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.

I love, love, love urology! Such a variety of GU issues and never a dull moment. I have worked as a nurse, nurse/office manager, and now a NP in a private urology practice for the last 10 years. I am a certified urologic RN and will obtain my certification for urologic NP in October. I got in because i was desperate to get off nights in the hospital after 1 year and so i applied everywhere hiring for days. The practice was looking for an LPN but the interview went well, i was hired, and the rest is history. If you are allowed to do a portion of your clinical rotation in specialties, i would highly recommend arranging for some hours in a urology practice. That would get your foot in the door and allow much more exposure to help you to better determine if this is really what you want. If you arent able to do this, perhaps you could arrange to shadow on your own time. There is a recognized growing shortage of urologists (among other areas i know) so i do believe they will be utilizing NPs and PAs more and more in this field. I would recommend becoming a member of SUNA which would introduce you to a wealth of information. Membership would also really help you with networking as you would be placed in contact with your local chapter for meetings and other activities. Let me know if i can answer any questions for you.

First of all, why on earth would you take a family member with "severe sepsis" who is "barely clinging to life" to an urgent care vs an emergency dept? You are a nurse, correct? Urgent care centers are for urgent needs not emergencies. They may not be equipped to handle severe cases like the one you describe. I really doubt they have to admit very often which may somewhat explain the delay you described. You being the nurse should have appropriately directed your loved one to an ED where their care and susequent hospital admission would have been expedited based on the apparent emergent need. It sounds like your experience was more related to your poor judgment. And to refer to them as a "smiling idiot" is so utterly offensive. I can only imagine the way you treated this individual. Secondly, what does your second example have to with anything? Your family member never saw the PA so how does this provide any basis for your mindset regarding the incompetency of "mid-levels". How do you know that the PA wouldn't have prescribed the same plan following their assessment? You don't know that. Your blanket statement regarding NPs and PAs being "basically clueless" among many other of your derogatory comments along with your blatant disregard of real evidence really highlights your ignorance. Like i said before, at the very least, the curriculum/education needs to be standardized across the board. I'm not saying that there aren't any questionable NPs practicing out there but I also could not say that there are no questionable physicians either. At this time there is strong evidence that points to equivalent outcomes between the groups which you cannot deny. Both groups are very important to healthcare which is more and more evident as time goes on.

Thank you for inquiring. No urologic nursing residency available, sadly. However, I have worked very closely with a urologic surgeon for the last 10 years of my nursing career prior to obtaining my FNP. I was also one of the few RNs in the state to obtain my urologic nursing certification as soon as I qualified to take the exam. I will sit for the urologic NP exam in October when I qualify. I know this will only earn a snide reply from you but wanted to respond to your question.

Only you know what you can handle. I can share with you my experience. I worked 40 hrs and took two courses during my first two trimesters. During my third trimester i took three courses (adv patho, adv pharm, and comp assessment), worked 25 hours per week, and did 6-10 clinical hours per week. It was hard but definitely doable. I finished my last full time semester (including 224 clinical hours) with a newborn. My last two semesters were part time, but i was back to working 25 hours per week and 25 hours of clinical per week. I graduated the day before she turned 1. I made all As and passed boards without a problem. This was first pregnancy (surprise pregnancy after years of infertility) as well and i was 32. I feel like she gave me a totally new focus; it was for her from then on. I turned into a machine and was determined to succeed. Also, i didnt stress about my pregnancy because there was no time to! It was a totally crazy year but i knew it would be "easier"(ha) with her as a newborn then a toddler. Also i took 90 days for maternity leave which really helped me get through the last full time semester. I had an AWESOME support system between hubby, family, and friends. Could not have made it through without them. Good luck and congratulations!!!

Is that a threat? Just kidding :) Anyways, I'm not exactly sure what I should be worrying about either. I can be persuaded by the evidence and i have the pleasure of seeing it benefit my patients every day.

I can respect your opinion in having a preference for seeing an MD/DO over a NP/PA. I do view it as only that - an opinion. I find it surprising that you are "not at all persuaded" by what many would consider strong evidence. It also leads me to wonder about (and fear) what other evidence, regarding more critical matters, you wouldn't be persuaded by. In the near future, as the physician shortage grows, I wonder if you would encourage your loved ones to wait for necessary medical care rather than seeing one of us "mid-levels". For those of you who are so anti-NP/PA, i would love to hear your solution to filling the growing gap left by the physician shortage. Please enlighten me. As one of the few urologic providers in several counties, I am more than aware of how appreciative my patients are to be able to see me, when they might otherwise wait weeks or longer to see the doctor. I know they also appreciate that i am available to see patients so that the surgeon can be freed up and more available to perform critical surgeries that I am not able to do. That being said, we do have a policy that our patients are allowed to see whom they prefer with the understanding that they will be scheduled based on availability. All this being said, I also definitely agree that at the very least, NP education/curriculum needs to be standardized across the board.

Amen, BlueDevil. Amen.

Thomas Jefferson University offers live web course for all clinical courses for students who live 90+ miles from school. You attend via web cam. Other courses normally held on campus (pharm, pathophys, assessment), the lectures are recorded for online students.

^This!! And more importantly, you need to project confidence as a Provider when caring for patients. You need to show your patients that they can be confident in the care you provide them. They will pick up on this and it will have a significant impact on your patient satisfaction. You have to take action to make the changes; nobody else can do it for you. Believe in yourself!

Thomas jefferson university is 4 semesters or about 15-16months full time. It is 12 classes or 36 credits because the focus on essentials and cut out a lot of fluff. This is a very intense program requiring 2 day trips to campus and over 700 clinical hours. I graduated in august and passed ancc boards in october with no issue. It may be a little pricey but i was willing to pay for a program that focused on preparing me for practice and was low on fluff.