All Content by barcode120x
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FNP VS RN CAREER
Do NOT go for your NP with the expectation to get paid more than a bedside RN. In general, bedside RNs will usually make significantly more than NPs because the ability to work over time. As for the "work life balance" you seek as an NP, it really depends on what specialty you get into. If you do some research online, a good portion of clinic RNs (office setting positions like primary care, cardiology, etc) end up doing more work than intended. Sure, they are your 9-5, M-F job, but many are posting about burnout because of the sheer number of patients they have to see and not only that, but the admin burden time encompasses catching up on work at home. Others are unable to get vacation because they have no coverage for them, but even if they do, they come back from vacation with even more work to catch up on all the admin work they missed. The reason to go for your NP, first and foremost, should be because you want to be the provider despite all the above mentioned. Scheduling and pay comes at the very end, if it ever does. As an NP, I find it quite frustrating when nurses look to NP as their get out of jail free card. As if anyone can do it and automatically have a better life. Being an NP isn't as great as you think. Just like how many of us thought RN was going to be cool, fun, and pay well. The reality of being an RN is very different than what we thought before and it was hard. NP is the same, it is hard in it's own way. There are many factors you need to consider, not just the number of your student loans. What is your lifestyle? How old are you? Do you have a partner, kids, house, etc? What is the plan for the future (I.e. house, car, saving for vacation, investing in your kids future)? What other loans do you have (I.e. credit card debt, mortgage, car loan, etc). Quote, "finding a NP job in my field is VERY difficult to come by." You just answered your own question. Job saturation is another ongoing issue depending on your location.
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Career advancement during NP school- would it pay off?
Did you already finish all your required clinical hours? I would imagine this nurse manager position would be a typical M-F, 8 hour a day job and that would make it extremely difficult to get clinical hours. If you have your clinical hours finished or already have a plan that works for your despite a FT job like this, I think you should jump on it. It would be great experience, the extra pay would be nice, and who knows, if your DNP does not end up working out for you in the end, you at least have this position to fall back on. Who knows, maybe you might actually enjoy this position and stick to it all altogether. I don't think having a nurse manager position as experience when you start looking for a new grad position as an NP will really help you much, but it definitely won't harm your overall "work experience". Assuming you are aiming for a standard provider position (primary care, psych, cardiology, etc) it really boils down to the interview. Yes, nursing experience will help, but all new grad NPs likely have similar background experiences. I feel like your prior bedside experience (if you worked bedside) would help you more than the manger position if going for a specialty position. Let's say you were looking to do cardiology NP and you worked ICU or telemetry as a nurse. That would definitely help you more and you can lean on that experience more during your interview as opposed to your manager experience. But, your manager experience over the next year can help with network your way through other units, clinics, and doctors. This will definitely help you when you are looking for a job as nowadays, networking is a huge part in obtaining a job, especially as a new grad NP. All in all, as long as your clinical hours are done or you have a plan for it and you can take this job, I don't see any harm in taking this position. You will definitely be busy most nights doing the course work for the remaining program, but it's no different if you were not working this manager position.
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The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) MSN WHNP - Fall 2026 start
Any experience for past graduates? Anywhere, but I'm located in central FL if there's anyone there too. Did your program talk about how preceptorship/clinical works? Most NP programs across the US don't provide clinical/preceptorship placement, including mine, so you have to do your best and go about the community and find placement. If your program does not provide placement for you, start early in your search for preceptors, primary care, OB, and peds. It is worthwhile to find at least 2 primary care ones in case you need a back up or would like to experience different preceptors. My advice is to start now in your search for preceptors. Use your current place of employment as a resource. There is a Facebook group for nursing practitioner preceptors (forgot the name off the top of my head) that you may want to look into. Can anyone tell me the different units we need to get for clinicals? OB/GYN and primary care I'd imagine at the least? Most programs will want you in primary care, OB, and peds. Programs usually require X amount of hours and potentially X minimum patients to be seen per specialty. If I recall correctly, my program required at least 650 total clinical hours, 90 peds patients, and 120 OB patients at the very least. I don't know exactly how much I needed for these, but for adult (under 65 years old) I think it was like 240 adult patients and then over age of 65 (geriatric) I needed like 120. Once you go through your programs initial orientation, you will know what "type" of clinical sites are accepted that will count towards your numbers. For example, in some programs such as mine, urgent care does not count at all towards primary care, peds, or OB, but you were welcome to do preceptorship there once you completed the minimum number of patient and hour requirements. Also, what do past graduates recommend for studying in preparation for the boards? I did about 6 weeks of straight studying after taking about 2 months off. I used Fitzgerald for raw knowledge (it's a very dry textbook), used Leik's for more condensed and "hint" like test questions, and lastly, I used APEA's lectures, syllabus, and recordings for additional resources. The only practice questions I did were from Fitzgerald and Leik's textbook. I didn't use anything else. Sarah Michelle's textbook and guides are pretty popular. As nurses we got a lot of recommendations, what about as WHNPs for the licensure exam? Thank you!! Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to this as I went into FNP only.
