A&OxNone MSN, RN

I've been an NP for about 3 months now. I make about 30k/year more as an NP, but I also work a lot more hours (usually about 50 hours a week) and as a previous person said, obsess a little about things when I'm home. BUT, I typically enjoy my work mo...

Primary care all the way! I tell people only to acute care if critical care is what you want. I know plenty of primary care people that work in all those areas. Good luck!

Two points I think I was trying to make in my last post that I didn't do a very good job being clear - and this is me under the assumption you want to go back to school and haven't started yet or are fairly early in your training as an APP - First is...

My sister has endometriosis and goes to a gynecologist that suddenly decided to stop prescribing birth control, no matter what the condition. I would also like to clarify that this wasn't part of a religious healthcare system, it was just because of ...

In my state, the only thing that getting a primary care degree prevents you from doing is PICU, really, and thats mostly just because of preference. They actually care more about RN experience in PICU than they care about an acute care degree usually...

I would also like to add that most PNP programs wont accept you without so many hours of peds nursing experience. I really think you need to focus your interest or just take some time - which is TOTALLY FINE - to really figure out what you want in yo...

If schools are your number 1 factor, I think Johns Creek and most Cobb county schools are going to be your top options. I have a friend that lives in Johns Creek and commutes into Atlanta because the public schools are just as good as most private sc...

Do you have kids? Only because schools are a big deal depending on the area so I thought it might change my advice for you. None of those areas are bad really. It just depends on what you are looking for. Do you have sometimes keeping you from livin...

In my area (Atlanta), its very similar which is why I went the PNP route - I knew I wanted to work for CHOA and thats what they want. However, they will under certain circumstances hire an FNP with a significant amount of pediatric background, but it...

I am by no means minimizing PA programs or anything of the sort. I do think they come out (generally) better prepared on the textbook side of things. But, regardless of what that reason is, I don't think its because people don't work during those pro...

Sorry its taken me a few days to respond, I've been working (although it seems like thats probably frowned upon by you). To answer your questions, i'm saying that even if I didn't work, it would've been really really difficult to to obtain the kind o...

This would be awesome, except I barely was able to complete the amount of hours required because of lack of preceptors. I wish I could have all the time and resources at my disposal, but as somebody that graduates in two week, I'm literally going to ...

You should for sure look into pediatrics. Its almost none of your "dislikes". I actually didn't like doing adult nursing for most of the same reasons. I do work ICU now and will tell you that the fear of messing up is really high - BUT, those parents...

The people that say not to do compressions first, I have one question and one statement... How (and why?) would you pull a kid up (especially if they bigger- like, are older than about 5 years old) to do the heimlich maneuver on a kid that now is a l...

SO MUCH OF THIS! I always knew I would do peds in nursing school, so I can't say that I knew this as the "most enjoyable" thing until a few years into my nursing career. But saying that they dont "enjoy the sick role" is right on point. I've seen an ...

PICU is hard. PICU is stressful. PICU is exhausting. Its okay - its not all terrible. Theres so much to learn that you can't feel comfortable within the time you are orientation. You just need to focus learning the basics that will help you keep you ...

Maybe I'm just feeling snarky, but this post kind of annoys me. What kind preceptor do you need? What program are you in? What area do you live in? How many hours do you need? How in the world do you expect people to help you without any details? Ple...

Heres the thing that I think you don't understand - nursing school is hard for even very very smart people. Its a different way of thinking and sometimes people that struggled in A&P actually do very well in nursing school, but on the other hand ...

For little ones, I always talk about whatever they are doing/wearing/watching. I'll be like "ohh, those are some pretty shoes. Show me your toy. Does this baby (stuffed animal or whatever) have a name? Your dress is so pretty!" I dont know. Just make...

While I will agree with this - some - I will say that I dont think parents are any harder to deal with than when Grandma is in the ICU and how her family can be so demanding. I bet some adult ICU nurses will say the family is one of the hardest thing...

I commented on Minniemickey's post, also, but essentially I will say that I think most pediatric specific places are going more towards hiring PNPs and not FNPs. It does give you SOME flexibility, but if you dont have any interest in adults (like me,...

After being a nurse for almost 7 years, I've decided this - sometimes your senses go off that something isn't right, but your assessment is fine. Then all you need is TIME. Eventually, there will be more signs and be able to point you in the right di...

I totally understand your ethical dilemma. It feels wrong, and is one of those ethical areas thats not warm and fuzzy and doesn't feel good as a nurse to see. I will say this though - you need to have an internal change on opinion or this patient wil...

In peds, we do this all the time because the little veins can't handle the pressure of the tube suction. So we draw blood with 3 ml syringes and do one of three things - do exactly what she did and take the top off, take a needles and poke the top (w...

Absolutely, hands down, do it. You worked hard to be able to sit and take that test. So do it. My suggestion to you would be to do what anybody preparing to sit for them would do - take tons and tons of practice questions and read EVERY rationale. Fo...