rehric00

I just wanted to share my experience with everyone, because when I was preparing for this exam, I was looking for resources on what other people did.... So I graduated August 4th. I pretty much wrapped up my clinicals and final semester the first week of July. I honestly did not open a book from the time I was done with clinicals, until I scheduled my test. Would I recommend this to others? No. It was stressful. I got my authorization to test Aug 21. I scheduled my test Aug 30 because I just wanted to be done. In general, I have been a good test taker so this worked for me... I bought the Fitzgerald book a while back while I was still in school. I did not use the book much, but I did like the online question bank. The rationales are not great, but I used the program sometimes- like when I was at work and had some down time. I bought a question book from the APEA, that was basically all questions and rationales. I used this resource the most. I loved their rationales, because they not only explained why the right answer was "right", but also why the wrong answers were "wrong". I bought the 2016 version of the Barkley CDs with the booklet on Ebay for around $70. I considered taking the class, but I did not want to spend $600, given that there probably wasn't THAT MUCH different info from 2016 to 2017. I listened to the discs over the course of 4 days... Tuesday through Friday. The 2016 version had both JNC 7 and JNC 8 guidelines, so that helped. I bought 2 predictor exams from APEA. I took one after I listened to the CDs and scored a 72%- which was "passing". I did the practice tests in the back of the APEA book, and did kinda poorly on those, but the rationales helped me realize where I went wrong. On Monday, I took my second APEA online predictor test and got a 83%, which was again "passing". Tuesday (yesterday), I purchased the AANP practice test- 75 questions- for $50. I got an 85% on that. I did not study much the day before the test. I went back over murmurs, some women's health stuff, and random odds and ends. I rented the LEIK book from Amazon. I got it Friday.. I opened and closed it again. Too much info for this short amount of time... But I have heard it is good if you have time to ready it! The day of the test, I ate a normal breakfast and made sure to get to the testing site with time to spare. I used the bathroom twice and started the test. I thought it was pretty difficult. There are a lot on the test that was not covered in Barkley (but, I would still highly recommend his review... it was great!). I felt like I had guessed on about half of the material. In the end, I thought for sure I had failed. I went to check out and got my print out, and it said that I had passed. If you are generally not a great test taker or struggled in school, I would not recommend cramming. However, if you were a strong student throughout the program, stay focused and have the right tools, you can pass the test with one week of prep. Let me know if I can help answer any questions, because I know how stressful planning for this test is! Good luck to everyone else preparing to take it soon!

I am looking for advice/opinions of people who may have worked as an NP in a private practice vs within a bigger corporation for primary care I am done with school in August and will be sitting for boards in Sept. I have 2 potential jobs lined up- One is with my current for-profit hospital network. It is within the same network, but is in a small rural town. I would be able to keep my years of service and would not have to do all the "new hire" stuff. The recruiter told me that realistically, I would have to stay working as a staff RN in the hospital until Dec or Jan because that is how long it takes to get fully credentialed. Mind you, I have been with this company since 2009, and worked my way up from a CNA to RN and now FNP. We were previously non profit, but were bought out by a crappy company last year. It has been a rocky year and many of the good people have left. There is no lab or xray here. Second option is a privately owned office that is owned by a physician that I work with at the hospital. It is a nice office, they are continually growing and seem very welcoming. The doc that owns it is notorious for giving nurses (myself included) a very hard time sometimes and is not generally the nicest person. However, I would not have to work directly with him, as he is a specialist and I would be collaborating with his Internal Med partners- both of them are great. They said they would hire me any time and let me shadow the MD until I get credentialed. I would probably make less money here and they would not do any tuition reimbursement, unlike the office mentioned above. This office has lab, US, PFTs, xray, etc. I have shadowed at both offices. They are both nice. I cannot for the life of me decide which one I should go for. I have interviews for both this month. I kind of want a breath of fresh air and leave the crappy company I am with now, but I am also nervous for change. My husband wants me to stay with my current company, but I am sort of not sure that is what I want to do. Advice? Things I should ask in my interviews? Things I should look out for?? Thank you in advance! This is stressful!

Right! Some of my best friends are also Co workers. However, we are all ICU nurses and don't have drama. We all work very well together. Actually, most of the nurses are very good friends with each other. I think that's why we pull together so well!

