3UNC

After three phone interviews and an almost day-long in-person interview/shadowing experience, I was offered a job! I am very grateful for this job opportunity - especially considering that we’re facing a pandemic and almost every employer seems to be looking for an experienced NP. The entire process - from submitting the application to receiving a job offer - took four weeks. Just thought I would share this information in case anyone is seeking this sort of insight.

Thank you, umbdude! These forum responses have been a lot of help.

So I can actually add to this conversation now .. I have now interviewed with a potential employer three times over the past nine days (recruiter - > CEO - > medical director & another physician). I received a message from the recruiter about an hour after my last interview stating that she would like to schedule a date and time for me to visit the clinic and meet my potential coworkers. This would be my first time seeing any of them, as all of the interviews took place over the phone. Would you recommend wearing business casual or business professional attire for this meeting? It seems like the formal interviewing is over, but I don't want to be underdressed if I am wrong. Thank you. I appreciate every response.

Thanks for the advice.

Sounds like you're in a good position career-wise. You're fortunate.

That is insane. I can think of few situations that make me more uncomfortable than having to interview, so I hope I will not have to participate in as many as you did. Thanks for sharing.

Can you describe what the interview process looked like for you when you sought employment at your current or former NP job? I am most curious to know who was involved in the interview (e.g., recruiter, CMA, other providers, organizational leaders) and how many interviews were required. I am simply looking for some insight into what I should expect as a recently-certified FNP who is seeking employment. Thank you.

I think I can provide you with some advice. After nine weeks of intense studying, I received a preliminary pass on the AANP exam last week. Like you, I feared that I would be one of the few people to receive a fail (which is approximately 20% of test takers). However, now that I have been through the process of studying and actually sitting for the exam, I realize that the AANP exam is not overly difficult for the well-prepared person. It is certainly a comprehensive exam, so you cannot skip studying body systems/content that you find more challenging to learn and still expect to do okay (for me, that would have been musculoskeletal and nearly all of pediatrics). Nevertheless, a person who makes studying a priority and uses the right tools should expect to get a passing score. I was able to complete my test and review all of my answers with plenty of time left on the clock. 1. Create a study plan - I found this advice online and knew it would be important for me to follow. I can become rather aimless if I do not have concrete goals that I am trying to achieve. At the same time, I knew that I would never adhere to a plan that was too specific. My study plan involved determining the number of weeks I wanted to study (8-9 weeks) and the number of hours I would study per week (30 hours). I also set a test date so that I would not be tempted to draw out the process. I completed a live online review course offered by Fitzgerald, and not all of the content is covered during those ~17 hours, so I knew that I wanted to get through the remainder of the content at least once during the first 1-2 weeks. Besides making goals about how quickly I would finish reviewing my other main resource (Leik's FNP Certification Intensive Review, 3rd edition), I did not include much else in my study plan. I did document how many hours I studied each day and totaled them at the end of the week so that I could hold myself accountable. And to be honest, I did not reach my goal of 30 hours/week each week, but I believe I studied many more hours by having a goal than I would have had I not created one. All in all, I studied ~215 hours for this exam.  2. Pay attention to any information that two or more resources seem to emphasize -- you'll probably see it on the exam. 3. If you have trouble remembering certain content (e.g., types of anemia, cardiac murmurs), make a note card on that content because you can carry your note cards with you wherever you go and review them when you have downtime. I purchased some 4x6 notecards for this purpose and am glad that I did. Repeatedly seeing the information helped me memorize it. 4. Remember that you're not simply trying to pass an exam -- you're trying to acquire as much knowledge as possible so that when you enter clinical practice, you will be able to meet the needs of your patients. Maybe it's just me, but keeping this in mind made studying kind of enjoyable. 5. Take practice exams. In addition to the practice exams that came with my Fitzgerald review course and the questions in the back of the Leik book, I purchased 5 exams from Exam Edge, 1 from PSI, and 1 from APEA. I began taking these practice tests about midway through my studying to gauge how prepared I was for the AANP exam. The PSI exam was the most expensive, but like others have said, it is most similar to the actual exam, so I am glad that I purchased it. However, the website states that your score on the exam is not indicative of how you will do on the test day, so I wanted to take at least one predictor exam offered by APEA. My scores on these two tests were 81% and 82%, respectively. I considered taking another PSI exam the day before my test date but decided not to because I knew that a bad score would wipe out my confidence. 6. Do not try to cram at the end. Cramming will not work for this exam because you will not really know the content. I probably studied 2-3 hours the day prior to my test date, and I really think anything more than that would have been pointless. It is more important that you focus on your mental wellbeing and getting ample rest. 7. Look at the exam blueprint. Currently, only 3% of the exam covers prenatal care but 21% is geriatrics. It is obviously more important to prioritize studying geriatric care than prenatal if your study time is limited. 8. Remember that the purpose of the test is to determine whether you have the knowledge and skills needed to be an entry-level provider. Can you recognize danger signs? Do you know when it is necessary to refer? What are the first-line pharmacotherapies for common primary care conditions? What populations are at highest risk for particular diseases? Hope this helps.

