Alisabeth

That’s great! How are the clinical rotations handled? Do you find your own preceptor, does the school assist? Interested in this program.

I live in Miami- no. I live right in the Brickell (downtown) area where the metro rail, and metro mover are heavily used. Insist on a rental car. The Miami public transportation is not like New York.

I’m a locum as well. I have done multiple locums all over Florida. I’m staring another locum in Miami this summer. Southwest Fl, the market is tough if you’re not bilingual. However they still have corporales health, corrections locums that don’t require you to speak Spanish or Creole. Sometimes the Florida locum companies that are based in Florida have more Florida contracts.

I am a surgical NP, an I absolutely love my job. I was an OR nurse, and I agree with Alicia777 it really helps you get your foot in the door. I am family nurse practitioner, because I did not want me to have limits on the patient ages I could see. I am a travel nurse practitioner, and everyone once in awhile I run into hospitals that only want Acute Care NP for a surgical setting. I do not have my RNFA, but I think it is very valuable to have. Would love to hear how your interview turned out, keep use posted!!

I have been doing locums work as an NP for several years now, and I love it. The hourly pay to me seems to depends on the location and specialty. Family practice typically pays less, surgical assignments pay higher. Some companies are W2, others are 1099. Family practice/urgent care I've made in the range for W2- $60- $65/hr, and as 1099 $65-$75/hr. For surgical assignments I've made in the range for W2 $65-$80/hr, and 1099 range $75-$110/hr. Locum companies will also pay for malpractice, and all travel including; flight, baggage, mid size rental car, fully furnished apartment or Residence inn Marriott type hotel. There are a few cons to consider, not all travel/locum tenen companies provide health insurance or a retirement plan, so keep that in mind.

Yes, I am a FNP who travels. I traveled as an RN and wanted to continue as an FNP. You're right it is very hard to find information for traveling nurse practitioners. Below is the link to my post regarding traveling as an NP. I had posted this previously on the NP forum for allnurses. There are many great opportunities with different companies. The pay is excellent, and of course they cover travel, rental car, housing, malpractice. Some assignments even take new grad NPs. I have been traveling for the past few years and love it. I am licensed in several states, and have worked in a variety of specialties and settings. Feel free to PM me for any questions. Also, for traveling assignments for NP google- Locum Tenen Nurse Practitioner. It's not under travel nursing for NP as it is for RN. https://allnurses.com/travel-nursing/nurse-practitioner-travel-574109.html#post5206983

Definitely keep your NICU PRN job, sounds like it works well with your school schedule. My BF was a NICU RN for 4 years before she became an Adult NP. She had no problem transitioning over. Your NP clinicals will help you feel more comfortable and gain adult experience. Good luck!

Have you considered doing a locum/travel assignment? Some assignments take new grads . It could help you get some NP experience and locums always pays way more than a regular job. Just a thought. The FL job market is awful :-/ and most jobs here want you to be fluent in Spanish.

I had all my paperwork into the Texas BON- so they were just waiting on my test results. I had my Tx license within a month. Congratulations!!

Congratulations on your acceptance! FNP/ACNP were together in some of the same classes, so you will get to know people in both programs. The job market is tough in SoFL, especially if you are not fully fluent in Spanish. However, a lot of my friends in my program were able to find amazing jobs. I don't know how the market is for acute care, or if this would apply to you since hospital employee positions are usually hired through job postings. I found my job by sending out my CV to 20 neurosurgery private practices in SoFl. I had no idea if they were hiring or not. I had an overwhelming response and request for interviews. I ended up having to choose from 3 amazing job offers. I'm not sure what area you are looking to work in acute care, but I know you will have so many opportunities in the setting you choose. Apply early, and be looking online at job postings throughout your program so you know whats out there when you are ready to apply. Good luck in your program!