I am in the final stretch of my NP program. I graduate in August. However, I am stuck in a rut- well it feels like it anyways. I have NO motivation to do anything. None. I am doing well in school and have a 4.0 gpa. So it is not like this is affecting my school work, but I am starting to wonder if something is wrong with me- so I am asking you guys, other students, if you feel the same way... I am not sure if i am burned out, depressed, or if I need my TSH checked LOL. I work two 12 hour night shifts week in an ICU for income (weekend package). I typically do 2 or 3 8 hr shifts of clinical for school (day shift). The homework load is annoying- but not extensively hard. I actually cant even call it hard, its just time consuming and annoying. I am married with no kids. So this should be easy, right? Well its not. I am exhausted all the time. I cannot stay focused to do my work. I procrastinate a lot. When I set aside time for studying, I stare ahead and find something else to do, but I can only do that for so many days until I am under pressure to get stuff done. I always get it done and usually do very well on assignments and tests. I just feel guilty that I plan for myself to get ahead.. yet I never do. I just feel so consumed by school, or thoughts of constantly having things due, that it is wearing my down. So I am not really sure that it is true depression.. or if it is just a situational thing. All I can find myself thinking about it summer and the plans I have for around the house. I spend too much of my free time on Pinterest day dreaming about projects I am going to be doing this spring/summer. I don't feel sad really, I just feel like I don't want to worry about school anymore. And that I would like to take a very long nap. Even if I sleep 11 hours. I keep telling my preceptor that sleeping is my favorite hobby LOL Anyone else out there in the same boat? I just keep trying to chug along. only 4.5 more months. and then i get my life back

Pretty sure you have to be a nurse to become a nurse practitioner. And in response to your question about which will make you a better NP- my answer is to become a nurse first. Which I think you have to either way. You cannot go from med tech to NP. Too much is at stake. You need to learn basic assessment, med classes and administration, prioritization, among SO MANY other things as an RN that are essential to BUILD upon in NP school. You need the base knowledge first. The program I am about to graduate from requires at least one year of nursing experience before acceptance into the program, as well as a BSN.

So... I graduate in August from my FNP program. THANK GOD! I am so ready to be done! So, to celebrate, I am planning a big (ish) vacation for my husband and I. Although he did not actually go through the program, he has put up with me, so I'd say we both deserve it! In the past we have enjoyed smaller vacations, going to state parks, hiking, seeing waterfalls, etc. We have never really been on a beachy vacation.. we're not huge beach people, but wouldn't mind being somewhere that had beach and other attractions. Here's a list of what we had in mind, maybe... Alaskan cruise (seems confusing to plan.. and pricier than I expected) Yosemite Yellowstone Hawaii (probably out of our budget for this yet) Riviera Maya Virgin islands St Lucia Not sure what I want to do. The more I look at pics of the islands, I keep thinking I don't want to spend 7 days on a beach. But I also do want to spend 7 days hiking in a forest either. I have looked at all inclusive, I like to eat.. alot... but I am not the type that really wants to be waited on hand and foot.. I'm pretty laid back and go with the flow... Any suggestions? I have a fairly decent budget and this will be one of the biggest vacations weve been on so far... What did YOU do when you graduated??

Update: I had my interview today and have some info to guide my decision. I am not making a decision until at least Monday or Tuesday... The LTC facility is a non-profit Christian based organization. Typical patient ration is 1:20 for nurses, 1:10 for aides. The acuity is very low, they do not take very skilled patients (trachs, etc). The ADON that interviewed me said she is personally very happy with the benefits. She did admit that they are always working on staff moral and turn over. They did not seem desperate and she said it is very rare that staff has to stay over these days. They offer an employee match to contribution to a 403B, although she said health insurance for a family is pricey. She could not give me exact numbers on insurance or pay rate, so I am awaiting a call from their HR dept. It is all really going to depend on pay rate, cost of insurance, and when insurance would kick in. They are willing to work with my school schedule, and can do 4, 8 or 12 hour shifts. So we will see. I am not going to hold my breath- but it does not seem as bad as other LTC facilities. The staff all looked happy. I guess that says something too... Ill keep you all posted

The new admins have changed things. They have taken away virtually all the small "perks" we have had for years. They are cutting costs in every way possible (I know every place is, but this is a bit extreme). I was going to be upfront and honest with a new potential employer about my schooling. The place I was considering uses agency nurses when they are short. I used to work for them for a very short time as prn.. I quit on good terms- but would need a good orientation again. My thought, is if they are short, it is cheaper to pay a staff nurse than an agency nurse, even if it is only for 6-8 months. Its all up in the air and there is a lot to consider. I would obviously ask all the questions and not just quit my current job without having the facts. I just wanted to see if anyone else was in the same boat or had been there, done that. I also think transitioning to a day shift would also help. The night thing is mostly do-able.. but it is starting to wear on me.