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Am I getting into nursing for the right reason?
I got into nursing because jokingly enough, I followed the Filipino "stereotypical" route of going into nursing just like my brother and relatives. Doing my GE and pre-reqs were based off that. I was young, didn't really have a care in the world to do anything in particular other just going for nursing because that seemed like the route I should be going at that age. Fast forward a few years later, I got lucky with a per diem job as a lift technician (basically help with patient transfers and repositioning through the unit/hospital) and that opened up my eyes, ears, and my passion for nursing. I thought to myself, "if a simple reposition in bed made a patient's day/night all that much better, man, imagine what it would feel like if I was his/her nurse." And that's really what helped solidify my "passion" for nursing. Many years later and now an NP, getting my patient to smile or lighten up there day is a win in my book for a good day's work. @ZombieMedic123 Awesome update! Do you have any plans on going beyond nursing or looking to do something else now that you're no longer a nursing student, a new grad, but now and experienced nurse?
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Waitlisted #6 Nursing Program
Don't limit yourself to a "top" school. Most employers don't care where you get your degree, as long as you pass your NCLEX. And as long as you go to an accredited nursing program, you can sit for NCLEX. So you should be applying everywhere and anywhere.
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Stuck in a bad situation
Read your contract carefully, but if it's a standard 30, 60, 90 day contract, you are pretty much stuck working like a dog until your last day. Just do your best and document appropriately. The last thing you want is a doc chasing after you for breaking a contract. Threats of suing can be made, but as long as you're following your contract to the T until your last day, you just have to suck it up. I wish you luck.
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Disability Exams
This job is a non treating position which is why you don't need a collaborative agreement with a physician. It is strictly an interview/assessment (physical exam) and you do not make any treatment recommendations because this is a compensation exam, not a treating exam. I've been doing these exams for a DNP for the last 2.5 years and it is a very lucrative job depending on who you work for and which company you are contracted with.
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Medicare in home risk assessments
I dabbled in it for a bit. I work for a DNP who's business is finding 1099 gigs for us, and one of them are those risk assessments, which I think are the same as annual wellness visits? At the time, it was 125 per visit, with a few extra change if we did extra tests. It would be like 5 bucks for spirometry, 10 for spot A1C check, etc. On paper, the pay is insane. But in reality, at least for me, it was awful and inconsistent. The schedulers would schedule patients that were completely out of the way and back. So even though patients were scheduled once every hour, more often then not I spent more than 30 minutes just to drive to the next locations. And as we know, patients talk a lot so visits were a lot longer and I would always run behind. The other big issue is that it was inconsistent. Even though I gave like 9am to 5pm availability, sometimes I would get a full schedule, sometimes I would get 2 visits spread out. I didn't last more than a month doing that. I DO know that it's different depending on an employer. I colleague of mine did the visits with another company in which she said visits were consistent and the routes were good, but just the pay sucked. I think these wellness visits is a decent side gig to do for extra cash, but definitely not worth FT unless you work for an employer that guarantees your pay and provides you a decent scheduling route for the patients.
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Advice Palliative Care Consult
He should have a palliative care provider who should be the one managing the pain meds so that should be the person to contact, not the PCP. He has CP but not on any muscle relaxants? I'm assuming he would at least some sort of contractures and/or stiffness in the extremities so he should at least be on a muscle relaxant. I would recommend baclofen for sure.
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The Movie and TV Thread
Easily one of my top all time TV series. Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai are great actors, though I'm not necessarily too fond of Cosmo Jarvis. Not sure if it's the actor himself or the type/style he was made to play in the series. The series was slated for one season, but it got so many great reviews and with audience raving for a second season that they ended up going for it. I am definitely hyped for the second season and what story they have coming next.
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The Movie and TV Thread
I watched the original. I'm a huge war movie enthusiast and this one was great. Joaquin Phoenix is a superb actor. My GF hasn't watched this, so the director's cut version will be on to-watch movie list!
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Gave meds to wrong patient
I'd recommend you pick up mal practice insurance ASAP. Seems like everything is going well now, but who knows 6 months, 1 year, 5 + years down the line something with this patient comes flying back at you. Mal practice for RN is super cheap anyhow.
