PA_RN87

I'm also curious about this... I just submitted my renewal back in June (about 1 month prior) and am still waiting to hear back...

I'm wondering if anyone has every worked (or currently works) as a pre-admission testing NP? I'm thinking about leaving family practice and found a job listing for pre-admission testing. I heard it's a decent job... I have the description copied below, but wanted to know what others with similar work experience felt about this type of work. Thanks in advance! (1) Performs age appropriate pre-anesthesia evaluations independently on patients visiting the Pre Admission Testing department, consistent with the scope of service for (health system name).(2) Uses age appropriate interviewing and data collection techniques.(3) Performs physical examinations and interprets clinical and diagnostic findings to optimize patients prior to anesthesia.(4) Orders diagnostic studies as appropriate.(5) Coordinates and communicates with patient/family and surgeons/proceduralists, anesthesia team, consultants, and nursing in order to facilitatecare, minimize complications, and enhance the patient experience.(6) Engage in continuing education activities for maintain current in issues relating to anesthesia and the care of the patient.

I've been teaching clinical for an LPN program for 3 years. I found that students definitely need structure or they act like lost sheep. Depending on the units they were on and how they flowed, I would make up assignments for them to do to guide their learning. It also depends on whether or not they have access to the EMAR. I've done chart review assignments, short essay assignments if they were on an observation unit like surgery, and of course care plans. I also like to start preparing for NCLEX early and would sometimes spend post-conference doing NCLEX activities and discussions. Depending on the unit or facility and what supplies are available, sometimes I would do a short lab regarding IV fluids or wound care during post-conference as well. I've also given them projects to work on throughout the rotation, like giving a presentation during the last week about a topic they spent the rotation researching. Giving them assignments also helps with their clinical evaluations considering you can't always have your eyes on everyone at all times. Sometimes I based their clinical evaluation for that week solely on the quality of their assignments and feedback from staff.

I should clarify, we need 224 hours per semester, for a total of 672; of the total 672 hours, 112 need to be in each pediatric and women's health.

I'm looking for thoughts from current FNPs, both experienced and new grads. I'm currently in Simmons College's online FNP program; our clinical hour requirements must include a minimum of 112 hours of pediatrics and 112 hours of women's health specialty hours. As I'm sure many of you know, specialty sites are near impossible to obtain (especially in my area). I know there are many other FNP programs that either have fewer required minimum specialty hours or no minimums whatsoever. What makes this even more frustrating is knowing that many of the things done in specialty offices are not routinely done in family practice offices. SO... My question to you all: Did your program have minimum specialty requirements, and do you feel it benefited you in your clinical practice? Or do you feel that you would have been just as prepared with solely family practice-type clinical experiences?

Maintain structure and organization. I've worked as a clinical instructor for about 2 years, and I think the one thing I found students need more than anything is structure and uniformity. I'd make a little syllabus or "clinical expectations" print-out to give to students so that everyone is on the same page and they have something to reference; this is also important as each clinical instructor and clinical site tends to have slightly different expectations. Also if it's a clinical site where you don't have eyes on every student all the time (I worked several sites where students were on multiple floors), I found that giving them daily assignments (daily care plans, chart reviews, short essay, etc.) helps to give me something more on which to base my evaluation.

Make sure they don't have a limit on the number of credits you can transfer. Some colleges will only accept a certain number of transfer credits, so you'd basically have to "re-take" some classes you've already taken if you went the transfer route (which wouldn't be a problem for accelerated programs).

Exact time commitments and schedules will vary from program to program. I'd look at your school's website, they should have more detailed information about their program. What won't vary is the high intensity of the class and clinical work. Accelerated programs are very intense and time-consuming. My program was 3 semesters over 1.5 years (no class over the summer months). A few did have children and made it through.

I'm an instructor and stay vigilant about not sharing personal contact information with students until after graduation, including email, phone number and social media accounts. However, I seem to be the minority in my beliefs. I think times are changing and the line between appropriate and inappropriate is blurring.

I agree. I was accepted into an accelerated BSN program with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 in my Bio degree. I'm certain my strong admission essay and faculty interview is what helped to set me apart from the others. It's not just about GPA!

Currently in my third term PT... the school isn't perfect, but of all the schools I've attended over the course of my education I've found that no school is perfect. I do like Simmons and I'm glad I chose them.

Every nurse has their "thing" they can't stomach. With most things, you eventually learn little tricks (Vicks under the nose if you know it's coming), or plum get over it (desensitized) and they are manageable.

I'm currently part-time in my MSN-FNP program and working as a clinical instructor PT as well. I spend quite a bit of time outside of work grading care plans and notes, and putting together learning activities to prepare for clinical nights. I think hours-wise it would be doable if you don't need a lot of "you" time to decompress, but don't underestimate MSN studies... I spend a lot of time studying, reading and writing papers.

As far as job security and availability goes, I think you need to research what is available in your area. I actually got a Bachelor of Science degree in biology first for the same kinds of reasons, I like science and being outdoors. After graduating I realized there really weren't any worthwhile jobs available in my area with my degree. So I ended up going back to school for nursing. Nursing jobs are plentiful in my area. Is it the job that I enjoy the most? Definitely not. But I make a good living and I still have lots of time to spend Outdoors for enjoyment instead of work. It's a balance that definitely works for me. Also remember that not all nurses work in the hospital and there are lots of opportunities for nurses in clinics, schools, LTC facilities, home care, etc.

You're starting a home care agency, or you're starting AT a home care agency? When you say starting a business, do you mean something as heavy as a home care agency, or becoming a consultant for Jamberry, Thirty-One, Pure Romance, Avon, etc.? I worked with a few nurses who were reps for Pure Romance and Thirty-One, and they seemed to like it.