greygooseuria

I personally think RN experience is helpful when starting out as an NP for reasons others have stated. You can get a feel for what you're dealing with in different situations after you've seen several MIs, COPD exacerbations, seizures, hypoglycemias, etc etc etc. The repeated exposure will definitely help you early on as an NP AND in school. Will you eventually level out in your career to that of an RN that had experience before becoming an NP? Likely yes. But I was like you- I didn't go to med school because I had to take care of my ailing grandfather, so I chose nursing school instead and did a second degree BSN, then worked as a nurse and went back to get my MSN. I was an NP by 27. Trust me, you'll be fine doing this route. I've precepted both DE and "traditional" students who are RNs and the RNs are by far and away the better students in clinicals. The DE students, I found, needed lots of hand-holding and just didn't really get "it" during clinicals. They just were way far behind simple things like knowing how to do a good physical assessment that the RN had to do several times a week at their job. It definitely took some work getting them up to speed on diagnosing and by the end of the semester they were usually where the RN students were 2-3 weeks in to the semester with intensive teaching/guidance. They slowed down my days so much that I really only take students who have significant RN experience under their belt now though. I've seen DE NPs who are newly graduated also struggle for the first 2-3 years at their jobs as well until they finally start to find their feet, while I do not know of any of my classmates that had similar issues graduating having worked as RNs. Again, this is all anecdotal, but RN experience is definitely worth it.

I'm getting my MBA now, then my DNP. My employer definitely is valuing the MBA, I think, though my practice medical director urged I get both since having a doctorate in nursing will put me "at the top of my field" degree-wise.

Hey all, so I work in an outpatient family med office, and we're currently experiencing a backlog of referrals to ENT providers. I was wondering if anyone knows of how one gets certified to/can have their office buy the equipment to do flexible nasal endoscopies in the office to help with diagnosis of chronic sinusitis problems etc. I've had one done to me and it seemed no more difficult than an NG tube, which I excel at, so I'd like to get trained and start offering this to patients so they don't have a wait as I see A LOT of allergic rhinitis and other ENT patients on a daily basis and it would help so much. Any ideas?

7. I'm doing an MSN-DNP program part time so it's basically 1-2 classes a semester.

I am debating dropping out of my DNP program (in the first semester) and this thread is making me want to do it even more. I find the classes so....useless.

Real estate is actually one of the riskiest places to invest in (see: the housing bubble). Also, your income is at the mercy of your tenants. If they don't pay, you have to go through a whole eviction process which does not favor the landlord in many states.

I'm in primary care, not psych, but when I am dealing with patients with depression and psychiatric disorders and they start crying, I'll often lean in and put a hand on their shoulder, knee, etc. and they often hug me since I've validated their feelings/told them they're normal and not to be too hard on themselves for feeling depressed/having some disorder. I'm not going to avoid touching them; they would interpret that as opposite what I was just saying to them. In my psych RN clinicals I was always told to use therapeutic touch whenever possible too and it's never steered me wrong so far. I've found patients usually appreciate it.

I'm 100k in student loan debt, but that is from my first two bachelors PLUS my MSN. My payment is about $700/month (on the 30 year fixed plan) and is manageable, but I would feel MUCH better not having it/paid out of pocket for my MSN (which was unfortunately not an option due to family circumstances). I'd go to a state school and do it slowly and pay it off as you go, that is the best bet.

I can't believe llg called me out on my advice but not this. Don't buy bonds? Bonds are stable investment vehicles and great for those close to retirement. They also change in value inversely to interest rates, so if you buy a bond when interest rates are high, if interest rates plummet you'll be able to sell that bond for a huge profit and use the income to invest in something else (provided the time to maturity on the bond isn't nearing its end anyway). Also, stocks do not have clear patterns, otherwise we wouldn't have stock brokers and analysts and hedge funds, et cetera. "What goes up must come down; what goes down must come back up" does not apply to every stock. Also, if the market was earning a return of say, 10%, and you only had student loan debt at 5%, it would be silly to pay off debt faster and not invest since you could be earning 5% more investing. With interest rates low now, it makes more sense to pay off (interest accruing) debt faster, but that isn't always the case.

