Renny03

I don't think that the "fluff" classes are useless classes. I just don't think they will make me any better in caring for my patents. In a lot of other aspects, they are extremely useful. That just doesn't appeal to me. Also, PA is not designed for the inexperience. The original purpose of the PA program was as a second career for Army medics. The better and well respected programs require a minimum of 2,000 hours of direct hands on patient care experience. Most schools have an average of 2-5 years of experience caring for patients before entering school. Most commonly, people are paramedics, nurses, respiratory therapists, etc. Yes, there are schools that allow you to get in without experience. However, they are also direct entry NP programs that allow you to be a NP with 3 straight years of school and no previous healthcare experience.

i have a bachelor's degree in the liberal arts. i've taken so many classes in liberal art and i am so ready to be done with that. i've taken so many classes in art, music, philosphy, social work, psychology, sociology, etc... i'm not like your typical premed who has a degree in the sciences and that is all he or she has ever done. i googled a random program and this is 6 of the 13 classes in their "core" curriculum: how are some of these classs going to make me a better clinial provider, considering i have an extensive background in ethics and philosphy as well as taking 12 credit hours in accounting/finance for personal knowledge/gain? maybe i am missing something. i have no intent of owning my own practice or anything like that. couldn't i replace my teaching/learning and finance courses with something more relevant to clinical practice, such as advanced gross antomy or genetics? [color=#004388]nurs 443aprofessionalism in advanced practice: collaboration and consultation 1 [color=#004388]nurs 443bprofessionalism in advanced practice: role development 1 [color=#004388]nurs 443cprofessionalism in advanced practice: teaching and learning 1 [color=#004388]nurs 444ahealth care delivery, legal and ethical issues in advanced practice: ethical issues 1 [color=#004388]nurs 444bhealth care delivery, legal and ethical issues in advanced practice: finance 1 [color=#004388]nurs 444chealth care delivery, legal and ethical issues in advanced practice: policy and legal 1 i'm not meaning to be rude or offensive to anyone. i am jus trying to learn. every np i have talked to thought that every course they took prepared them clinically and talked about how indepth it went into the sciences and clinicals. i'm just not seeing it in the curriculum posted on the websites, so i am hoping to learn more than what an np will say in passing and what school websites state.

But is it worth the risk of potentially upsetting my future husband's great job, relocating my family, delaying our plans, or even worse, not getting in at all? I'm trying to figure out if If would be happy in the NP role, considering what my future goals are for a career. I have been doing some research in the field and, like I said, I do have a CNS and CRNA in the family. There is also an NP who worksin GI and floats around the entire hospital who I have talked to some. I see a lot of NPs working in EM and Trauma. Is this a common thing for NPs to do? Do they have the FNP or ACNP background? If you do the RNFA also, is it common for NPs to first assist in the OR as well?

I'm fully aware of the routes to becoming either field. I'm not looking to pursue a DE MSN program. I'm looking to do an ADN, work as an RN while completing a RN-BSN program, then look into the MSN. I'm not saying the MSN program is easy. No master's level program is easy in any field. I'm just not seeing how the curriculum correlates to clinical practice, or it at least seemas though it could correlate better. I plan to get a 4.0 in the ADN program. It is a very feasible option for me. The few science classes I have taken (gen chem I, gen bio I, anatomy, physiology) have been high As and were fairly easy (maybe because I was interested). I took them at UT-Austin. I realize the PA/NP debate has been done to death. I'm very well aware of the differences between them and I am not looking for someone to explain them to me. I'm looking for some advice and guidance on what I personally should do given my situation, background, and future plans.

I graduated college in 2008 from UT-Austin with a non science/health care degree. I have spent the past year working as a Clinical Tech (nurse aide) at Seton in a variety of specialties. I've been going back between the NP and PA thing. I have a strong passion for science and medicine and spent a large portin of my life wanting to be a doctor. However, I am interested in the more acute specialties, such as trauma, surgery, ICU/CCU, and emergency medicine and those don't tend to be family friendly nor did I want to spend that much time/money in school, so med school went out. I then started looking at the PA profession as we have a family friend who is a PA. I shadowed him a fair amount (he works in thoracic surgery) and then started branching out and shadowing in EM, orthopaedic surgery, dermatology, and pediatrics. All the doctors seemed to highly respect their PAs, the PAs were able to do a lot in surgery, and they seemed to learn the hard science with a lot of clinical hours similar to the doctors. It seemed pretty perfect. However, I don't have any of the prerequisites, my GPA isn't so hot (2.4), and I'm not sure I am willing to put my life on hold for 5-6 more years. I know I am smart enough to do it (I can get straight As with only a moderate amount of effort) and I know I want to do it, but I just don't know if it is feasible. I'm 23 years old, getting married in October, and my soon to be husband has a great job in Austin that he doesn't want to leave. By the time I would be able to start PA shool we would want to start a family and I just don't know if that will work out. So, I started looking at NP programs. I don't know as much about NP as PA, so hopefully someone can correct me if my assumptions are wrong. First off, it seems as though the NP programs have a lot of non non/clinical coursework and I don't understand how a class in "financial policy and planning" will make me a better clinical provider. Wouldn't it be better suited to get rid of those non clinical/science classes and replace them with classes that are more related to treating patients? Where is the indepth study of gross anatomy? Biochemistry? Genetics? Microbiology? Pathology? Also, why only 600-700 clinical hours? I realize that NP is specialized where PA is not, but in a master's level program, you'd think they could fit in more clinical hours as that is the best way to learn. Also, what do you guy's think about the DNP? I have no interest in teaching, research, or owning a practice. It seems as though the DNP is a mixture of a business degree, public health degree, and education degree.... none of which interest me. What is the point in suffering through a program I will hate when it won't make me any better of a care provider to my patients? Is it really necessary? If I do the MSN, will I be grandfathered in (if it is before 2015)? Anyways - I don't have anything against nursing. My mom is a CNS and my uncle is a CRNA. They all provide wonderful care to their patients and ultimately, I am sure I will be happy with my job as an NP... it is just the schooling that I don't understand. So, what do you guys think? Should I suck it up and pursue the PA route since that is my #1 choice? Should I give up having kids at the point we want to, potentially force my husband to leave his great job, and risk it being for nothing if I can't get accepted? Or, should I just pursue the NP route? Although it isnt my top choice, it is still something I will be happy enough in. I know I can succeed at that route (I've already been accepted to the ADN program at ACC), I can stay local to the Austin area, and I will be a lot more confident that I will end up being able to provide advanced care to patients. Any thoughts? On a side note, how do you guys pick what specialty you want to go into? I was thinking about doing ACNP + RNFA so I could operate as well and work in trauma. Is it the ACNPs that work in the EDs or is that more FNPs? I get bored easily and like excitement and I love EDs. I know I would get bored just working in a routine office. I also love babies and the NICU and have thought bout doing NNP. I know you need experience for both and I don't really want to take the time to work in both areas, so how do you know?