Pilot2FNP

muimai10, thanks so much for this information. I am really glad to hear about this, as I am a little....well....concerned about the 3P's. I am going to sign up for APEA and start studying all the questions, so hopefully it will help prepare me a little. I plan to start October 19th, so I have a little time to prepare in advance. Good luck with everything, and keep me posted as to how it's going!

Hey, I am just starting the process of applying to the FNP Program. Any thoughts about it since you have started? Also, any words of wisdom for Patho? Thanks.

I am a FNP student, and I just found out I have to interview a NP who works in Primary Care, and who has or currently works in a leadership role. This interview shouldn't take up too much of your time....maybe 10-15 minutes, or I could even send you a list of questions, and you can type out your answers and send them back to me. I don't know of any NP's who work in Primary Care who are or have been in a leadership role. I am trying to reach out to all of you. If you can help out, please let me know. I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much in advance, John

Hello everyone. I am in the process of starting my own nurse consulting business, with a goal of providing education to families who have a loved-one in hospice. My question is this: I will have access to patients medical conditions, and I want to chart about these patients and what advise I give to families. Because of this, I guess I will need to get HIPAA compliant EMR Software, such as Practice Fusion. Has anyone done this before, or has anyone started their own consulting business and had to set up their own EMR system? Any insight would be great. Thanks.

Congrat's on finishing school! I start at University of Tampa Jan 20th. I can't wait to be in your shoes about to finish school

Though online programs can be enticing, you need to really do your homework. Take a look through these threads and see how many people are "begging" for help trying to find preceptors. Online schools will sell you on their program, telling you that finding preceptors isn't a problem, etc, etc. The truth is that these "Admissions counselors" are just sales people trying to earn a buck by enrolling students. They will tell you anything and everything to get you to sign up for their program. I would advise you to do your research about any school you are looking at, and who owns the school. Then do a web search on that business to see what kind of history they have. For instance, you can do some research on South University, and their owner - Education Management Corporation. You will find that EMC has many local, state, and federal lawsuits against them for various things. It turns out that these online programs are more interested in getting your $$ than being a reputable school. Any program that is reputable should care enough about their students to arrange all their clinical experiences and find the preceptors for the students. You pay them a lot of $$ --- you should demand they provide you with this degree of professionalism. Do you think any medical schools would survive if they told their students, "go out and find your own clinical experiences"? No, med schools are too professional for this sort of thing. There are students that are very successful at NP For Profit programs. I know it can be done. But do your research on all the schools you are looking at. Look at who owns the schools, and do research on those owners. There are no programs out there that are perfect for everyone. Just do a lot of research before you pay anyone a lot of $$. Then go with whatever program you see as a best fit for you. I wish you the best of luck!

Just for my own piece of mind, I would not go to any school that is not accredited yet. That being said, every school has to start somewhere, and they need to have students for their first few classes. Kind of a catch 22. Although most schools accreditation process goes ok, there are instances where there is a glitch and the school doesn't get it's accreditation and all those students who graduated are screwed for a year or so until the school can fix the problem and get accredited. Personally, I wouldn't want to take that chance, so I would never go to a school that is just starting it's nursing program....even if it's a well-known reputable school.

I hate being called by Mr. (last name). When I flew for the airlines, I would hate people calling me Capt. (last name). I have a first name, and I prefer people to call me by it. I think it makes things much more personal and people seem to appreciate me dealing with them on a personal level....they always leave with a smile on their face. I'm not a FNP yet, but when I am, I won't change how I like people to call me. I still will use my first name.

Hey Zach (or Zachary -- not sure which you like better). Congrats on starting. I remember when I was first starting, I didn't know anybody either. There were 3 other guys in my class, but all of us really worked well together and supported each other --- guys and girls alike. What area of the country do you live in? You may be able to make some good connections here!

Born and raised in Miami, Florida. Lived all over the US for my previous career (an airline pilot). Went to nursing school in the Cincinnati area. Now living in Tampa, Florida area. About to start a Family Nurse Practitioner program here in Tampa.

