DelilaNP

Each state is different. My state requires national certification for licensure. We can't even apply for a state license until we have achieved national certification and have a supervising MD to sign the application. So, naturally DEA and NPI#s are also delayed since you need a state license # to apply. Be sure to understand your state's requirements. Best of Luck to all who are going through this! Hang in there!

You will get there, NurseTim.

Yes, it is a process with either entity. Patience is a must. Researching the tests was an assignment my last semester. I have heard nothing good about either entity:down:. Read the websites carefully and thoroughly. Wait for all pieces of your packet to be together (transcript!). It is tempting to send it later separately but this seems to be a recipe for disaster. The fastest I have heard of is three weeks from grad to test. For my class it was seven weeks till the first test. My lead prof typed up a list of all our courses, their content and clinical hours and had it NOTARIZED for each of us because she had seen so many problems with both tests in the past. She also advised us to type up all the details of each clinical experience and include it in the packet. She had a student in the last class who was rejected becuase there were no zipcodes by her preceptors! Be sure to find the "State Board Notification Form" on the website and include it with your application so that your state board will get automatic notification when you pass. Most of my class is on facebook (great idea for a support and question answering network through the process) :typing . AANP lost one of my classmate's packets entirely. When we called or emailed we got all sorts of run around and bizarre responses. My favorite was they have charged your card but can't find your application!Once they finally send you an authorization to test you then have to wait 7-10 days to be contacted by the testing company. They provide you with a code that allows you to go on line or call and schedule your test. Then comes state licensure, NPI # and DEA applications.:cry:I will also be taking the Gero exam through ANCC so I will let you know how it goes...

I am fortunately interviewing a lot in the last couple of weeks but the jobs are very different. Have a hospitalist offer tomorrow, 3rd interview in pain medicine, an ER position and corporate wellness!! Hard to know what will be the best path. In this economy I think anyone with options is lucky!! A friend from my program with only a year of nursing experience has not had any calls.

"NP's are not trained to practice medicine, nor are they licensed to practice medicine in any state in the US" from page 3 of this thread. Okay, I apologize for being off topic but seriously: NPs aren't trained to practice medicine??" We don't hold medical licenses? Just for clarification: I was trained to practice evidence based medicine every day of NP school and my state (NC) dually licenses NPs through both the Board of Nursing and Board of Medicine. NP students attend the same classes with med students at couple of NC universities.

If you take the Fitzgerald review course the differences will be spelled out for you. Basically, the AANP is clinically based. ANCC asks theory and scope questions which (lets face it) a lot of new graduates don't want to spend their time trying to memorize. I took AND PASSED!!! the AANP three days ago. I can't recommend the fitzgerald review course highly enough.

I am a new grad ANP/GNP in the southeast. The salaries for my class have been high 60s (primary care) to 80 (acute care). Larger corporations and some specialties have bonus/productivity models with potential to make 6 figures within a couple of years.

Sounds like you are in a tough spot. The best suggestion I have is to approach this crisis in a familiar way. Even though it sounds corny I am thinking of the Nursing Process, the old S-O-A-P-I-E-R. You have just become your own patient. Start by gathering your data. Subjective: Your feelings, thoughts, work related likes and dislikes. Are you ready for/do you really want the advanced practice role? Are you happier and satisfied being a bedside RN? Objective: Consider taking some career inventories or personality tests. Definitely shadow a NP or two as suggested above. RESEARCH the jobs. They are very, very different. Don't just jump into NP school because the CRNA thing didn't go as planned. Take a little time to find your way. You have a lot of years left to work. Do you see yourself in the hospital (mostly) forever? Love the critical care environment and technology? (CRNA) or are you better at building a rapport with your patient, being a medical detective, formulating a diagnosis and plan, working in all kinds of environments from rural housecalls to acute care (NP). These questions barely skim the surface. Gather your data and once you identify a path define it under the "A". Then make your plan. I hope this helps you, no matter how corny. Keep hanging in there and take care of yourself as well as you would your patient!

Seriously consider the DNP. Schools with a DNP PMH concentration that would lead to certification eligibility will prepare you for the future of PMH advanced practice. Research the legislation that is coming down the pike regarding prescribing psychoactive medication and the doctoral degree requirement.

