TraceyMarino

Do not start an online program until you know for sure you have preceptors lined up. You will need a couple NP preceptors, depending on the program, OB, FP, do some internal med and ER. Online programs do not help you find preceptors and this has c...

I worked as an NP in an urgent care clinic where I received several death threats from patients when I would not give them narcotics. The hospital did not support me in pressing charges, and allowed the patients to still receive care at the clinic, ...

Stay in this environment and get the experience. I live and work in a very small town, and I don't have kids so I chose to stay in the small town. Believe me, the experience with these great mentors will mean more in the long run than 10 grand more...

I agree with Blue Devil, who has tons of experience. I have never worked at a Minute clinic, but the protocol driven style would make me crazy. I worked urgent care and family practice since graduating last December. I will be taking a new position...

The AANP exam is clinical based, the ANCC has lots of questions about other stuff I don't really care about. Politics, theory, etc. The test was difficult but everyone in my group took the aanp and passed.

I urge anyone pursuing NP education to get a commitment from preceptors before they plunk down money for a program. I had a commitment from all of my preceptors before I even paid any tuition. Other students in my group did not have preceptors line...

Online schools have pretty strict rules about academic misconduct. This includes rules about fudging hours, documentation, and plagiarism. The problem is these policies are in small print in the college handbook, and who reads the whole handbook? ...

I began studying about 6 months before taking the aanp exam. I used Fitzgerald and Barklay. I went to the 3 day prep class, which was so worth it if you can afford it. The book for the review class is a great resource to have and I refer to it eve...

I graduated from St. Joe's FNP last December. Hate to tell you, but once you get into the theory class, it does not get much easier. Between doing clinicals, entering your encounters into Typhon (nightmare), and the written assignments (tons of the...

Learn "emotional freedom technique" (EFT). you can watch educational video on youtube. it is a technique that involves tapping certain areas of the face and arms while reciting positive statements to yourself. Sounds foolish but it is very effect...

Some hospitals or hospital based clinics want to see them as part of your credentialing process.

I graduated with my FNP last December. While I felt competent, I did not really feel confident. Having a physician beat you up like this is no way to build confidence! Obviously, he is not a good collaborating doc for you. I am very fortunate, I w...

Type of NP: FNP I work in very rural area-Michigan: Critical access/rural health urgent care family practice Graduated last December, fully credentialed by the hospital April 2013 Salary: 83,500 Hours: 36-40 per week, paid bi-weekly Hospital empl...

Where I live smart phones don't work (rural north michigan). So, I bought an old I touch on ebay for 30 bucks, and put all my apps on it. Epocrates, uptodate, ACIP, medscape, medical spanish, this really cool anatomy app which I show stuff to patie...

I would not go the online route unless you have preceptors lined up in advance. I had verbal commitments from several of the docs/np's I work with before I signed up for an online program. All the brick and mortar schools in my area do set up prece...

I don't think the instructor matters, the material is the same no matter who is teaching it. I guess you guys are looking for an easy grader? =). There is a lot of material covered in the class---but I still felt the class was not very challenging....

Mine is not a stand alone. It is part of a hospital. I would be very nervous working for a corp. that is "4-5 docs down". Why is that? Perhaps there is a lot of unhappiness, or the workload is too great for 1 provider. I would burn out very quic...

The good: Moved up the food chain. No more midnight shifts, mandation, lazy coworkers, backstabbing. Really enjoy the pace of urgent care, the days fly by! No more breaking my back helping 300 pound patients onto the commode! Really use my brain on ...

I graduated in December, 2012, and I work 3 days in family practice, and 2 days in urgent care. I actually really enjoy urgent care, much more so than family practice. I see between 25 and 35 patients in a 10 hour shift. Yes, it is ball busting wor...

Congrats Canchaser! RN in Maine, I think 8 weeks for physical assessment is unrealistic. First, there is just too much work. second, if you rush through it, you may not retain much information. I busted through every class-I finished all the fluf...

Ambien is a benzo and will show up in the urine drug screen. As long as you have a valid script for it, it should not be a problem. It will stay in the urine for approximately 1 week if you stop it. I caution you against stopping it cold turkey if...

Just a silly question---if you are not getting ANY callbacks, perhaps there is a typo or something wrong with your resume. Did you send a resume? Have someone proof it for grammar and typos. As a former department manager, I have seen some terribl...

I used exam master online. Very good tests. Really helped me prepare. As for the Capstone, mine was 45 pages. Be sure to follow the guidelines for writing a nursing capstone, you can find these guidelines by doing a google search. As an FNP, you...

I graduated from St. Joe's in December 2012. Our cohort also struggled with this issue with the college. They agreed to allow our cohort to graduate early so we could be conferred on December 31, 2012. Otherwise, we would have had to wait til May,...

Wow-I think this was invented by some of my drug seeking patients! This should be skillfully combined with a sammich and chips! Served up in the Emergency room!