NewHorizons

Of note also - Dont forget your "nursing roots" ever. Physicians - PA's - therapy were quick to accept me. Some of my challenging moments have come from staff nurses. I need to always think and package my thoughts carefully. I never want to alienate my nursing colleagues. Even after my degrees and certifications - I am still a :balloons: nurse!!! I teach part time and wonder sometimes when I hear from students (who havent graduated yet) that they want to go on after graduating as an RN to be something else. Something to think about.

First congratulations on your thoughts for continuing your education!! Note my thoughts may not be shared by all and they refer to my experience in a philadelphia PA school - adult NP program. NP's bring nursing experience and that is the primary value. The clinical experiences between medical students and NP's are not comparable. My last two semesters contained the clinical practicum. These are the only two semesters in which I saw patients on an APN level: interpreting, communicating, prescribing and diagnosing. This was for about three days a week - two semesters length. I went to a fine program, but it was not a lot of time to assimilate all the information you need to practice. I agree with the other person that responded - physicians have several years of carefully constructed experiences and hours more of it. In addition to that, they also have years to socialize toward their new role. I understand it is difficult finding sites for NP students. My site was only visited once by my course coordinator - and this was more of an observation. It was not to trace my activities (PE, writing, critical thinking) to evaluate performance. There were PA students at my site - and I have respect for their curricula. They performed well in the ED and I learned a lot. They had more hours clinical, and it was structured. Two years may be enough to start your program - you would still be a year or two away from clinicals. It depends on a lot of factors.