New grad as of December 08 myself. Have had great success with indeed.com and have found it to be the most comprehensive. Would also suggest MDjobsite.com. My phone rang off the hook after I posted my resume there. I had seventeen calls the first day but they all wanted me to relocate and I am unwilling to leave my sunny home in the south!! They will love you if you are willing to go where the jobs are. Pls check out my thread for new NPs that I started tonight and let me know what happens. Best of luck!!

I am an old RN and a new ANP/GNP graduate. I would like to hear from any new or recent NP graduates who are willing to share their experiences with finding that first job, negotiating salary and benefits, contracts, CPAs etc... Any sage NPs who want to throw in their words of wisdom pls share your advice as well.

Have done Army medic, LPN, ADN, and BSN in classroom. Just finished five semester ANP/GNP master's proram which was a mix. After my UNC system school looked you over for the first couple of semesters much of the coursework began to be on-line with a sometimes weekly or every other week full day (sometimes 10 hours) of class. The last (fifth) semester's clinical hours were essentially 40 hour weeks so we met rarely and there was NO ONE working full time unless they weren't sleeping. I agree with the previous posts concerning on-line formats having plenty of validity. I am sure that like all things in life distance education programs are not created equally. On-line classes can be very interactive and demanding. I got a lot of out of the required on-line discussions and question/answer sessions. They were frequently more to the point than rambling classroom discussions and targeted the subject matter in an interesting way. I utilized my time better at home and spent less time on what I already knew and more time on what I needed to study. I am perfectly capable of reviewing a powerpoint presentation from my home in front of the roaring fire with a nice cup of tea and lots of concentration. I probably got more out of that kind of day than when I wasted three hours just driving to get to a class and was then rewarded with 10 hours of class in one day. Do you detect some bitterness here?? Who can retain info or pay attention after that many hours in class???? I would have to say that I learned it all in clinical anyway. That is where it all comes together. So,my advice to anyone seeking an NP degree is to make sure you put a lot of effort into arranging the best clinical training experiences possible. Also consider that many specialty NP degrees are not readily accessible. There are zero acute care NP programs in NC. If your interest lies in a specialty you will quite likely be facing some distance education.

I finished my Adult/Geriatric NP degree a month ago and have begun the job search. Strangely enough I have been bombarded with psych opportunities. Who knew?? Recruiters are callling and emailing. My good friend who is a psychiatrist wants me to work PRN in his suboxone clinic and perhaps begin to see psych patients. I have an interview next week with another psychiatrist. There are two ads for companies that would involve going into Long Term Care facilities and managing psych meds as the entire role for the NP. The VA is advertising for psych/MH NPs in my area for inpatient and suboxone clinic settings. My background is ER and ICU so I don't necessarily feel prepared to enter the psych/mental health arena. Not that I haven't dealt with many a psych patient including most of my nursing professors :chuckle. I am not taking this lightly as I am researching adding on the post-masters certificate or DNP so that I will be competent. A word to the wise--FNP is far more marketable if you can deal with the kiddos. I shied away from it because all of my Peds experience had been acute care and somewhat tragic/depressing. The outpatient world of peds is fun and lighter.

I am an ANP and have been researching this, too. The answer is just as above: You have to go back to school. Post master's certificate would be shortest route. A year and a summer primarily online for me at UNC. Other thoughts to maximize your time and investment: Entry level for NP practice will be doctoral by 2015. There is a movement to limit prescription priviledges of psychoactive meds to doctorally prepared NPs as well. For these reasons consider an on-line Doctor of Nursing Practice with a concentration in Psych/mental health NP. You will remain marketable and won't be at a loss in a few years. There is one such program at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. If the state you live in is not Tennessee and it participates in the academic common market you can attend for in state tuition rates. Check out this link http://www.sreb.org/

PMH NP programs are uncommon. A couple of thoughts even if they aren't what ya'll :wink2: want to hear: 1) Consider attending a doctor of nursing practice program (DNP) with a concentration in PMH NP. By 2015 entry level NP practice will be doctoral. See this month's Advance for NPs--the Back Page. Prescription of psychoactive meds may also be restricted to doctorally prepared NPs soon. 2) Texas is a member of the Southern Region Education Board and the Academic Common Market. This would allow you to attend a masters or doctoral program out of state for in state tuition rates as long as that program is not offered in your home state. For example, the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center offers an on-line DNP with a PMH-NP concentration. You would do your clinicals locally and your coursework on-line. Check out the Academic Common Market at http://www.sreb.org/. Hope this helps!