time2go

I graduated with the AGNP in Primary Care in 2019 and passed the boards. I think all NP programs leave a lot to be desired. From what I read, everyone has imposter syndrome initially, having to depend on online information of some kind. It's a shame residency programs remain uncommon. Those would be great. At any rate, being accredited, being all online except for the one visit, and reasonable tuition with a really good veteran discount at the time were the deciding factors for me and I'm satisfied with the experience.

This is old but I'll respond because the independent practice in CA is not nearly what I or any other NPs I know expected. There are now 2 types of NPs: 103s which work somewhere there are MDs or DOs working (like a medical practice, hospital, clinic) and can work without specific standardized procedures. You must register and get approved as a 103 and practice that way for THREE YEARS, regardless of how long you have been an NP, then apply for 104 which is independent with your own practice and not needing a collaborative physician. You absolutely need a collaborative physician until you apply to CA BRN and get approved as a 104. You have to get sigs from doc verifying that you have the appropriate working experience in order to get approved! It's all on the CA BRN website. Read it and weep! ????

You don't need a hospice NP as preceptor. Whatever your NP designation is going to be is who needs to precept. For example, if you're heading toward Adult/Geriatric Primary Care, you need a primary care preceptor. Hospice NP is not a licensed designation, it's a specialty after all your licensing stuff is done. You need experience once you are an NP if you want to be certified by HPNA. There are NPs who work hospice who are not certified in the specialty. Many will just find per diem work doing face-to-face visits required by CMS prior to the RN recertifying a patient from benefit period 3-infinity, however long the patient stays on service. The other part of hospice as an NP other than the regulatory requirements is symptom palliation. There is always an MD/DO available to run things by if you are uncertain since an NP cannot be Medical Director in hospice based on CMS rules. Symptom control knowledge is a needed skill in hospice but there are usually less than 20 meds you should be familiar with in that regard in order to take care of the majority of symptoms you'll run into in hospice. I was a certified hospice RN prior to being an NP and, if you want to be involved in the nuts and bolts of hospice work, the RN role is much more involved with patients than the NP. If your main goal is to be involved daily with patients as an NP, you may want to look into being on staff at a hospital in the palliative department.

I'm in that position now. I agreed to it but I'm getting tired of it. I'm ACHPN NP and I agreed to do admissions (RN job) in a pinch. Well, since hospices do indeed tend to run lean, I do way more admissions than I had anticipated. Doing F2Fs does get pretty routine too so not sure which is better/worse. If I had it to do over, I likely would not have agreed to the hospice admissions.

I could never find a definitive recommendation for pre-test study and review. Seems like experience is the only thing that absolutely will help but you know how that goes. Like with the NCLEX, what you learn in school is different from what you learn in practice.

I took it twice, passed the second time and there were not many similarities between the two. Seems they concentrate on hospital palliative things more than hospice. I remember when I took the CHPN a few years ago, it was heavy on hospice. Not so on the ACHPN in my experience. I honestly could not begin to suggest a study source but Palliativelove, your experience probably has you more prepared than I. I've always done home hospice.

Old thread but I took the test today for the second time and passed. Both times I took the test, the questions were so different. I would be interested to hear if anyone used a test prep they thought was useful. I think the test is so broad, there's no way to really select a useful study aid. For MAYBE 10% of the questions, I was relatively sure of my answers but there seemed to be a lot of wiggle room between 2 out of 4 answers throughout the whole test. Any thoughts from anyone who has passed the ACHPN exam?

The bottom line as I see it is an NPs willingness to take a job where he or she is expected to function as the MD or DO, knowing there will be a pay disparity. So many "midlevels" (I know, many hate that term) want to show what they know and be completely independent. They jump at the chance to take on loads of responsibility. That's on you if you take that path. No one can argue that the education difference between physician and NP is huge. Eventually, a good NP can be a better PCP than an average or crappy physician but that is totally up to the individual, as is the choice of function. I choose to do what I am strong in and enjoy having someone else to refer to when something is out of my wheelhouse. Nurse practitioners and PAs, by virtue of education are indeed midlevel providers. I'm all for independent practice but within my comfort zone. If we take the midlevel educational route, we should be happy with the midlevel function and remuneration. We can still advocate for ourselves without holding ourselves out as something we are not.

Started pre-reqs at 53! Finished AGNP at 64. Take that! Never say you're too old to change something unless you're already dead.

Agreed. I was a CHPN, hospice RN before I finished my NP. Now I'm a hospice NP. Knowing the role of the hospice NP was a comfort to me because I knew that if I got through the education and credentialing process, I could absolutely do the job! I agree also with the previous poster that you likely know more than you realize. Don't minimize your knowledge by comparing to someone else's. I never wanted to work in a hospital and never have. I still know how to do my job. If you're motivated to learn, you'll be fine.

I have the same concerns about this book. There are, indeed, tons of typos but I'm going with the actual content, along with other things, because, well, can't hurt!

1. I'm a hospice nurse and my employer kept me on as an AGNP. We only do adults who are mostly in the geriatric age range so it's perfect. 2. I have many opportunities that looked interesting but then the opportunity came up to stay where I am so that's what I did. I was in discussions with another NP who does home visits, another hospice company, and a primary care practice. 3. Less actual physical work and higher pay, which is what I was looking for. 4. Just decide whether you want to work with kids. So many primary care offices see mostly adults anyway. Many clinics will likely be off your list but I guess it depends on your location as to whether you'll be impacted in your job search. I never really wanted to work in a clinic. I've been charge nurse in that arena and the providers are usually too rushed. If the choices as FNP are greater, are any of those additional choices places you would like to work? There's your personal answer.

Clinicals were a whirlwind. There were papers and assignments and clinicals and charting on the patients you see in clinicals.

Just graduated from Spring Arbor AGNP. The clinical portion is by far the most problematic. You have your clinicals which require the practice hours in addition to online assignments/modules plus you will likely have another class so that makes basically 3 things to keep track of during the last part of the program. The clinical documentation in Typhon is a true pain and if you get behind, you will be sorry! You are supposed to chart on every patient you see in clinicals and that was not made clear at the beginning for our cohort. The coursework is not bad but the time management piece of the puzzle during clinicals can really trip you up. I had to stop working for a couple months then do part time at the end. Whomever asked about the range on completion time: AGNP has 500 clinical hours and you can get the program done in 2.5 yrs. FNP has 750 and unless you double up on clinical hours at some point, you're most likely looking at 3 years. If you aren't working and can get through the clinical hours faster, that's the only thing that's variable time wise. I have only gone here for my Master's so have nothing to compare it to since I went to an on campus state school for my BSN but all-in-all I think it's a good program. If I could go somewhere else for free, I would be tempted to get something to compare it to but that ain't gonna happen! I think any online program has a lot of self-teaching and if you can't do that, don't do online. There's a ton of reading and the classes go fast. The instructors are responsive but, let's face it, getting an answer to your questions within 48 hours in a 7 week class sometimes doesn't help.

I wanted to quit nursing school nearly every semester. I'm now finishing my AGNP and I've wanted to quit that too. Before you quit, learn about all the jobs you can do that are not in the hospital. Hospital nursing is not for everyone but nursing is such a broad animal, there may be something you find that you love. I never worked in a hospital. People will say you have to for a year or two to get your skills and assessments, blah, blah, blah. I hated the hospital and went directly into hospice. LOVE IT. I plan to keep doing it as an NP and throw in a little primary care. You are wise to be sure before you quit.