uronurse1

Amen! Now, when I round on the floor at the hospital where I used to work, I am so incredibly thankful to be where I am. It may seem like a while but it will be over before you know it. The last several months will likely be your busiest and they will fly by! And soon you will be like me, over a year out from school- a distant memory. Hang in there!

^This! I'm a new FNP and was started at $97k/year including salary and bonus. Not including other perks (CE, etc). I work Mon-Thurs, no call, no nights, no weekends, and no holidays. I will take a "cut" to have this schedule and the autonomy I enjoy in my role. This is a great gig!

I too had a job waiting for me so I went ahead and signed up for both. I took ancc first as that is the one I truly desired. I passed it the first time- not bad at all. Ended up canceling aanp and of course was out the fee but reimbursed the rest. So for more peace of mind and if you don't mind being out the cancellation fee- schedule both. Otherwise go with the one you really want and study hard. Good luck!

May i ask which program you will be attending? Thanks!

From what i remember, there are recorded lectures for the three Ps, as mentioned above, the clinical courses are live via webcam (and also recorded so you can go back and relisten anytime), and i think a few other classes. For the other courses, it may have been up to the instructors. There are only 12 courses. There are modules for every course and quite a bit of interaction. I felt it was a very rigorous program but i was more than adequately prepared for boards. Every program has its issues but overall i was pleased with my educational experience with TJU.

Your posts make you seem very, very, very young so i think you have plenty of time to go for PA or MD. This and many of your other comments make me wonder why on earth you are pursuing your NP. If you take into consideration the amount of time you have utilized to comment about the horrific state of NP education and their bleak future, i am thinking you could have had your pre-med courses completed by now. In all seriousness, i am looking forward to you starting your program, starting clinical and walking in the shoes of an NP, actually taking one of the licensing exams that you so comfortably comment on, and finally practicing as an NP. Then your posts might be read with a little less eye rolling. I can appreciate your passion for this subject and perhaps, once you have more experience, you can use it to help make the changes you so frequently comment on. Otherwise, I hope you dont regret your decision later on.

A typical day for me involves seeing anywhere from 20-25 pts with a wide variety of urologic issues- bph, prostate/bladder/kidney cancer, kidney stones, UTIs, ED, low testosterone, testicular masses/pain, hematuria, urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, pelvic organ prolapse, urethral stricture, and more. Huge variety so never boring. If our group is on call i will round on patients in the hospital. I am never in OR although that may be the case with other urology practices. I am also responsible for reviewing results and addressing any abnormals appropriately. I find urology to be very challenging and very, very busy. I am never without numerous things to do. I really cant see myself doing anything else.

I agree that you should not base your likelihood of passing on these scores. I scored 70s to 80s on fnpprep and passed ancc without issue. I did not feel the tests were all that similar to real exam. The only useful part is it may make you more comfortable with test taking in general. At least in my opinion.

For example, i would get to clinical site early to look over my schedule for the day. They did not allow us to count prep time. They also didnt not want us to count time at the end of the day that were charting, etc. Of course the hours and hours it took to document in typhon couldnt be counted either, which that i understand but it was time consuming. We had to obtain data and do a soap note on every single patient we saw. It was quite tedious.

My school used typhon, site checks/visits, and the preceptors has to sign off confirming our hours completed. They were very strict in which hours we could count as well.

I agree with this. I have posted my story a few times because i was in a similar situation. After years of infertility we found out we we were expecting the same day i found out i was accepted to an fnp program. Complete surprise, exciting and terrifying. I started the program at about 10 weeks. I didnt have morning sickness so not exactly like your situation. But i worked full time until my third trimester which is when my started my clinical courses. I gave birth right after i completed the semester and 9 days before my next semester started up -full time. I did take 90 days maternity leave but then had to go back to work 25 hrs/wk with an infant and full time class (plus 24 clinical hrs/wk). I graduated the day before my daughter turned 1 with 3.9gpa. Support system is huge!!! Between hubby, sisters, mother, in-laws, friends- i arranged for baby sitting for work, clinical, class, and study time. Had to be very, very organized. Hubby did her nighttime routine every night so i could stay up and study. He understood this was temporary and we had a mutual goal. Also i was blessed to have clinical sites within a few minutes from home. I had an option to take a year off when she was born. But i knew i likely wouldnt go back especially with a wild toddler running around demanding so much attention. Sure i missed out on some things but i dont regret my decision to get it over with. Newborns/infants sleep a lot and i made the most of that time. Also, i pumped for six months so if you think this will ruin your hopes of breastfeeding, it wont. It was the most stressful and crazily busy time of my life but absolutely doable. Pregnancy gave me a whole new perspective for the future. It was no longer about me, or my hubby, it was ALL about her. Quitting/failure wasnt even an option. So it can be done and i am proof. Congratulations on your pregnancy and best wishes for your future!

Absolutely this^^^ Im an NP in urology and 1+ blood on a dip stick is a very non specific finding. Culture is the definitive test and in the absence of specific symptoms (pain, gross hem, etc.), i would await culture prior to initiating antibiotic treatment. Another reason to look for other causes of confusion is in view of the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in elderly residents of long-term care facilities. This is a significant contributing factor to antibiotic resistance, c diff, etc. So to me, i dont care which ua you decided on, as long as a culture was done. This is of course my thoughts without knowing the patient's urologic history. That being said, regardless of culture results, a ua microscopy should be repeated in the future to reassess the microhematuria as further evaluation may be warranted.

I'm an FNP and work in urology. I have an option to sit for Certified Urologic Nurse Practitioner exam after a year of experience. I chose FNP because i felt it offered me the greatest flexibility in being able to work with any age group and in most areas.

6 months out and seeing 25 pts per day? Thats outstanding. Im a new provider in urology but have 10+ years experience in this area and just now seeing 20-25 per day. My employer realizes that 30 will be my max because its important that i spend enough time with my pts. Id say you probably need to look for a new job, where you will be appreciated. 50 per day in that setting seems crazy to me!

I attended a program as a distance learner but both groups (online and on-campus) were required to complete 65 hours in an appropriate setting. The difference was that they had access to the labs and all necessary equipment to be able to practice when they wanted. Although not required, I purchased an otoscope, ophthalmoscope, reflex hammer, tongue depressors, etc, as these were not always readily available in my clinical site. I also set up practice sessions where I would arrange for various family members and friends to come in for their complimentary comprehensive assessment. Both student groups had to be on campus to be tested out at mid-term and end of term for skills test. We were required to perform comprehensive assessments on trained actors while being watched on monitors by several instructors. The actors are trained to know whether our technique, communication, etc., is appropriate. We were timed and had to be able to complete the assessment in 30 minutes or less. It was pass/fail and graded based on the actor's input and instructors' observation. The university has numerous resources available such as examination videos, recordings, etc., which were also very helpful and were expected to be knowledgeable of as we were tested very comprehensively.