The UM FNP program is tough. I think they make it that way to ensure their 100% passing rate on the board exam. The first semester is the most difficult and heaviest class workload. I think once you make it through the first semester it's gets much better the last two semesters. The faculty is very supportive, and work with the students. Most students worked part time or per diem as an RN. I would not recommend working full time. If you need to work full time, look into the part time option. I received a full scholarship so I was blessed and did not have to work while in class. I did not have children when I was in the program. Several people did have children, but they were in the part time program. Hope this helps!

The UM FNP program is tough. I think they make it that way to ensure their 100% passing rate on the board exam. The first semester is the most difficult and heaviest class workload. It was referred to as the "weed out" semester. Out of 37 students in my program, I believe 4-5 had to switch to the part time program. The 4-5 that failed a class and had to go to the part time program were working full time, some had language barriers that I think made test/power point presentations more difficult for them. The program is not impossible, and I think once you make it through the first semester it gets much better the last two semesters. The faculty is very supportive, and work with the students. I never felt like I was being set up to fail. Example; my first patho test I made an 83, and 84 is passing. I immediately had the professor setting up an appointment with me, as well as two other faculty advisors. They went over my test, study plan, assured me not to stress out, and kept tabs on me the rest of the semester. It was nice to have the extra support. Most students worked part time or per diem as an RN. I would not recommend working full time. If you need to work full time, look into the part time program. The best thing about the UM program for me was the variety of clinical rotations to choose from. I along with several other students knew we didn't just want to have the basic family practice/womens/peds only clinical experience. We were able to branch out into other areas for our clinical rotations, surgery, neurology, infectious disease, ER, dermatology, etc. That was great!

The great thing about being an NP, is you can move around to different practice settings and specialities. I think you're gaining very valuable experience in the ER, and you can always move to a clinic setting if you want to!

I graduated from UMiami in 2009. The job market was depressing back then as well. I would apply for everything with no luck. I was also not fluent in Spanish, so that was a huge factor in not being able to find a job. What finally worked for me and I recommend everyone doing this. I sent out 20 CVs and cover letters to random clinics I wanted to work, from South Miami to Fort Lauderdale. I had no idea if they were hiring, but I had nothing to lose. I wanted to work for a private neurosurgery practice. I had an overwhelming response. Out of 20 letters I sent out, 16 responded requesting interviews. This is how I found my first job as an NP. I even had to narrow it down and choose from 3 amazing offers I had received to pick my first job. My classmates saw what a good response I had through doing this, that they did this as well with family practice, pediatrics, plastic surgery, etc. They were also able to find their first jobs as well. Make sure you are also looking on indeed, enp network, and surprisingly Craigslist has NP job postings as well. Hope you find something soon!

I think you would do very well as a PA or NP. You have to pick the program that fits you the best, and I would take the length of completion into consideration. I wanted to reply to your post because I want to make sure you know NPs can jump to different subspecialties very easily. I am a Family NP. My main/favorite specialty is surgery, specifically neurosurgery. However, I am a travel/locum tenen NP and have worked in multiple specialties in my various contracts including ER/urgent care, family practice, orthopedics, neurology, In surgery and Orthopedic/neurology I also work and round in the ICU. I just didn't want you to think you would be stuck in only family practice, if you became an NP or FNP. I have met many other NPs in my travel assignments who have also worked in multiple subspecialties as well. Whether you go for PA or NP, you will do great. Good luck!

Malpractice is very expensive, especially depending on your state. If you can afford it, it would only benefit you to have your own. From what I have been told and understand, if you purchase your own malpractice insurance you will be defended and protects to the fullest extent. If you have your employers/hospital malpractice they will defend you and protect you but at the same time they are also looking out for the best interest of the hospital or your employer. Also, be aware every state is very different in terms of malpractice and lawsuits.

You are going to be fine! Someone from your new office needs to sit down with you and go over the billing codes for about 15-20 minutes. Billing seems complicated at first, buts its really not and you will notice you use a lot of the same codes over and over again. I use Epocrates for my drug reference. Take a small notebook with you to jot down notes. It may seem a little scary at first but within a few weeks, you will be thinking how silly it was to be so nervous. You are going to do great!!

