Ashley_113

I hate to say it but Serhilda is right. The medical community has been hit hard by this in other ways than many think. Hospital census has decreased significantly. No procedures mean no OR staff, no PACU staff, many surgeons offices have furloughed employees, and even the ERs have seen a huge decrease in volume. I’m a NP in an outpatient orthopedic practice and we barely pulled through these past few weeks. Luckily things seem to be getting better. Wanting to help is kind of you but you should really just focus on getting a good foundation to your career.

You should look into the institute for functional medicine. They have a full pathway for providers who are looking for a different primary care model. It’s primarily nutrition based. It would be perfect for you I think.

Hi everyone, I’m a Family Nurse Practitioner with 9 years nursing and 2 years of advanced practice experience. I currently work in sports med and have a specialty certification as an othopaedic NP by the ONCB. I have always wanted to teach on the side. I have applied to several online adjunct positions for anything from test prep to MSN programs and I’m getting absolutely no replies. I am currently enrolled in a DNP program and also getting a teaching certification along with it. I don’t understand why I’m having such difficulties? Is it because I’ve only been an APRN for two years? I graduated with a high GPA and I have no disciplinary actions so I just can’t seem to figure out why I have no luck. I even listed myself to be a preceptor for NP students to the college I am currently enrolled in my DNP program. I remember how hard it was for me to find a preceptor. Any recommendations? thanks!

Hi, chiromed0 how did you do on the ONP exam and what did you use to study? I’m taking my exam next month and was curious if just studying the recommended materials was enough or If you did the study course offered by NAON. I am trying to decide if it’s worth it to buy or not. thanks

Hi there, I did this. There definitely isn't a lot of bedside as an OR nurse, you're right. However, I don't think it inhibited me a lot in school. I did FNP also and really I feel FNP is so much different than many RN positions because most FNP positions are geared toward outpatient and primary care. I wouldn't let it deter you from moving forward in your career. Just try to take advantage of your clinical sites to learn as much as you can.

Hey everyone, I was just curious if many of you are required to do administrative duties in your practice. I am a new NP, accepted my first position. In my contract it does state I am to do "some" administrative duties and goes on to state approximately 1-2 hours a week. Which I felt was reasonable. He had me think it was more just working on updating EMR templates. However, I've been here for 6 months now and I'm in charge of submitting payroll, staffing, hiring, firing, reviews. I do all our EMR templates and was the one to gather the info to send to Medicare for MIPS this month. I am keeping up with our certifications for the office (x-Ray, FWA, HIPAA training). We do not have an office manager and I do feel like he is dumping this on me. I have told him I'm not familiar with a lot of this work, and I was not planning on the job being like this...but nothing has changed. I do also still see patients on top of this. I don't think it's newbie nervousness, I'm really comfortable with the patients, and I enjoy being a NP. However, it's been 5-6 months. Should I stick it out for a year (9/2018) or you think it's too early to jump ship since I'm new to the profession?

It depends on who you are certified with. You should be able to go to their website and easily see how many CEUs as well as practice hours are required.

I would check and see if financial aid will pay for an LPN to BSN program. I know they have programs out there for it because I too was an LPN first and I almost took the LPN to BSN route. Indiana State has an online format I believe. If you don't do it this way, you are looking at a lot of extra time in school. If you can't do an LPN to BSN program then I would stick with the biomedical science degree and gear it towards going to PA school. Additionally, if financial aid wont pay for RN classes now would it pay for them after ypur biomedical degree? A pre-req for NP school is that you are an RN. So regardless if you take the RN classes now or later I think youll still run into that problem. I think those are the most efficient ways to go about it. I hope all works out!!

I worked at a Brain and Spine Institute for 2 years in their pain clinic. We had two NPs that saw patients on an outpatient basis. They really seemed to enjoy it and I have considered this specialty as well. One nurse had a background in ICU and the other had a background in LTC. They were both standard FNPs. They may have been board certified in PM but I'm not 100% sure. Basically they saw any patient except the new patients. They would do trigger point injections and occipital nerve blocks. They also ordered epidurals for the physicians to do at our ambulatory center. They also followed up on treatments, ordered MRIs, and referred to neurosurgery if needed. They did follow up and regulate chronic pain medications, but they never changed or refilled the narcotics without the doc signing the script. They managed a lot of non-narcotic meds like Lyrica, gabapentin, muscle relaxers, etc. Over all it was a pretty relaxed atmosphere.