desanobsn

:monkeydance: Hi krissy, in my opinion the answer is yes. i worked one year to increase my chance of getting into the NP program, although occasionally, they let students in without experience. in fact one girl that is in my research class has had no experience working as a nurse. she applied into the FNP program in feb. 2005, was accepted into the program the end of feb, and graduate from nursing school may 2005. she was about 8 mths pregnant. she started the FNP program fall 2005, so this is her 2nd semester, and has two more semesters. she is doing great in the program. she will graduate dec. 2006. so go for it, and good luck!!!

right on!!

XXXXXXXXXXXX. i wouldn't believe you were in the medical field if you were appointed surgeon general! put away your medical dictionary for laymen, and go play somewhere else!!!!

shhhhh, don't give dude any ideas. from the time i read his first post, i knew he was full of XX. did you read his inquiries about where is the best place to work as an NP, meaning working totally independently as a NP? well those of you who didn't, need to. it sounds to me like his experience in the medical field amounts to getting his Rx filled.

i thought that i would try traveling for the first time this summer. so many agency's to choose from. not sure which way to turn. i,ve heard such horror stories. how can you prevent it. i'm not sure what questions i should be asking the agency when they contact me. i know there must be some specifics. it sounds as though everything is mostly set as far as wages and benefits. so basically, all you do is tell them your experience, and where you want to work? can anyone help. also, keep the agency recommendations coming in. all i did was a google search on travel nursing. many of the names (cirrus) i didn't see. thanks

great advise about ROME, i love to learn new ways or better ways of doing anything from anyone who can show me, but not everyone likes that especially if your new. even if your just trying to help someone, remember Rome. i learned that the hard way.

ct, i don't think that evadetigre sounds arrogant. she has a good education, and a good edu is suppose to benefit you. you go girl!!! some great info. to anyone who can work that kind of a schedule......you deserve all the money you get plus more.

WOW, i can't believe i just read this, how untrue. most women i know prefer to get married because they are in love. i know many RNs that wouldn't be caught dead marrying a doc. i don't know what kind of NPs you are familiar with, but the ones i know are intelligent, caring providers that would know exactly what to do and what to assess for.

are you kidding?

too funny

i completely agree with marylyric!!!! if the nursing profession is not taken seriously, it's because our criteria for becoming nurses is lacking compared to other professions. when education level no longer matters, you have a problem. education does matter and should matter.

wow, you are soooo right. when i graduated with a BSN in 2004, i had no clinical skills at all. i knew how to make a bed and bath a pt., had started one IV, put in one foley, and had passed just a few po meds. that was it, no lie, but i could tell you everything you ever wanted to know about quantitative and qualitative research design. everyone in my class wanted more clinical time, but with 140 credit hours to get your degree, they said we didn't have time for clinicals, and that we would learn clinicals when we got on the floor. actually as they put it, "you can teach a monkey to learn practical skills". when i graduated and started working, let me tell you, many times i wish i was that "monkey". it was all so overwhelming and intimidating. you had to have extended orientation with a preceptor, because you had no knowledge about what do to on the floor, or how to care for a pt. my orientation was 8 wks, and even with that i was so scared to be on my own, because i had never had less that 7-8 pts. scary!!! this posting was very interesting to me, and i sure wish clinicals were like this when i got my degree.

butt, not one person is being rude or disrespectful. you seem to be having a lot of issues with these postings, i'd say maybe they're hitting just a little too close to home.

oh brother!!! seems to me that everybody who's any type of healthcare provider needs good malpractice insurance. even you

i've read the same research prairie, i personally know several outstanding nps who went straight-through after getting their bsn. christy may not be great at starting an iv, but who the heck cares. she doesn't need that skill. i wouldn't hesitate to send any of my family or friends to her. she's top-notch, knows what she's doing (because she is book-smart), and her pts adore her. what more could you want.

this is not sarcasm, just incorrect information.

again zenman, your doing something completly different. valuable experience in one job is great for THAT job. different jobs require different skills. you have to compare apples to apples.

this is not rocket science. you make it sound like a NP is just thrown out there. when you graduate as an advanced practice nurse, that means you have gone to school for a minimum of 6 years. don't you think in that time, you would have a good understanding of everything involved? if you don't, then somethings wrong. i believe that if you plan to practice mostly in a hospital (which i don't), then get some experience if that's what you feel like you want to do, but i don't think it's necessary. before i began working the floor, i thought the same way, you HAVE to have experience. it wasn't UNTIL i worked on the floor that i realized everything i was doing had nothing to do with being an NP. so i asked my friend who was already in the NP program, "of everthing i'm doing on the floor, what translates to helping me in the NP program", she said basically.....nothing, and she was right. now that i'm in the program, she's totally right. it's two entirely different jobs.