Congratulations (:

Will any of you who were accepted be taking the health assessment course? Apparently it starts in less than 3 days, and as of right now, I am scheduled to work 2 out of the 3 on-site days. Wondering if you've heard whether it is beneficial also..

THANKS. BSN to FNP.. you?

I feel sooo blessed! I was taken off of the waitlist today, and will be joining the UNC MSN-FNP incoming class.

So you were originally denied but later added to the waitlist? It does sound like you have a lot that's desirable, experience and good academic history..

For those of you accepted, if you don't mind me asking, did you apply for part- or full-time study?

I was waitlisted too.

Me either.

I applied to UNC's MSN FNP program and haven't heard back either. I have been anxiously waiting for a response for the past two days after reading that some others had been notified of their admittance. I called the SON yesterday, and the woman who answered said I should expect to hear back by the end of the month..Too bad everyone can't just receive email notification on the same day.

Best of luck. If you leave the testing center feeling as though you didn't know much of anything, don't let that discourage you -- I felt the same way only a few months ago. And don't get overly anxious while you're taking the test if you feel as though you aren't doing well because you'll only be hard on yourself and probably do worse. Breathe! Know that you know what you know and there is nothing you can do at this point but apply yourself. You don't really need a lot of details (as I recall), but you need to have a broad understanding, see the bigger picture. This type of knowledge does not come from flipping through a MedSurg book for a few days, you have to be able to synthesize what you've learned over time (i.e. two years of nursing school). I know many people have probably told you that you will do fine, but I think it's true. I didn't believe anyone when they told me I would be okay, but I did. I managed to pass with 75 questions. Again, BEST OF LUCK!

CNAs on my unit do not do vitals either. it has been that way since I began, so I guess that's why I don't think much of it. Plus they're helpful in a lot of other ways such that it doesn't seem unfair. We get vitals when we do our assessments which makes it a little more convenient.

I work on a stepdown unit and actually had a patient with an a line who was sitting in a chair when we received him, so i guess it does happen from time to time ..

So the phlebostatic axis is supposed to be at the 4th ics and half the ap diameter of the chest. I'm early in my orientation as a nurse, and generally when I see this done the nurse just places the transducer on the bed at the level of the 4th ics. to also have it at half the ap diameter, does this require adjustment in the h.o.b or elevating the transducer itself so that it is not lying adjacent to the patient's back, which does not seem like half the AP diameter? even more specifically, how would you correctly place the transducer at the phleb axis if the patient is sitting in a chair.. thanks!

i was told that if, for example, an antibiotic and D5 1/2 NS are running concurrently through a line (and you don't have any other access) and you need to give an IV push also (e,g morphine), you can stop the continuous infusions and give the push med, and as long as you flush the line with NS before and after admin of the push you aren't really worried about the drugs being compatible. my new-nurse mind didn't understand this when told by an experienced nurse. so with IV drug compatibility are you more so worried about two meds running concurrently that aren't compatible bc precipitate can form... the meds could crystallize? .. when exactly is incompatibility an issue with IV meds i guess is what i'm asking (.i'm aware of concurrent infusion of 2+ meds.. of course ) thanks!