sweetpepper

I am a new nurse in my first year of nursing and I was interested in possibly applying for grad school next fall. The grad school I was interested in only required 2 years of experience and they would allow you to get your 2 year of experience while you were in school so I would have been eligible for admission next fall. After much deliberation I decided to go into a family practioner program since I would have the most marketability and I wouldn't be limited to one particular age group in practice. My great love is pediatrics, but I've talked to many practitioners who have Family Practice degrees and are working in pediatrics, and also people who have Pediatric practice degrees and couldn't find jobs, go figure. I live in an area with a limited job marked so I feel like I'm making the best decision by going into family practice as I will have more options if I can't find a job in the pediatric area. But here's the clincher. I'm currently working in the NICU at the largest hospital in the area. Great experience, and I really like my job. However, when speaking to the grad school representative she was not encouraging regarding my potential for success in the program based on my experience in the NICU. She felt that I would need to go work somewhere else in order to get the experience I would need to succeed, and not only would I have to find another job, but I would also need to work 3 years there before going to grad school. So my question is this. Do I really need 3 years of experience before starting a family practitioner program, and also what is the best area to get that kind of experience? Any suggestions or personal experience stories would be appreciated :wink2:

Know your Ericson's Developmental Stages, lol. I would get a lot of questions such as what toy would be appropriate for a child "X" age, and then you would have to choose a toy based on what was appropriate for their developmental age. Other than that just know your basic stuff. Study your notes, and go prepared for anything. If this is your first test in this class study well, but don't expect to knock it out the water. Think of it as getting to know how the instructor tests and use this test to determine what you need to do differently next time. ****Please take this as intended, I'm not saying don't study, I'm saying DO STUDY, but just be prepared that you might not make a 100***

that is hilarious. I can only imagine how overwhelmed I would be if that happened to me. It just so happens that one of my classmates passed out while trying to start an IV on a patient, but she went on to finish clinicals and she passed boards, so have no fear. You can have a rough start and still finish strong. Good luck in the future!

Hey Kim, Hang in there and I'm sure you're going to do fine! I would probably take my stats course over the summer so that I could devote my time during to Nursing classes the other semesters. I've been in a class with several mothers during my time at nursing school, and honestly they usually do better than the rest of the other students!!! Congratulations on your admission and just remember to take deep breaths and remember, it'll all be over in 2 years!!!! You can do it!