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The Movie and TV Thread
I unfortunately had the privilege to watch the movie in theaters when it first came out. I had high hopes as I enjoyed the 2 "28" movies prior. The environment, scenery, and setting were pretty good, but the overall plot was just like....what? LOL.
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The Movie and TV Thread
Jude and Nicholas?! Definitely on my soon to be watched list!
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The Movie and TV Thread
Recently finished the mini series of The Count of Monte Cristo, the English version starring Sam Claflin. It was an overall great story telling with great acting, especially by Sam Claflin. I very much enjoyed the route "Edmond Dantes" chose for vengeance. Sam very much looks like Henry Cavil in this and had often thought Henry was in this haha.
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Leaving early for lunch
I don't mean to be rude, but it doesn't matter if you live X miles away, you arrive X minutes early, and you leave X minutes late or if you are in a big or small clinic, or taking home work. This has nothing to do with allowing you to leave just a tad bit earlier for lunch or have a few minutes longer. Now onto the topic. I feel like they're just being nit picky. Who is actually the one that has issues with it? The doctor or is it the clinic manager doing payroll? As FullGlass said, just be upfront and ask what are the issues with a few minutes or or later. But at the end of the day, it goes back to the whole "clock in" and "clock out" time frame and you should be abiding by your employer's attendance policy. Ask for clarity if you are able to leave early for lunch or at the end of the day if your work is finished? Whoever has the issue, maybe this wasn't brought to his/her attention? Sometimes simply just saying, "hey I'm done for the day, I'll see you later" can be all he/she wants. But yeah, you gotta sit and talk with whoever has the issue.
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First NP job did not work out..now what?
The fact that they told you may never be an NP again speaks volumes of that employer. Honestly, I would stay clear of that employer and leave overall and take the leave. What if you do end up doing the internal transfer, word gets around that you quit that first job, and things don't look good on you? Leave now on mutual, agreed terms. Again, what they said is super shady. I was not in a specific situation as yourself when I was a new grad, but I did end up leaving my first FT job within 5 weeks after finding out it wasn't "the right fit" for me. Long story short, I was unexpectedly expected to do RN work and cover for RNs that called out as an NP which was not stated to me on my employment contract job responsibilities or in the interview process. I was devasted, even fell into a short term depression as I had NO idea what specialty or what to do and I thought that leaving 5 weeks into a new job would look awful on my resume. I ended up working for a super cool DNP doing contract work, medical examiner and annual wellness visits to "pay the bills." After almost a year of doing that (finished out that new grad 1 year), I ended up starting to look for a more stable, full time job with benefits and landed in rehab position. Despite the internet talking about saturated the NP market is, there will always be jobs out there. I'm a huge propronent of doing contract work as it is flexible, can be really good pay, and something to do on the side to build that experience. Work bedside if you want, but at that time, I had NO intention to go back to bedside. But like the other commenter said, we all do have bills to pay. Hope this is some sound advice for you
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Being hopeful
Research online and familiarize yourself with the specialty and unit. Outside of practicing common interview questions, be yourself, be honest, and be humble. Do mock interviews with friends or family. Look at the company's mission and core values as that is sometimes a common question to be asked about (I.e. how their core values resonate with you). When talking about strengths and weaknesses, always give one or two minor weaknesses, but focus on your strengths. If able, turn a weakness into a strength. Lastly, always have questions to ask. Pay, benefits, PTO, sick days, everything and anything so it shows that you are very interested in the position. It's totally fine to talk about future career and educational aspirations, especially if you are going into nursing. But if you are just about to enter nursing school like soon, I'd keep that to yourself. I'm sure managers in healthcare facilities admire their staff going for nursing, but as a candidate, it's not necessarily something you want to share on the interview if you are headed into a nursing program fairly soon. No one would want to hire a someone that may quit or ask for part time or per diem in less than a year (even if it's moving up in education like a nursing program). They then have to hire another person and restart the process. It's not financially efficient on the employer's end.
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Help NP clinical advice after hours
I've never heard of a primary care clinic doing overnight or after hours and I will doubt you will find anything like that. You need to plan for attending clinical hours to be during regular working hours, the typical M-F 9-5, etc. Saturday and Sunday daytime hours are possible, but I would imagine those clinics are very hard to come by in the primary care setting. Be prepared to have to find your own clinic and preceptors as most NP programs do not provide placement. Some offer assistance in finding placement, but it probably isn't anything guaranteed. This is a normal thing nowadays so just because a program doesn't offer clinical placement for you, I wouldn't deem it as untrustworthy. My biggest advice is get started early in finding preceptors before you start your program as you don't want to fall behind (as I did) on clinical hours and have to extend an extra 1 or 2 semesters just to complete hours. It's also important to find and research reputable schools/NP programs first and look at the curriculum so you know how many hours you need for primary care, OB, peds, and any additional that may be required or accepted. It's also just as important to find preceptors for OB and peds early in addition to primary care. Hope this helps.
