortable. I just did not get why the in-person interviews always resulted in the cold shoulder. I shrugged off the idea that it had to do with my race, but I kept getting this uneasy feeling that people were "surprised" when they met me. Then I talked to another minority NP who informed me that it didn't necessarily have to do with race, but who the practice's patient population felt "most comfortable with". NE has a very large population of whites (higher than the national average, and not a lot of A.A (Especially in my area which is Avon). So naturally practitioners will tend to see a substantial amount of older caucasian adults. She said that this population feels most comfortable around white male practitioners unfortunately and if the patients do not feel comfortable around you they will not want to see you which means you are not an asset to their practice. So armed with that information, I decided to look for AA physicians and NP to practice with. I found a total of 3. One of which I already new of before hand. She is a pediatrician and hired me on the spot without applying (go figure!), and that would be great if my background was mostly adults and geri and peds is not my strong point. Another physician was an internist who works under a contract, along with 5 or 6 other physician, with Yale and they don't really need NPs at his practice since they use residents. The last one was definitely a no go since he was no longer practicing medicine and was a convicted felon for sexual assault charges. Now I know plenty of NPs who have had to wait a year or more to find someone to hire them (but they are usually ANPs or AGNPs) so I should give it some time. Plus I can always work peds if necessary, but I am so very frustrated and angry with what has occurred so far with my finding-a-job process. It would be different if I received little to no call-backs, or if when I did receive a call-back I never got asked to actually come in an interview, but that's not the case, and sometimes when I do come in for an interview they tell me the most apparent lies. Its almost insulting. Ugh!!! Okay I am done with this vent. Am I the only one experiencing this? And is that one NP right?

I took the AANP. We were given 150 questions and 15 of those questions did not count. Everyone has told me the same thing ....your actual score doesn't matter yet they still send you your actual score. Maybe the scoring is given for those who are unfortunate and don't pass the exam?? I guess we will never really know the reasons behind receiving an actual score.

So I took my boards May 12 and I passed. Yesterday I received my actual scores in the mail. Once I looked at my actual score I kept wondering how did this fare compared to other NPs who took the test and does anybody really care what I scored on this test? Every book that I have read and every NP that I have talked to has said that the actual score does not matter....but if the actual score doesn't really matter then why not just give everyone a pass or fail? Why give everyone an actual number score? This number has to be important to someone right?

I feel you Jessica. I actually had to move back to Florida for clinicals from Connecticut to find decent clinicals. CT has so many schools ( Yale, Fairfeild, Quinnipiac, UConn etc) that finding clinicals was impossible. It also didn't help that New York and Mass aren't too far.

I think minute clinic was only good for health assessment. Beyond that, you will not get a good clinical experience with minute clinic. This is just my opinion though.

Georgetown does have an online MSN-FNP program. After the completion of the program you can sit for the boards and will be licensed as a nurse practitioner.

Only if I didn't get enough sleep. Sometimes if I woke up early worked out and went to work. I would be exhausted and then when I came home to go to sleep the next morning my muscles would be extremely sore. Also, if you workout before work make sure you drink plenty of water/fluids during you shift. Otherwise you are asking for a crap load of muscle aches, pains, and cramps. I know nurses (especially in busy hospitals) have a hard time staying hydrated and what not.

yeah hopefully.... like I said I have never done it be4 but there is a first for everything. If they give me a slap on the wrist for this one, I promise I wont even put my hands in my pocket while I'm at work!

