jdc6773

$19.64/hr base pay.. new grad BSN one hour south of Nashville, Tn.

Oops yea Dranger. My bad.

I've looked into both in the past. Just to address your question about if they accept BSN... Trevecca will put favor to those with ANY experience in the medical field. There are usually a few BSN nurses accepted each go around. I would agree with the others though, NP is the way to go. Time in program is usually less, price is much less. I work with both PA and NP in the ED I work. They do the same exact job. One PA was a nurse for 20 years before getting his PA. Other areas may be different but this is my experience. I just saw ICUMANs post and he is very right about the generalist/primary care comparison between the two. Also PAs get much more clinical hours.

The GRE score is around 307 when I talked to them earlier this year

That is the way I understood it. Maybe it was a guarantee that your packet will be looked at. It has been a while since I talked with them.

If you make the deadline then you are guaranteed an interview.

That makes perfect sense. Thank you for the feedback.. It is helpful.

GPA average is around 3.5. GRE is a around 307 4.5 writing is what they told me a few months ago

Ghillbert, Just curious.. Do you regret not going for your FNP and instead getting your ACNP? The reason I ask is because as a FNP you would have the "generalist path" where you could treat all ages. It seems you desire that instead, but do not want to go back for FNP post masters. In the near future I have to choose between the two paths and I have wondered about job availability. It would seem the FNP would have greater opportunities based on the lifespan they can treat.

I have been to their open house. Very informative and helpful. If you are applying for August 2016 then they want the application as early as possible. They told me if I can have it complete and turned in Sept 1 this year, then my chances of being accepted are much higher than if I wait to submit my application later on. That gives me a month and a half to study and take the GRE. A mid August test score would be sent to the school by Sept 1.

I may be applying for Vanderbilt's FNP program. I am for sure applying for UAHs program. I still have to take the GRE for Vandy so that is why I am unsure about them. Good Luck!

I was not hired as a nurse extern (student tech)... just a PCT/US. I do know that it is outside of my scope of practice and I was uncomfortable at first accepting their helpful guidance. They insisted and it is no different mentally than what I go through in clinical. I have not done foleys and IVs in a few weeks because I am pending a Nurse Extern title change whenever management comes up with what I can legally do and puts it in writing. As for what is in my scope, I still currently do almost all EKGs on those that need it and blood draws when I have time (strait stick). I am looking forward to the title change because it comes with more scope of practice and a pay increase.

I will be done with my 2nd degree BSN in 11 months. I have been working as a PCT/US in the Emergency Department of a semi-rural hospital since September of 2014. I have to say that as someone that worked in factory work for 10 years, the skills, knowledge, and experience I am gaining is priceless They let me do blood draws, EKGs, and vital signs regularly. Also, they let me do IVs and foleys depending on the nurse I am assisting at the moment. Just being in the environment of an ED with the entire lifespan and an array of medical complications from rushing an OB patient upstairs to have birth to doing compressions on a patient that has coded, is more experience than I could have ever asked for. Sometimes I get a pulse back.. sometimes I don't. What I do get is to see the teamwork between the providers, paramedics, RNs, techs, respiratory, CRNA, etc.. all crowded around one individual trying to save a life. It is bittersweet and what we all go to school for in the first place. Right? Not only do I get to participate in this, but I constantly get to see what medications, doses, etc are being used from the common cold to pushing Atropine through an IV with a 3 month old pediatric patient with an irregular heart rate of 220+. The point of my contribution to this post is to show & express the value of working as a PCT during nursing school. Not only am I gaining priceless experience but I am also guaranteed a job in the ED upon graduation. I am for it. But hey, I am biased as I am currently in the position.

My wife works Saturday and Sunday's from 1pm-1am. She picks up extra shifts when the class load is low.

To keep your skills sharp throughout the entire lifespan... I suggest working ED. My wife is in her second year FNP program while also working in the ED. She loves it. Just my two cents.

Also, I can't take a scholarship from the hospital we work at because that requires a 2 year commitment afterwards. I have no problem with the commitment but it states they must be FULL time for two years. Making it a difficult track at completing my masters full time also.

Thanks for all of the advice. We live under our means now and plan to in the future. We do have the loan forgiveness option but my wife wants to do travel nursing/locum tenens as a team after the first year (for two years or so). So working for the same company for 10 years is out of the picture it seems. As for stopping at my BSN and paying off my loans first and then going back years later for my masters, that would work but we want kids in the next 3-4 years so it makes more sense to just get it all done and over with before those years get here. It is a lot of debt and the decisions are hard.. Hence the title of the post.

Well that's definitely refreshing. Thanks for taking the time for the thoughtful reply. That has been our plan. The salary is pretty close maybe a few thousand less this year considering we are both working part time but picking up extra shifts when we can. As for the beater, we both have our "gas getting college cars" so they should get us through. Luckily I know, I have been guaranteed a position as RN in our ED by the director after graduation in May. That will be a welcomed increase in pay during my 2 year endeavor towards AGACNP.

So here's my spill. I am working on my second bachelors degree. My first is BA - Management and Human Relations. I made a career change and for now that degree is useless . Now I am working on my BSN. I turn 29 this year. With both Bachelor degrees I will have over $50,000 in student loans. My wife is 27 and is a BSN RN and she is working on her MSN FNP. I will have my RN May of next year and she will have her FNP December of next year(2016). I plan on going straight into an ACNP program with a goal of being a Hospitalist at the hospital we work at now. She currently works as an RN in the ED and I work as a PCT along side her. Back to the point of this thread. Between her and I we will have accumulated $90,000 worth of school loans when we are through with our goals. I am just looking for some encouragement or constructive criticism on the amount of student loans we will have at the end of this journey. We both love school in general and we love the work. But when we look towards eventually having a family and paying off school loans it gets very intimidating. I did not give all the details for example we do have car loans and a mortgage but at least at this point we still do not have any kids. As for the size of the student loans, they have been a necessity to live.

How long is this program full time?

I am ok joining as RN. My ultimate goal is to be a provider so I think it would be most beneficial to pursue my MSN/DNP before joining. It's a one year delay 1.5 at the most (the programs are 1 and 1.5 years long) Thank you for the advice I guess the rest is up to me to decide what route to choose. Decisions this large are not easy.

I appreciate the advice! My Recruitor told me to get back ahold of them in December which is 5 months from graduation. That seems like a short amount of time to get everything done considering if I choose to go to Vanderbilt or UAH before joining I have to have my applications turned in to those institutions by November 1st this year. I guess I need to make up my mind. Any more advice on the subject would be great.

I am graduating May 2016 BSN. I have been speaking with an Air Force Recruitor about joining. I want to join as FNP and the requirements on the website say that you can join as FNP with "only" a BSN and a MSN is "not required" from my understanding. I have not spoken with the Recruitor about this part yet (they told me to get back with them in December). The question is this.. How does this work? What is this program/process? Will I get my FNP through the Air Force? It's a little confusing maybe someone on here knows a little more about it. I do not want to join as an RN because my goal is MSN. With that being said, should I just get my MSN out side of the service and joins as FNP? Thank you for any knowledge.

If all of that is on your resume, I would suggest to simply the document. To much is a bad thing in the HR world. Make it simple, formal, and to the point. That's just my opinion from the information you have given.

We have one NP (FNP), two PAs, and the MD working with us in our ER at one given time. Our NP worked ER for 5 years went to school and was directly hired in as NP no problem