Daryl_G

Absolutely, I currently work in Infectious Disease under a collaboration between the state dept of health and a local academic university/hospital. The most important thing to know is you function as a investigator on many cases and this requires a lot of self-motivated learning on our part. To give an example, this month alone just for the local health dept. I have managed pt's w/ or given inservice/trainings on tuberculosis, non-mycobacteria tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS (and all the treatment issues that surround this), Zika, Hansen's disease, neurosyphillis, Hep C. This doesn't include my time doing inpatient care when rotating through the academic hospital (level 1 trauma so we see it all). You have to become familiar with second or third-line therapies, and look at the patient's entire medical Hx. and treatments. You have to truly learn how to read results of test, no more skipping to the positive/not positive line on a lab report. I did not know what I was getting into when I started and it was tuff at first but I love it. This is not a area where you work completely independent at the ARNP level at all times so be aware of that, cases can be very complicated and frankly require an seasoned ID doc or docs to assist. And you have to know when a case is beyond your ability to manage early on as you can cause more harm than good delaying and fiddling around.

Blocking doors and cornering people in separate areas as a male nurse is a guaranteed way to have a complaint formed against you. Even if you have no ill intention, the mere act of blocking the only access to a room is considered "aggressive" and will be taken as a threat by any HR department. I am sure you understand this but rules for male nurses are a little different when it comes to these types of issues. You have to keep it professional to avoid actions that exacerbate a situation. Stand up for yourself but be aware of how other may view your actions because you will have to defend them. What does worry me is how quickly the CNA took your passing off a task as "laziness". CNA's and other nurses know which people constantly pass off task, rescheduling things so they land on another's shift, require twice as much time as others for simple med. passes, ect... I am not saying you are in fact lazy but that CNA may have the perception that you are. So you might need to review your current practices and ensure your not passing off everything outside of medications to others. Look, you had two choices, take 2 min to wrap that IV or have the family wait for a CNA to finish lunch. I understand you had medications to pass but those medications were on your person so I assume it was for 1 patient. So complete the medication pass and come back to wrap the IV.

It is very difficult as a new grad to find a job in Florida even in rural areas. You will find one but the wait may be longer than you want and the job / pay may not be ideal but most will take it and grab some experience. There are many jobs for those with 1-2 years experience so sticking with it and learning will pay off. It took 5 months to find a full time job. I was lucky enough to have a group that I could work with 20-30 hours a week covering evenings and weekends but most don't. The market is even more saturated now. I don't know much about AZ job market but I do get a ton of job recruiters trying to lure NP's out to the region AZ,NM, West Tx.

The tampa Market is tuff due to the amount of schools and people obtaining Arnp license. It took 6-7 months for my first position and it happened by accident as a friend provided my name to the clinic. I was planning on moving and that is my advice to you. The rules that govern practice are backwards anyway. I have a collab. Agreement with someone I exchange one sentence with every 3 months. Start looking out of state or rural areas. If something to my current situation I will leave florida myself if practice req. don't change

See if you can do clinical rotation in a HIV clinic or health department. Some HIV clinics function as ID/HIV and PCP for patients based on funding so you may have enough crossover to meet any primary care clinical needs as well. Contact these clinics early as paperwork and length for response can be long (Health Departments). It's a unique challenge working with HIV clients. If you cannot rotate with a clinic, you can always inquire about shadowing or volunteering to gain exposure and experience.

Readiness based on time and floor experience is difficult to assess on a forum. Things I look for when an RN ask me this question in person: 1. Do you show leadership in the area you work in? 2. Do you fully grasp what is going on with the patients your managing on the floor? 3. Do I see others coming to you for help or support? 4. Do you exhibit critical decision making on the floor? 5. Do you have the communication skills necessary to convey information on a professional level and patient level 6. Do you seek new information to better your practice or do you need to be spoon fed. If it is NO to any of these question then wait. If it's a yes to all then I say maybe depending on what you want to do FNP, ACNP, ect. There is no hand holding at the ARNP level and that is what make it difficult. Many of us hit the ground running, no 8 week orientations and have to work with staff that look to us for leadership and answers.

Did you sign a contract or will have to sign one stating you will stay X2 years upon start? Look, employers will say many things and have many request but none of it is legally binding. I would take the position and continue to look for acute care positions as you have no guarantee of any other position. Besides you might like it.

I would love to do something like this, unfortunately I'm in Florida so independent practice won't come anytime soon. Guess I need to relocate as nothing is holding me back.

I do have a concern with the number of NP programs available and lack of over site concerning these programs. Name another healthcare profession that had this many online programs pop up over the last 10 years. The perception from other professions is a quick money grab by schools with little assurance of standards or post graduation evaluation. Our board exams are tuff but only makes sure we are safe, not effective. I only know 3 NP's that completed online programs and they are doing well so I'm no expert on outcomes but I think more focus on actual quality of education provided is needed.

Post Masters cert. is pretty quick. The clinical hours are the most difficult as you will feel like a "student" and not just studying a new area. Here in Florida it's becoming harder to find post-cert programs so check your local schools for availability (referring to state universities)

Depends on the market. I am in Tampa, Fl. and surrounded by 5-6 NP programs so it's a little saturated here. Truth is if you actually measure the number of NP grads annually vs need its not oversaturated in most places. Florida is a bad example though. What may make ppl feel that way is the number of post and RN's who say they are going back to school vs the ones that actually complete a program. Before starting and during my NP program it felt like the entire hospital I worked in was back in school. Reality is 95% of them never went or did not finish, just talked about it. It may get worse in the future in my area. Just to get into a nursing program is extremely hard, many require an absurd 3.5-3.7 GPA to apply. If a student is that dedicated in a business, engineering, or biology program its expected they will apply to a graduate program. Truth is as long as floor nursing remains in its current state or becomes worse all you will hear about is nurses wanting to become NP, CRNA, Educator ect..

Wow that program seems expensive, I hope that is a DNP program.

When I was in nursing school all I wanted to do get licensed and apply for acute care positions. Now that I am working in acute care all I can think about is how to advance my career beyond what I am doing now. I like my back, knees, and sanity but I also feel pressure to maintain an acute care position for future opportunities. In your case, I don't believe acute care experience is necessary for WHNP or FNP (which I looking into) so don't be like me and beat yourself up.

I think it would be worse if your instructur would allow you to fail without trying to call on you. Maybe you should meet up with your lab instructor outside of lab and talk about it.

I am in the process of dropping weight as I just started nursing school. I used to play football in college (first time) and love to lift weights but, working retail and eating fast food caused me to pack on the pounds. Now I am back in the gym and hoping to lose 50 pounds before the next quarter.