bayouchick02

Agreed in regards to the above poster. You sound like you have a great gig to me!

Hello all, I've been working as an NP for a few months now in the retail setting, and whole I love what I do, I keep getting sick! Any advice on how to keep this from happening? I am always very meticulous about washing my hands, wiping down door knobs, counter tops, phones, and I even wear a mask with those who come in coughing. I've never been one to get sick until I started working here, and it sucks! And yes, I am a brand new NP.

I absolutely love working in retail for those reasons you mentioned above. I love the no call aspect as well as managing acute conditions. I don't care for chronics, but there are many people who beg to differ. Retail may be too slow for some, so it really depends what u wanna do

I feel the same way!! I think it's better to send them to the ER and it turn out to be nothing than for you not to send them and the patient deteriorates.....I question everything too. People tell me it will get better with time. I sure hope so because I sure hate feeling like I don't know anything!

^^^what they said. I went to a state school and paid about $20-25k out of pocket. Excellent pass rate for boards. It all depends on your current situation

My thoughts exactly...... I just never know what each night might bring!

See, that's what I'm unsure about. They said it can be an average of 5 calls throughout the night, on an average night. I feel that I'd be on edge every night the month I'm on call as I wait for those calls to come in. I'm just a little uneasy about this

On call meaning you carry a pager and respond to all phone calls during the night.....there's no extra incentive for this

I interviewed for a position today at a pedi clinic, which is where I'd love to work. Everything so far sounded good except for the on call responsibilities. It's 4 providers in the group who rotate, each rotation lasting one month. Is this reasonable? While you won't be on call for 2-3 months at a time, when its your turn , it's a full month of carrying around that pager. I almost wanna suck it up and do it, but I don't wanna burn out either. Thanks!

First off, remember to breathe!! Lol. I understand the anxiety, but that much of it will interfere with your test taking. Before every test, I always said a little prayer to help get me through. That definitely calmed my nerves which allowed me to adequately think through each answer choice. Oh yeah, be sure to read each question carefully and read all answer choices before answering. Once u select an answer, DO NOT CHANGE IT! I can't tell you the number of times I've missed a question that I originally had correct because I changed it! Good luck, I hope this helps :-)

EverGraceRN, I would not even worry about that! I've been a Level III NICU RN for nearly 5 years myself, and I just completed the FNP program. My only experience is NICU (as well some mother/baby and NBN). I had the same fears as you, but honestly, your role as an NP is different from that of a staff RN anyway. Plus, you learn a lot of that stuff in school. Yes, it was a bit of a learning curve for me, and I even had one of my professors try to put me down for it, but in the end yes your experience would be seen as an asset. I know of a nurse that I used to work with, also a NICU (Level 2) nurse who completed her PNP program with only NICU experience. She's now working at a pediatric clinic and she loves it! You should go for it, and don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise!

Same with the AANP

Yaaaaaay! It's a wonderful feeling to be done, isn't it? You get to have a life again!! Congratulations!!

You're in my prayers, my friend! If I could do it, so can you! :-)

Yes, I passed my exam yesterday! I think I only had one non clinical based question. I studied using Fitzgerald like you said and did fine. Thanks for responding! I'm so glad that part of my life is now over!! I can have a life again!! :-)

Yeah, that's pretty much what I do right now! Lol.....and yes I do study in chunks like that. It helps me retain the info better. Thanks for all the support!

Thank you so much for the info!

For those out there studying, try the familynpprep.com website. I'm currently using that, and they have practice tests for the ANCC exam as well.

Okay, that's what I thought....Thanks for responding, and good luck to you too! :)

I posted this in another area on this forum with no responses, so I decided to post here in hopes of getting some answers :-) My exam is in a few days, and as I prepare, I am freaking out big time! it's to the point where I can only sleep in short spurts, and I have to force myself to eat because my nerves are so bad! I guess I'm so nervous because I dont really know what to expect on the exam. I've been doing lots of review questions from Fitzgerald (listened to her CDs and went through her entire review book), Hollier's Q&A book (even though many of the questions were repetitive), in addition to the familynpprep.com questions too. I am seeing a lot of health policy, theory, and some research type of questions on that website; I was under the impression that the AANP does not really test on that. For those of you who have taken the AANP exam, did you find some theory/research/health policy questions on there in addition to the clinical stuff? If so, where is a good place to review that information? Thanks! (I feel like I'm going in sane here!)

So my exam is in a few days, and as I prepare, I am freaking out big time! it's to the point where I can only sleep in short spurts, and I have to force myself to eat because my nerves are so bad! I guess I'm so nervous because I dont really know what to expect on the exam. I've been doing lots of review questions from Fitzgerald (listened to her CDs and went through her entire review book), Hollier's Q&A book (even though many of the questions were repetitive), in addition to the familynpprep.com questions too. I am seeing a lot of health policy, theory, and some research type of questions on that website; I was under the impression that the AANP does not really test on that. For those of you who have taken the AANP exam, did you find some theory/research/health policy questions on there in addition to the clinical stuff? If so, where is a good place to review that information? Thanks! (I feel like I'm going in sane here!)

I'm in a similar boat as you...when is your test? what savings code are you using and for which website? I'm currently doing practice questions on family np prep.com, in addition to going thru the entire Fitzgerald book and CDs. I also bought Hollier's CDs and listened to that. I'm averaging 75% on these tests so far, and I feel like I still don't know much. I'm contemplating on purchasing that test on APEA.com for more practice....exam is next week. I feel as if even if I had a year to study, I'd feel the same way! Good luck to you, praying that we'll pass on test day! we're all in this together!

What I meant to say was: did you notice a lot of health policy as well as theory and research based questions on your exam? (Sorry for the half written post above, my iPad wasn't co-operating with me today). I noted quite a few on the family np prep website and I'm not quite sure where else to review that material.

As well as theory and some research based stuff. I thought this was only gonna be on the ANCC exam, not the AANP. Did you find those type of questions on the AANP exam as well? Thanks for all the info, you have been such a big help!

This is good to know! Thank you for sharing .....I take mine in a couple weeks, and I'm a little nervous! I've been doing Hollier CDs, Fitzgerald CDs, and her workbook, in addition to practice questions at familynpprep.com. These topics are comply asked questions on the familynpprep.com website too, so I know where to focus my studying.