tinderbox, just because you don't like what brownrice has to say, doesn't mean she's judgmental or bitter. she is telling you how it is, or should i say, how it can be. i can tell you, i have personally seen this exact behavior. people can have good or bad experiences. if your a new grad, you don't have a clue about what your talking about anyway. that's usually how it is, people that know the least, have the biggest opinions. i can relate to everything she says!!! about the NPs, i'd be much more concerned about their knowledge base, skill at diagnosing disease, and following through with a good plan of care, than how good they are at placing an ABD pad, or inserting an NG tube. i think you need to reseach the role, and scope of practice of the NP.

lcrn, i'm happy that your experience has been good, my wish is for all nurses to have your personal experience, but i know that it's not. that why we are in the mist of a nation wide nursing shortage, that will only get worse with the ever increasing geriatric population. statistics show that many new nurses are coming out of school, working one or two years, and getting out of the profession entirely because of the poor working conditions and low pay. i worked in two of the three facilities in my area, and never knew of one floor nurse that liked their work. we all wanted to like it, but how do you do that when you are expected to work with limited staff all the time. many times i've seen the night nurses come in with 13 pts each, and they don't take acuity into account like some facilities do. how can you like working in a place like this. my dream job would have been working in same day surgery, but those jobs never opened up, and if they did, they hired internally. if you didn't know someone working there, forget it. i was totally new and just out of school, when i went in for this interview. i guess that's why 75% of their staff are travelers, and they don't renew either. i just want to encourage those who are unhappy, and have not found that dream nursing job, to remember that you can never go wrong by increasing your level of education, because it always opens up your opportunities. it's always worth it.

lots, WRONG!!

hey cgfnp......LOVE IT, i'm on my way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! do you own your own practice? is that what the top 1% is all about, because that's what i've heard. awesome, desanobsn

right on brownrice!!!! i absolutely agree with everything you said. i feel like, if you have issues with having a two year degree, or with being an LPN, or whatever, then do something about it. don't just run around being miserable and making everyone around you miserable, just because someone took a different path than you did. nobody just hands you a BSN, or any degree for that matter. i put my family on hold and worked my buns off for 4years to get my degree, and i'm proud of it, by golly. even got a class ring, exactly 30years after i graduated from highschool. why do you see so much of this in nursing? i had a horrible time with this ADN vs. BSN thing at the VA. so much pettyness. i was told that it was because i did not start as an aid and work my way up.....whatever. as a divorced mom of three children, i didn't have time for that . man, where is the love? don't hate, celebrate.......you know who you are!!!

hi there, i may be missing something, but i don't see that.....although i do hear it all the time. the role of an RN is so entirely different than that of a NP. it seem what you learn on the floor is almost null and void. everything you need to be a NP is taught in the program. how does this prior experience benefit you? your hand on skills will never be used, you will be writing orders instead of taking them off, you don't pass meds, start IVs, etc. grad school has enhanced the knowledge i learned as an undergrad, not vis a vis. maybe it's as i learned in research on the importance of having an EBP, just because some procedure is done on the floor a certain way, doesn't mean it's the best way. many times it's because that's the routine of the floor, or how something has always been done. current research may show differently, so maybe it's the same thing, people always say nursing experience is helpful prior to becoming a NP,when it's really not that much help.????

i can't even tell you how much i relate to what your saying!! i graduated at the age of 46 with a bsn in may 2004, after staying home with three children for 18 years. i NEVER, NEVER, NEVER wanted to work as a floor nurse. i would have gone straight through the NP program if they would have let me. i worked exactly one year, almost to the day, on the floor, which is the amount of experience my university wants you to have. in that year on the floor what did i learn, to put in a foley and an NG tube on a real person instead of a model, 12 hr shifts really mean 14 hrs (and don't think your getting a lunch break either), a safe nurse to pt ratio of 1:5 is a fallacy, experienced nurses seem to despise new grads, and last but not least, nurses are generally treated like crap. if i had to come up with one word to describe the work envirnoment that i saw nurses tolerating, it would be ABUSIVE!!! i think it's very sad, because most nurses really want to do a great job, but how can you accomplish this goal when your working conditions are so poor. i don't know of one nurse that i worked with that left feeling like they were able to give their pts the care they needed. that's pathetic. is it any wonder there's a nursing shortage. i am now taking grad. patho and research and will graduate dec.2007 as an FNP. i am so happy to be back in school. with my new scope of practice comes the knowledge that i will be able to spend quality time with my pts, and give them the care they not only need, but deserve. i can't wait!!