MrLungvent

As I said, it's the individual who makes the clinican, not the GPA, stats etc..... If you go on some PA forums, they'll talk about "stats"...what are your stats when you got in?? Well your stats could be : 3.95 GPA in B.S in Biological Sciences with a Pre Med Concentration and an M.S in Biology from pretigious schools, and you can have well over 10,000 hours of Patient Care Exposure as an EMT or Paramedic, and outstanding letters of reference and blow away the interview..on paper, this looks good But if you're not a good clinical person, if you cant take info on paper and apply it to the clinical.....good luck , I hope you have great malpractice insurance.

"vs the PA route: Very expensive, Extremely Difficult, only the truely elite get in." Of course NOT,....you dont put that in stone........... It goes on Paper lol But in theory, very limited # of slots for grad students (like 20-25 maybe) for every 500+ applicants , a high GPA, clinical hours, letters of reference, and maybe GRE's all are required to even a shot to get into most programs There's no more convienient track with an Online PA degree as they dont exist When your an aspiring NP or PA....debating on which route to take,,,, i'd say it's way more convienient and easier to be an NP than PA because theres a slightly lower admisson standatd, and you're only competeting with RN's, plus some programs are online or hybrid, and idk if they cap admissions numbers or not?

Im currently looking to enroll in excelsior's RN program and transition from RT. I will be graduating with my RRT next year and then plan to bridge to RN after working and gaining some expeirence as an RT at the bedside before I transition to the RN. I already have a B.S degree in Biology from University of Rochester. One of the things ive always want to do though was teach....Anatomy and Physiology, Human Bio, Micro, and Pathophysiology in particular....it is truely my passion. Im looking at this program in particular from New York Chiropractic College: http://www.nycc.edu/AcademicPrograms_MSHAPIprogram.htm#1 It's designed for people who work in Allied Health (RT's, RN's, PT's, DC's) who want to teach A&P at the 2- year college level/ undergrad. I am hoping this degree along with my RT, and RN would give me a ton of versatility as an aspiring educator to teach A&P and Bio courses along with RT, and RN courses down the road if I sought to do so.... Full time teaching positions of any sort are kind of a pipe dream today, but this is something I would hope to do on the side of my regular day job, teaching 1-2 classes a semester. I was just wondering if anyone thought teaching in general makes a good second job. And it also would be helpful if anyone knew anything about the MSHAPI program at NYCC

NP credibility is still constantly underfire, traditional or not, depending on who you talk to or which side your on, but most of it is political. This is not an NP vs PA debate post, but it does generally relate back to the credibility issue in some sense....why do people choose one route over the other? The answer: NP route is extremely attractive to many because (***Note, I referenced the following points from a PA forum): -The schools are generally easier to get into, -Cheaper -More convienent, can be done part time And most importantly....some of these programs can be done Online? vs the PA route: Very expensive, Extremely Difficult, only the truely elite get in. ***of course the PA's on that forum ripped the online portion the most... Now to me.....my opinion on this is: Academic Integrity and Credibility remain the two biggest concerns with online education in general. I just think it all depends on how its done. Thats the public perception of many online schools....... However, ..........it is the individual and his expereinces that makes the clinician, not the school, or method of instruction. There are many NP's (PA's and MD's as well) whom sat through traditional learning styles and likely dont know "their you know what" between a hole in the ground.....but there are many NP's who went through online programs who are outstanding, knowedgeable and competent clinicans. And again, going back to the NP vs PA debate....some ask whats the difference? I usually say: NP's follow a Nursing model, study Nursing Theory, learn from a Nursing Prospective and treat the whole person "holistically".....MD's and PA's follow a medical model, they practice medicine and focus on the disease. Look at the design of these programs? Many PA programs are designed for people with limited expereince in healthcare (although they do admit people with some substansial clinical backgrounds)....but they are technically designed to admit people with very limited experience....online programs especially would not work at all for PA's because of the tremendous amount of clinical exp....needed NP programs are designed to admit people with years of clinical experience to build off of what they learned...thats why there's no direct entry NP programs that allow you to skip RN and go directly to NP school....the programs are designed for expierenced practicioners who wish to transition to an advanced practice role. Unfortunately, many often rush into NP school immediately (Some dont even work as an RN if they can and jump right to NP) likely before they are ready, and thats what may hurt the credibility of an NP. So overall, to sum this up: it is the individual and his expereinces that makes the clinician, not the school, or method of instruction. However, what will end up hurting the credibility of the NP profession wont be online schools and the fact that they are online...it will be two things: #1.) The Number of Schools out there and the number of students they admit #2.) Admissions standards of these schools.....if the barrier of entry is too low, it could flood the field with NP's. (and this wont be good for PA's either)..hell theres even been talk about an Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist in the next 10 to 20 years.....if that ever comes to happen....add it to the flooding. In my opinion,......because an important part of NP practice is the previous RN exp, I think there needs to be expeirence requirements prior to admissions, especially for the online NP programs.... many schools do not have such requirements, especially the for profits.

This is also true in Nursing, but this also much more true in Respiratory....especially in a field that is so small Like I said too.....there are more advancement opportunities in Nursing than in Respiratory at least?

After 1 semester of book work and just starting my clinical rotation in semester 2...6 Clinical Rotations, thats all it took.....im already looking to change careers as I am currently in Respiratory Therapy School. I dont even know if i'll find a job when I graduate....Grads are being produced much much faster than they are needed..... lets be honest... Respiratory is a very small and programs should be pumping out grads like their field is small (idk 10-15 grads?) I am already starting to see how limited I am going to be in this profession....I feel like all we do is suction, do vent checks, and give Nebulizer treatments...and every once in a while, respond to Codes when they occur.....and with limited or no advancement opportunities what so ever that is also tremendously underpaid and undervalued at times....and thats what really is already bugging me about this profession the most: .... The lack of advancement, no upward mobility, and no lateral mobility either.....and lack of opportunity...and lack of jobs....these are the major concerns for me....Enventually I might want to move upwards, or maybe go be a NP/ CRNA, Infection Control, Teaching, Research or explore a different area in my career? It's hard even to get management opportunities. Even teaching opportunites are scarce. People in management or teaching positions stay in these positions for years and sometimes decades and never come out of them. I probably am looking back into getting into Echocardiography or Ultrasound technology once I graduate.......both have great pay and are solid fields... But my other option was of course Nursing ...I was thinking of doing the RN transition program through Excelsior and being that Im in New York....lisencing wouldnt be an issue for me. I really am interested in becoming a psychiatric Nurse......and I would to hear from people who have done that before who can tell me what Psych Nursing lis like as opposed to other branches of Nursing. Also if anyone lives in Chicago can tell me if I were to he able to graduate from Excelsior and get lisenced in NY, and then possibly move to Chicago and work across state lines in Indiana or Wisconsin for 2 years and endorse that would be great?! Oh and on my background: I've been a CNA, Pharmacy Tech, EKG Tech, and am currently Paramedic/ CPR instructor. I have a Bachelors Degree in Biology ....Although im considering an ABS program....I dont with my life that i'll be able to do it...so Excelsior seems like the best choice Also it'd be great if someone could tell me what the Excelsior program is like? I also wouldnt mind hearing from people who think I should stay away from Nursing, so I can hear the negatives and positives.