tjwalk

Thank you for all of your feedback. David- you are right- it seems that at the hospital, many things are pre-determined and are the same for all employees. In other words, non-negotiable. They will cover me under the hospital's malpractice insurance. I received a benefits packet and am happy with it- there are things they wouldn't write down for me (like Cme reimbursement), but verbally said that they would work it out... The big picture is, I have been job searching for 5 months and it has been extremely competitive, especially in this area (research triangle). The area os oversaturated with medical professionals! So, I am accepting the offer and hoping that all goes well. The current NP they have LOVES her job- so very high job satisfaction. I need to find out if my state requires a collaborative agreement...they have not given me paperwork that defines my job description, my work hours, etc. Wish me luck, TJ

Hi to all NPs out there- I am a new grad and I just accepted a job offer at an academic institution. I took the first offer because it is my ideal, dream job, but afterwards I found myself with many unanswered questions! I have not signed a a contract yet, and am unsure as to when that is supposed to take place- Am I supposed to sign a contract before the credentialing paperwork? Or, do they wait until my credentialing stuff is approved THEN give me a contract to sign? I am asking any NPs out there who work at an academic hospital- My duties will be inpatient and eventually I will be doing 1-2 days of of seeing patients in clinic. Should I ask about profit sharing or productivity bonuses ? (this is a non-profit, academic hospital) Should hospitals pay for your malpractice insurance? Any other advice on negotiating my first contract? It just doesn't seem like they are willing to budge, as if everything is already set, and thats the way it is for everyone... Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Thanks jimbo! About the AANP exam- I really wish I took that instead. I would rather take 175 questions regarding clinical practice, if u know what I mean. My grad school TOLD us to take the ANCC, like there was no option! I'm a little puzzled as to why, the only thing i can think of is because I graduated in August and would have missed the AANP deadline (although I could have paid the late fee). Oh well, at least I passed ANCC. Question- What do I need to do now that I have passed? Do I only apply for "registration and approval to practice" with the board of nursing to get my license? do I need to contact ANCC about anything? Also, how long did it take you to find a job? I have been looking...and it's not looking good. TJ

Hi, I just took and passed the ANCC ANP exam yesterday, and I wanted to give some feedback since I always read this forum for advice. For anyone studying out there, I would like to offer some tips... This is how I studied for 6 weeks- 1. I used Fitzgerald's review book, which I though was very solid and a great way to review. This is probably your best bet, because the questions were really good. Although nothing on ethical/legal issues (which is a good chunk of the exam). 2. Leik's book was a great book to use as a quick memory jogger, since her layout is more like "quick tips and important points." Good little section on ethical/legal issues. The 500 questions at the end are just review- they are not like the ones on the boards. 3. I listened to the Barkley CDs, which were also great ( I enjoyed him b/c he was pretty funny). He also had a section on ethical/legal issues, which was helpful. 4. DO NOT BUY THE APEA online questions or test. I bought the question bank for $50. Not worth it. The questions were dumb and confusing, the rationales didn't make sense. I wasted more time figuring out why I missed something, and ended up just confusing myself and questioning my knowledge. Here's how the exam went: 1. I was pretty angry that there were not many clinical questions. Lots of ethics, legal stuff, herbal medicines. And when I had a clinical questions, it ended up like: you have and end-stage renal, end stage heart failure guy, c/o SOB x 2 weeks. you need to admit him to the hospital, but he wants to go home to die. what would the astute NP say/do? There were a hundred questions like this. are you kidding me? I memorized every single national guideline, every single treatment for every single disorder. And ethics and legal stuff are my weakest. So I guess I'm lucky I passed, but the exam surprised me- I dont feel like it tested the important concepts. I did not have a single question on COPD, asthma, pneumonia, MI, meningitis, otitis media, etc. Hope this helps! It was easier than the NCLEX :) and will be very easy if you're good at ethical dilemmas.