Good point. I just don't feel like I can work one more shift at the hospital. I have worked at a snf before. It was not ideal. But I think I could make it work for a few months

Staff moral. High expectations without sufficient resources. Poor treatment by admins. Fear of being fired for speaking up. The whole place has just gone down hill. And just general burnout. I am not quite sure where I want to practice as an NP. I start my adult rotation this month and that will help me narrow down what I want to do. I do think I want to specialize though.

I am currently working in a ICU on a weekend package contract. Fri and Sat nights only, so that I can focus on my FNP school during the week and do clinicals. I graduate in August 2017. My current job is sucking this life out of me. I stay bc I love my co-workers and the pay is unbeatable (extra 7.50/hr for the contract work). I have been at this hospital for 7 years. Last year, a new mega company bought us out and moral has plummeted. I keep telling myself I will stick it out until I am done with FNP school. "I can do this. Its only a few more months." The problem, is that I don't feel like I can do this. I feel sick thinking about going to work. I still love my co-workers but I hate going to that job every weekend. Hate it. So much so, that I have caught myself thinking that I don't even want to be a nurse anymore.... which is horrible bc I am on the brink of having a Master's Degree in a profession I am growing to despise. I need out. There is a decent nursing home not far from me that I plan on looking into. They would have to honor my set schedule though. They appear to be in dire need of nurses right now, so I am hopeful they can work something out with me. But here are the things holding me back- I hold the insurance for my family. My husband does not work for medical reasons. I can only work part time and I fear there will be a lapse in coverage. I will take a pay cut of at least 10 or more dollars an hour if I take a job in a SNF. The pay cut is temporary- things will be tight. Is my happiness and overall well being worth the lesser pay? I have worked in nursing homes before and it was hard. But is it harder than what I already do now? SNF is not my ideal job, but I think it will get me by for now. I do not want to apply to another hospital bc of my impending graduation. I think a SNF would be better, as the orientation process is less and they typically have a higher turn over anyways. I am nervous. I do not know what I should do. My husband tells me to go for it. Am I just being a big baby about it? Should I just stick it out? Or should I give myself a breath of fresh air for a few months before I transition into the FNP role? What are your opinions or experiences with this?

If the pt was alert and oriented, they have every right to refuse treatment. As long as your staff did everything possible to educate the pt on the severity and ensure he knew the risks, I don't think you should let it weigh on you. It's no different than someone refusing chemo for a highly treatable cancer...

Both if us are on days...

I can see why unions have their perks... I've just stuck thru so much with this hospital. It has not been a pretty 6 years for them, lost their magnet designation- 75% turn over.. ive stuck it out and I'm almost fed up...

Guys & Gals... I know we are "not supposed to talk about pay"... but we all do. That being said, my hospital recently did a market analysis and raised base pay for all hospital employees. I got a small increase (50 cents I think)... However- the base pay for new grads (BSN) was also raised. I have been at the hospital for 6 years, 3 of those an a BSN prepared nurse. I have med surg and peds experience, and currently work in ICU as charge nurse/preceptor (and have done extensive training since I started there 2 years ago). I am also pursuing my master's degree. I've always rated the highest level on my yearly evals, have never been wrote up and have called off 4 times in six years. I recently found out that new grads are now starting out making a wage that is only 50 cents less than what I make per hour. The big question: Am I wrong for being slightly upset about this? I realize I will be done with school in a few years and be making double what I make now anyways.. But I cannot help but to feel like I'm getting jipped. Don't get me wrong- I do not think the new grads should be making less.. but I also have a hard time justifying that I have all this experience and am basically getting the same wage as someone who doesn't even know how to start an IV or complete an admission history assessment. Thoughts on this? Am I just being a negative Nancy? Should I just suck it up? Or do I have a valid point here?