So I guess there is a first for everything. I am a Resource Nurse who works in the critical care and med/surg float pool, so of course I get the crappiest patient loads and some of the worst patients ever. I worked the other night and had three "VIP" patients (we label drug seekers or high-dose narcotic users as VIP), the first admission, and fresh post-op. Needless to say I was giving pain meds nonstop. I never complain and I really do try to do everything possible for my patients. One of my patients even made me write the time on the board so she knew exactly when to call (which was q2hrs for 2mg IV Dilaudid, q4hrs for 1mg of ativan, and 12.5mg of Phenergan every 6hrs). The other two VIPs were getting oxycontin, methadone, dilaudid, cymbalta, ativan, serouquel and xanax. Anyways to get to the point of the story two of my VIPs were on the call bell non stop, and one of the in the middle of my shift started crying and yelling uncontrollably. At first I was going to give 2tabs of 2mg Dilaudid, but then decided against it because I had already given her dilaudid 3.5 hours previously, she was scheduled to get her cymbalta, methadone, oxycontin, and xanax all at the same time. She had already been narcan'ed one the previous day because she was so heavily medicated so I didn't want another episode on my shift. Right as I am signing out of the COW in the room my other patient literally begins screaming and the bed alarm goes off. Of course, I kinda freaked out put the med in my pocket (I know BAAAD NURSE) and ran down the hall. Once I saw she was okay and she was screaming for attention-- I calmed her down, straightened her out in the bed, turned the bed alarm back on and left to head to the pyxis. I get to the pyxis and I cant find not one nurse willing or able to witness the med return despite going up and down the hall for a couple minutes. Of course I didn't get too much time because VIP patient #3 starts with the call bell and the wailing and the pulling of the foley so I tended to my patient and completely forgot about what was in my pocket. i didn't get time to clock out for break of course and i didn't wind up leaving till well after an hour my shift was over *sigh*. Got home after 2am (I stay 45 minutes away from my job and I had to stop at CVS bc my husband informs me our youngest was covered in some crazy looking rash and was itching like crazy), took of my scrubs and BAM! Out pops the pills. I'm pretty sure the look on my face was priceless. I call the hospital pharmacy 2:50am in the morning...no one picks up and I called the floor....no one picks up. Barely slept the rest of the night because I felt like such a retard for bringing home a narc and my son was miserable. I call again at 7am and reach the pharmacist and tell them what happened. She puts me through to the nurse supervisor who informs me "Well I am not sure what but this has never happened." (Way to go me!!) "But you obviously have to bring it in so it can be wasted." I said ok, but I got to get my son looked at first. She scoffed and said that was unacceptable and to bring it in immediately.....I love my job but I love my son more so they were pretty ****** when I didn't show up till a couple hours later. Please tell me I am not the only crazy nurse who has ever done this?! After all this I think I need a vacay!

I always worked out before my shift started. I started doing insanity so I would wake up at 4 or 5pm , workout for about an hour get ready for work and be there from 7pm to 7am. By the time I got home I was EXHAUSTED.

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Not really. I just recently moved to the CT area and work as a resource RN so I work everywhere and don't see the same physicians or providers consistently. Also, CT does not seem to have a whole lot of practicing FNPs. My school requires it be in a primary care setting since I am doing family practice. I have been a nurse for over 5 years now (mainly critical care) but like I said I recently moved up here from florida and don't really have rapport established with any providers.

Yeah you're right Christine. A lot of the students thats go to ISU and are located in Indiana have no problems finding their preceptors. I also find that some states use NPs less than others and PAs are highly favored (CT happens to be in that categpry). Places like Florida (wheee I am originally from), NY and the DMV area preceptors are a lot easier to find.

Do you know why? is it bc they found online students to be less informed? thats weird. ..there are some really good online fnp programs (I.e Georgetown). My school is ranked in thw top 75 nationally so that's a bit disheartening to hear. Also, what facility is this, if you don't mind me asking?

I am a NP student at Indiana Statte University. I recently started my clinicals for Health Assessment in CT. It took me forever to find someone who would take me but eventually I found a pediatrician's office and applied for the MinuteClinic NP student program. The pediatrician was awesome. He took his time to teach me things (as preceptors should do) and made sure I had enough time to do my own assessment and learn what I needed to. The preceptor at MinuteClinic was not as good, in my opinion. We didn't get a long very well and I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that she disapproved of me being from an online program. In fact, she stated on a couple of occasions that she had her "doubts about doing a program like FNP online" and "how credible is this school?" It was irritating, unprofessional, and belittling (among other things). I found myself constatntly having to prove myself and defend myself. We both wind up giving each other less than stellar reviews, but lucky for me my track record speaks for itself and I had documentation of her behavior and lack of knowledge. Unfortunately, I think I may have gotten her into some serious trouble with her boss (which I honestly did not mean to do). I was wondering if anyone else has come across an issue like this when coming from an online program?

I am in a FNP program at Indiana State University. I am in my fourth semester and required to find my own preceptor and clinical site. I was having such a hard time that I decided to come on allnurses.com to see if I could get some guidance. I saw a couple of people who said the preceptorconnect worked for them. So, me being desperate, I went ahead contacted preceptor connect. At first, they responded right away and thoroughly to my emails, but after I paid them my money and filled out that stupid little form. I heard nothing from them. They said they would keep me updated but I always had to beg and harass them to get an update. When I asked who they contacted they said that was confidential information. I come to realize some 4 to 5 months later that I was being ripped off. At this point I have contacted paypal (that is who I paid them through), the BBB, and IC3 to let them know what happened. I also found out the information about who is running the company and contacted the individual. Of course they denied any involvement to begin with so I was sure then that this business was not credible. They have consistently lied to other people as well. I had posted this earlier, but it seems someone removed this information. I want to make sure everyone knows to be careful with this company!! I would not waste my money on them again. Chances are you will not hear from them again!!