I am a neurosurgery NP, and absolutely love it. I round in the hospital including the ICU, consults, clinic, and first assist in the OR. The OR is my favorite part of the job. With your valuable ICU NP experience, you will be able to pick up first assist skills very quickly. I think receiving another specialty experience will only make you an even stronger NP, as well as more marketable. You might even be able to work out with the neurosurgery job, a way to keep up your ICU procedure skills. I have seen that happen before where they let a surgical NP in the ICU do intubations, LP, chest tubes, every so often to keep up their skills.

I've been doing locums for awhile. No experience forming an LLC/S corp though. Your not alone in the locums:) What companies do you use?

I went straight into my DNP from my MSN, and don't regret it. I think it was easier since I was already in "school mode". I think I only had 2 weeks off in between both programs. It was easy enough studying for my boards/school work at the same time. After passing my boards I started my first NP job, and worked full time and completed my DNP. I think if you know what want to do the DNP just go for it, and get it out of the way. Good luck!!

I think it helps to have a variety of study materials/books. However, on the AANP exam there were several Fitzgerald practice questions from the book on the exam- word for word. So definitely use that one too. Good luck, you will be great!

I am a graduate of UM- FNP program. I also have several friends who did the FNP program at FIU and Barry. Put it this way, you get what you pay for. I have not heard anything negative about Barry, but I don't know if they have a full time FNP program yet, it was only a 3 year part time when I was looking for a program. My friend who is still in the 3 year FNP program wished she would have gone full time and finished faster, 3 years has seemed to drag on to her. FIU- my friends were not happy that for every clinical rotation they had to find their own preceptor. Usually that will only be in a private practice office, if you want a preceptor in a hospital or academic setting FIU would have to pay for a contract to send students to that location which they will not do. I don't know exactly what their passing rate is, but 2 out of 3 of my friends failed their FNP boards. UM has a 100% passing rate, which was important to me. We had a huge variety of clinical rotations to choose from, and did not have to find our own preceptor. Yes, it's expensive but it's worth it for the length of the program (11 months), education, and clinical experience. I think everyone in my program received some type of small scholarship for each of the 3 semester. Good luck!!

I have used PPR for travel assignments as an RN and now as a NP for the past 4 years. They are amazing!! The pay varies on the assignment. I did several last minute "emergency need" assignments, that paid very high when I was an RN. I only had one RN assignment in Fl that seemed to be a bit low paying, I know FL the state is low paying in general though. Their housing is so much better than with other companies I have traveled with. They check in frequently with you, send you care packages/gift cards, and always advocate for you. I highly recommend them.

Key Largo and Marathon are both in the keys and have travel assignments frequently. PPRHealthcare and Access Nurses (which I believe is now AYA travel nurse), both have assignments there. I usually see ICU/OR positions available. Right now in Florida it is "low season" so there are not as many jobs. High season begins after hurricane season is over November 1st. That is the time you will see a lot more positions become available due to the snow birds coming to FL.

I was in the middle of my DNP program when I interviewed and accepted my first position as a NP. The neurosurgeon I worked with was supportive and proud I was completing my doctorate. The surgeon and entire office even threw me a graduation party when I completed my DNP program. He worked with my schedule for class/clinicals and gave me the time off I needed. He did not take the time I needed off from my vacation/continuing education time either. I am now a travel nurse practitioner and have worked with many physicians of various specialties all over the nation. I have been pleasantly suprised how the physicians I work with have been respectful and supportive of me having a DNP. They ask questions and what to know more about the degree. I have yet to come across a physician who has had something negative to say. Unfortunately, the most negative comments/criticism regarding the DNP have come from fellow nurses. Good luck and be proud of the fact you are working towards a doctorate degree!!