Gator FNP

We moved my son to Hollywood, FL for school (8/2010). A decent 1 bedroom apartment in a nice area was >$850, this included water only. He is in a nice complex for $985 includes cable, water, internet.

I think it would be important to obtain good clinical rotations. You may be setting up your own clinicals. This is where you will apply the knowledge obtained on line.

I would say all prior experience is relevant. It is what you do with it. As a med/surg RN, read the H&P from the surgeon and see how the pt presented with their problem. ER experience, mentioned above, would allow you to see how a pt presents, what questions you need to ask to obtain a good history. All these skills are helpful for your future as a FNP.

I am a family nurse practitioner. I have worked in family, internal (with geriatric focus in nursing homes), Rehab facilities with the internal med practice, pediatric, rural health, some pain management in the family practice. All my experience gave me the credentials to run a PAT Clinic for Anesthesia in a large teaching hospital.

I became an RN as a 3rd career choice. I was in my late 30s. I knew I did not want to do bedside nursing. I already worked in a hospital as a Resp. Therapist. I did outpatient nursing. Worked for a large orthopedic group, after-hours clinic, Interventional radiology dept, assisting with breast procedures/biopsies, cardiac stress lab, CT/MRI procedures. Look for another position in nursing, there is so much available out there and you could use your nursing degree to further your education, go on for a Master's or Doctorate down the road.:)

I agree with Core0, they are taking advantage. You have a nice solid year of experience behind you, start interviewing on your day off, choose your next position carefully. Ask questions, obtain in writing what the conditions of employment are, some physicians will also ask for non-compete, be careful what you agree to. If you decide to stay, you need to figure out how many patients you see, how much is collected, take this total and deduct your "overhead" from this (MA, Receptionist salary, malpractice insurance, etc). You will be surprised to see how much money you are bringing into the practice. By the way how many patients do you see daily?

I would think the direct entry NP program would be the quickest for you. You already have the basic classes for the BSN portion of your education. This way you would be in one school, one program, and finish quicker than separating the degrees. Also remember the DNP will be the way into the NP profession by 2015. Schools in my area have already d/c the MSN/NP program. At this point they are allowing the students to leave after the MSN is completed and come back for the DNP portion.

I do not feel you should be limited on what conditions you treat, such as in the case of ADD/ADHD. Once you are able to prescribe these meds with your license, you may not want to hand these off to the physician. In time, you will become proficient with these patients and not need MD's help. I am a FNP. I thought your certification as a Pediatric NP limits your license, certification to include up to age 18 only. Your classes were limited to pediatrics. Benefits sound great!You may want to ask about hours, max number of patients daily.

Since your experience is in critical care, have you thought about CRNA? Within my NP program, I had a class in research, leadership/ethics, and nursing theorists (once again). The majority of the classes are in learning diseases, treatment, prescribing, ordering tests. I like to refer to my NP program as a "mini-Med school", alot of information condensed into a small timeframe. If you want the NP route, go for an MSN/NP program. If you graduate with an MSN only, you would still need the NP classes to sit for the certification exam. I have seen RNs with MSN degrees in administrative roles, managers of hospital dept. If you want to see patients, the NP route would be for you.:cheers:

I am a FNP. I have worked in internal/family/pediatric/pain mgt/pt base in nursing homes/rehab settings through the internal medicine office. I now work in Anesthesia at a large teaching hospital. I run the Pre-Anesthesia testing clinic. I would not have been able to get this position without my prior experience. We are very marketable, I always suggest the FNP route to RNs. I have a friend that works for an emergency medicine group that handles several ERs. FNPs work almost everywhere. At my hospital there are FNPs in the trauma unit. Hope this was helpful. Good luck in school.

I worked in a privately owned practice-family/pediatrics/internal/pain mgt, I had a contract. It does not mean anything, patients arrived 30+ min. late, they were still registered, we ran late often, lunch was 30-45", was supposed to be 1-1 1/2 hours. Worked late to catch up on charting. I stuck it out and starting looking for a new position at about the one year point. I now work in a large hospital system, outpatient setting, great hours, more time off, & benefits.

I changed positions in my first year in practice. In fact the first position closed the office after 4 months of employment. I took another position, internal medicine. Learned alot about geriatrics, nursing homes; but I should have asked WHAT TIME DOES THE DAY END? please add this to your list. I worked very long hours between seeing office patients and nursing homes. I was starting on my 3rd position at my one year point! What a year that was.

There is a book EKG for Dummies, easy to understand, many websites as well for EKG interpretation. American heart association has a section for professionals with explanations of rhythms.

I practice in Florida. Two of the major universities in my area are not accepting for the Master's prepared NP after 2010. The only entry level degree will be the DNP. I would check school deadlines for the Master's programs in your area. This may assist in your decision making.

All I can say is keep up with the reading! I remember alot of reading texts, finding articles and reviewing these as well. Sorry, no other advice to give.