DanaNP

I have my MSN (nurse practitioner) and had the option of attending a school that offered an MSN or going to a school where I could get a DNP. I chose to do it in two steps because I wanted to limit the time it took to complete the NP and begin practicing. I will get a DNP or PhD sometime in the near future, but when I decided which path to take my entry to practice was shorter with an MSN followed by a DNP. For me, it will be less expensive, as well.

Different people have different abilities and different obligations outside school. Take inventory of YOUR skills, abilities, and obligations and decide what is best for YOU! The most important consideration is that you not only pass, but do your absolute best in pre-nursing classes. Nursing schools have become so competitive that applicants with 3.5 GPAs are being rejected. Passing two or more classes with B's or C's will get you no where in the long run.

If there is a local med supply store in your area, look at (and listen through) the stethoscopes and try each before you buy. What works well for one person isn't necessarily the best for another. It's important that you're able to hear subtle sounds, and this is the difference between good stethoscopes and mediocre ones. Your stethoscope should last years--if not decades. Find the ones you like best and buy the best (within reason) you can afford. Very high-end stethoscopes are overkill for someone who isn't a cardiologist, so be careful you're not buying something to be a status symbol. Several people I know are on their 3rd or 4th (cheap) stethoscope because they break (besides not being optimal for listening to heart sounds).

There is great logic in choosing something and sticking with it. But, there's common sense in quitting if you hate every moment of the path you've just started. But, it doesn't sound like you hate your major or your school, you're just questioning what the future may bring with this major. So, don't quit. But, do take electives and expose yourself to other subjects. Most students don't remain with the major they chose as freshmen; this is one of the many reasons universities require students to take electives and classes outside their major. The trend now is that workers change careers multiple times in their lives, so don't put pressure on yourself to find your life's work at age 19. Just find something you like.

Nursing programs aren't like most colleges; they often have guidelines and stick to them as if they are super glue! As others suggested, go to your prospective school and ask. This will clarify their requirements. Usually, once a person has a year of college credits their high school grades no longer matter. Nurse2b makes a good point that nursing schools are competitive, so merely achieving the minimum probably isn't good enough. The fact that you're now proving yourself to be a serious student (unlike your high school experience) will be to your advantage.

A passport trumps any other form of ID. The only issue may be your address. I don't believe my passport even HAS my address on it.

I'm a mental health NP, so my focus is usually on mental health issues and I often explore possibilities if there is even a hint of concern. I may be totally off base, but being a prudent practitioner I wonder if you're depressed or if there are other issues going on in your life. Don't answer here, it's not a question for discussion. But, consider it, ask your husband and your relatives and friends if you 'seem yourself'. Ask yourself if you're sleeping ok, if your appetite is the same as it's always been, if you have interest in the things that you were always interested in. Besides that, you're getting good advice here. Try another unit, another job, another employer. Or, resign yourself to the reality that jobs aren't always fun and exciting.

When I was a new nurse, we charted everything we did, and were told that if 'we didn't chart it, we didn't do it'. My second job required charting by exception. I had a hard time with the transition. Your point is valid that if there is a discrepancy between two documents it might make you seem dishonest. But, worse, another nurse got pulled into court because of a hospital error. She charted by exception, so she hadn't written down her numerous checks on this patient (and by then couldn't remember because it was years later). The lawyers made it seem that she had neglected the patient.

A young woman just shadowed me (I'm a Nurse Practitioner) who wanted to enter the field because she got discouraged with nursing. She sees the work as an NP as very different than that of a nurse--and she's right about that. We shared horror stories about being on the floor with far too many patients, responsibilities we weren't prepared for, and colleagues who tried to sabotage us. When I worked in ICU as an RN I saw many new grads come in as new hires. This was during the worst years of the nursing shortage and the hospital filled those jobs any way they could. Patient acuity, meds on two or three critically ill patients, codes every time you turned around, and technical equipment that they were unfamiliar with as new grads was way too much for them. Some survived, but many couldn't handle the stress. Guttercat is right that there is a big difference between the fantasy of spending time with patients, offering compassion and encouragment and the reality of rushing into a room, scurrying to do what you need to while knowing that you're 20 minutes late on another patient's pain meds. I disagree with the dudette that nurses who have left the field don't frequent this site. I read posts all the time from those who are on the verge of quitting or who have just quit. I think their stories may have some similarities.

Patti, I wish I had read your advice before entering my BSN and MSN programs. Yes, I was 'thrilled' at being accepted at a well-known, highly respected university, that I couldn't afford. Not one to turn down a chance to attend such a place, I took out student loans--and friends, family, and co-workers encouraged me to do so. They said such things as "you'll never regret education' and 'money well spent' AFter finishing my BSN I joined the workforce and realized that my $125,000 BSN gave me the exact identical paycheck as the 2 year diploma nurses hired with me! Fast forward five years when I decided to be a Nurse Practitioner: same deal. I got accepted to one of the best programs in the country and felt that I 'had to do it'. Another $60,000 in tuition (plus living expenses. At this point I wasn't living with my parents and had to pay for my own room/board, so that was an additional expense. No one has ever even asked me where I went to school. It doesn't matter to my patients. And employers might like the names of my schools, but don't hire me becasue of them, they hired me because I have good clinical skills. I'm paid the same and get the same respect as the grads of less expensive universities. My total student loan bills are way over $200,000 and I'm not the only one in my MSN class who has this much debt. I pay my bills every month, but htere isn't much left over. Yep, these programs are great, but with some effort I could have learned as much at another college.