I would advise against any online program, whether offered through a for-profit school or traditional brick-and-mortar school. The online programs make you set up all your own clinicals and find your own preceptors. In many cases, this causes a tremenous amount of pressure and stress for the student. The schools make it sound easy, but the reality is often cases much different. Just look at how many posts there are for someone begging to find a preceptor near them. The nurse practitioner industry should try to be as professional as medical schools. There an absolutely NO medical schools here in the US that would ever say to it's students, "now go out and find your own preceptors to get a good medical education." That would never fly with med school students. They pay too much money and take their profession too seriously to put up with that sort of nonsense. But nurses....well, we think it's ok for schools to do this to us. People say, "but the concenience of doing it all online is wonderful." Do you think med school students are in it for the convenience? They are in it to get a good education and for the school to do a lot of work to help them succeed. None of this "find your own clinicals" bs. I really wish the nursing industry would stand up and put these programs out of business. They are in it to make $$$, and they are very successful at it. As far as South University, they are owned by Education Management Corporation. I would suggest you do some research on that company....it might make you think twice before giving lots of $$ to South University. Also, whatever decision you make, do what's best for you. The for-profit schools are all about marketing and sales, so they will tell you anything. But in the end, their "admissions counselors" are just sales people trying to get people through the door. Wherever you go, make sure the school is Regionally Accredited, not Nationally Accredited. Being Regionally Accredited by one of the 6 major regional accrediting associations is better recognized. Schools that are only Nationally Accredited do not have to go through the same level of scrutiny that the Regionals do. Sorry if it seems like I'm bashing for profit schools. If they were more honest with potential students, I would be happier with them. If they said things like, "I'm a sales assoicate here - not a true admissions counselor", or "You will likely experience a lot of headaches and delays trying to find your own preceptors", then I would be much happier with them. At least they would be honest.

Finding your own preceptors can be a big problem, and schools that make you do this should be shut down. It's very unprofessional of them. How many medical schools tell their students to go find their own clinical rotations? None. That's because they are very professional. I wish the nursing profession were just as professional, but people keep paying these schools $$$ making these schools very happy. It just makes me mad at the whole profession.

Incorrect. The DEA license is State Specific, and a new DEA Number will need to be obtained for each stated the practitioner practices in.

Congratulations! You must be so excited. I got accepted to the University of Tampa, start in January, and am very excited also.

OMG....someone else knows that quote . That's awesome. And it had something to do with pulling down your pants, and slide on the ice. Mash was such a great show!

I lived in San Leandro, close to Oakland airport, for 3 years. I do miss it. Good luck to you. Hope you make it back to Sac :)

Thanks. I use to live in CA...in the East Bay Area, and down in Bakersfield. Moved around a lot for my previous career.

I say go for it! I'm in my late 40's and start my FNP program in Jan. There's a thread somewhere about older students on here, and there are plenty of people like you and me that are either changing or advancing our careers at this time in our lives. The way I look at it is this: I'm going to be 53 in a few years....I can be an RN at 53, or a FNP at 53. Either way, I can't change my age....but I can change what I'm doing in my career.

I went to Northern Kentucky University for my Accelerated BSN program. It was 5 days a week for 18 months. In January I'm starting a Family Nurse Practitioner program at University of Tampa. It should take me 3 years part-time. Best of luck to everyone here. There are lots of programs out there, so it's good to look at all the options and chose whatever makes the most the most sense for each person. One-size doesn't fit all.

So I did an accelerated BSN program....18 months for the whole program. Our class was great....we did a lot of studying on the outside together. Having all the support of my fellow students really helped me get through the program.

Lol. I remember doing that too. I think many of us experienced this sort of thing when we first start. Hope it's all going good for you. Learn as much as you can during clinicals....it's really a great experience.

If you are currently a full-time resident of FL, then you do not have compact-state privileges in any other state. You first have to be a full-time resident practicing in a compact state, and then you have the privilege of moving to another compact state and working immediately based on your previous state of residency/licensure that was a compact state. If you currently only have a FL RN license and then apply and get another states license that is a compact state ---- but you still live in FL ---- then you do not have compact state privileges, as you still live full-time in FL.

During my BSN program, we did physical exams on each other....I'm a male and just wore boxers. The girls wore short pants/boxers, sports bra's, and we all were covered with a gown. It was all done professionally and none of the 24 students in my ABSN program seemed to have a problem with it. Nobody's private parts were exposed. We were all a little older and more mature. I probably would let a bunch of middle school students do this...they are not mature enough for it. But we were all grown adults going into the medical field, so we didn't have a problem with it.

Woah! Reality check here.....$130,000+ for a BSN? I finished my pre-requisit classes and did an accelerated BSN program for about $25,000. Now I'm spending another $27,000 for my Family Nurse Practitioner program. Total for BSN + MSN-FNP = $52,000. How unbelievable is it that people are willing to spend over $130,000 for a BSN? Makes no sense to me.

I have heard lots of good things about the program, and it's a very well-respected program here in the Bay area. I'll be starting there in January.