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Career change at 46.......
Tangled already touched on it and I second getting in to some externship, volunteering, or finding any job in the healthcare setting, better if it's the hospital to get your foot in the door while you work on your pre-reqs and even while you're in nursing school. Tiktok and reddit are filled with many new grads posting threads of not being able to find a job 6 months + anywhere. You have to do everything you can to make yourself sell-able when you finish. I 100% believe that the new grad job market will only continue to get worse. On one side of the coin, we have many new grads struggling to find a job. On the other side of the coin, there are many newER nurses (having like 0-2 year experience) leaving bedside for a better life and/or for "soft nursing" that it's only compounding the nursing shortage as veteran nurses start to and continue to retire and leave. Do everything in your power now while you work on your pre-reqs and while in nursing school to get your networking profile going and get that foot in the door.
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NP Salary/Pay Let's Be Transparent
^ I too have see that link in reddit. The site looks kinda legit, but there were comments about how it was asking for full name, phone number, etc. I went to post my salary on that site but did not feel comfortable posting any of my info. I thought I posted my salary in this thread but I guess not. Here it is! Full time rehab NP in the SNF setting here in Southern California. Salaried - 126k; started off as a new grad. Pending to be changed to per patient ratio soon On paper, 5 days a week, 40 hours/week, see about 120 patients per week More accurately, 4 days a week, ~ 20-25 hours/week, see about 110-130 patients per week (you make your own schedule) Experience - Will be hitting 1 year with this employer and PM&R specialty (rehab/pain mgt) next week. Total NP experience is 2.5 years 15 days PTO per year; sick, bereavement, and PTO all combined 1500/year reimbursement for CME, license, and DEA renewal Mal practice coverage provided 401k plan Health insurance provided/covered I also work a per diem, 1099 contracting job with an s-corp as a medical examiner for a DNP (we have a contract with the VA). On paper 4-6 hours, 1 day per week either on Saturday or Sunday Paid per chart/appointment in which pay is 40, 50, 75, etc per chart depending on the circumstances. But for the sake of averageness, it's about 2-3k per month No benefits whatsoever Self scheduling - you provide your days/hourly availability and they will try and schedule appointments. Sometimes inconsistent, but that's a story for another time Had no experience prior to starting, none was required. Been with this doc for almost 2 years now.
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Male nurses
My thoughts exactly! But yeah, I'm chillin in the field.
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The Movie and TV Thread
As I posted before, The Pitt has been on fire! I just started watching Paradise and I find it quite good. Interesting plot regarding some sort of conspiracy behind a president's death, yet the place and environment they live in may not be what it seems.
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The Movie and TV Thread
The Pitt is insanely good! It's still airing so only 2 episodes are out but it's a must watch! While it's primarily a show following the docs, nursing is a part of and and the shout outs to nursing in it are SO GOOD. Never have I seen a medical show shout out to nursing so well compared to this. Of course in addition to the shout outs to nursing, overall one of the better, if not the best ER/medical series I've seen so far.
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Failed AANP Twice-Need Motivation!
Definitely check out other resources as it seems you had solely focused on just use LWES. I'd recommend Amelie Hollier's lectures for a good, condensed, clinical version of FNP and any of her textbook study material. APEA (Hollier's company) has many online practice questions and predictors that may help. Fitzgerald text is a very dry textbook but it has the material of FNP in it and a decent handful of practice questions. And lastly, I recommend Leik which I primarily focused on for a condensed textbook with many clinical pearls (content that might be on the exam) with many online practice questions. I used all 3, but focused on Leik's the last few weeks before my exam. "I feel that it must be how I am interpreting the questions being asked on the exam, thinking as a nurse not as an NP, but I do not know how to change that." If this is the case, at least partly, then you definitely need to work on reflecting on your answers after taking practice exams. I would take practice exams from different resources, score it, look at your incorrect answers, and reflect on why you got those answers wrong. This could help clue you into how your thought process works (RN vs NP). Other questions to reflect on: How often are you second guessing or triple guessing yourself? What areas (assess, plan, diagnose, evaluate) do you think you struggle with when you take your exam? Looking at the strength and weaknesses being flipped, it's tough to say how to fix it other than just having to continue to study all 4 areas. You are right at the cusp on both exams and I definitely think that the 3rd time you'll pull through.