There's a psych hospital near me that contributes 15.65% of your yearly salary to a retirement fund for you in addition to a 401k match. If only I were credentialed as a PMHNP *sigh*

I appreciate your comments, but it's not solely a personal finance class at a community college I've taken; I've just finished my prerequisite classes I've been taking for an MBA (I completely all the courses required for a BS in finance, minus the general elective stuff). While I do know Suze advised against bond funds, they've been performing remarkably well for a long time, and it depends on what type of bonds they are. For example, the Cali Muni Bond Fund I mentioned has been earning much better returns than average. I've also been making way better a return than the market right now due to how I'm investing. The advice I gave on 401ks and Roths is also sound. If people think they'll be earning less in retirement than they're making now, then sure, a 401k makes sense. However, tax rates can increase, plus you'll be drawing from a 401k AND social security which can increase your taxable income. If you know your income won't be higher in retirement and you'll be in a lower tax bracket, than yes, a 401k makes more sense than a Roth IRA or 401k (though I think people should have a 401k AND a Roth if their income allows). Obviously the advice I gave was general and not tailored toward a specific person. You make it seem like I'm out to ruin people's lives and that's just not the case (but that is the tone I felt you conveyed).

You're kidding, right? It is NOT hard to kill a patient, at all. Prescribed an ACE inhibitor to someone but didn't check their potassium and it was already high and they love eating bananas and potatoes? Very easily could become an arrythmia. I have seen numerous patients have godawful outcomes due to well-intentioned practitioners not knowing enough. Peeing blood due to putting someone on warfarin on levaquin as well? Seen it. Care and compassion ARE NOT the most important factors in being a good healthcare provider, knowledge and skill are. I've had surgery twice this year, and trust me, I went to the BEST surgeon in the area even though he's known for being a socially awkward jerk. No complaints here, as his surgical skill was great. My other surgeon was amazing and compassionate in care, but I cared more that he came highly recommended as the best in his field, even though he was a socially awkward jerk. I don't know about you, but I went to college with people who graduated and I wouldn't trust them to care for a pet rock, let alone a human being. Not requiring the GRE, not having weed out classes to get rid of the weak....that is a problem.

I'm fairly certain I worked for the company you're talking about. PM me.

No, you'll be fine. Providers are rarely assaulted, even in psych. Drug seekers worry me more than those with mental illness. Someone with a psychiatric disorder is far more dangerous to themselves than others. Psych NPs make great salaries and you can work outpatient managing schizophrenia/ADHD/bipolar/depression/etc and not work inpatient. And you'll always be employed considering the need for it. I only know of one nurse whose ever been assaulted by a psych patient, and he was on bath salts when he did so. Never known any psych NP to be assaulted, or psychiatrist for that matter.

I think the proliferation of online schools will do us in, plus lowering requirements all around. Direct entry programs should be gotten rid of completely. Do I know direct entry grads from my program that were amazing in school and now in practice? Yes, but they were a small minority of the students in the direct entry program. I've mentored direct entry students who were new grads, and they fumbled for the first few years of practice, and that is all it takes to start leaving a bad impression with employers. And I GET that people have hopes and dreams and need something that fits their life because they have kids. I get it. But as an NP, you are in charge of people's LIVES. We can make life or death choices, have to make accurate diagnoses, know when to refer, know when an endocrine condition is mimicking something that we thought was cardio/neuro/something else. I take my job VERY seriously. And I'm sorry to say, NP school should not cater to those that need flexible mommy schedules. You want to be a mom? Great. But NP school shouldn't go online or change how it runs to make life easier for you. Wait until your kids are older to go back to school, or delay having kids until your career goals are met. Lowering standards shouldn't be the option. And not everyone deserves to be an NP; if you don't have the brains for it, you shouldn't be doing it. All the whining I see over in threads about not passing boards makes me cringe. NP boards, to me, were miles easier than the NCLEX (and I finished the NCLEX in 75 questions in 30 minutes). If you cannot pass boards, you are not safe to practice, point blank. Stop complaining about what the world owes you if you can't pass muster. YOU'RE the problem, not the exam, not the profession.