nursemel326

I worked adult ICU, PACU, and agency as RN for 10 yrs prior to grad school. Now as a FNP, I work in a pediatric community health clinic. All my experiences have influenced my current practice and knowledge base. Your aspirations aren't crazy at all. I say keep your options open and go for it!

I graduated from UC in 2013. It's a solid and respectable program, very rigorous but doable. Not sure what you're looking for, but will try to help if you're seeking something specific.

Worked inpatient psych through nursing school, 10 years adult ICU as RN, now FNP working in a pediatric clinic. I never imagined this is what I would be doing- and my old co-workers are usually like "You're doing WHAT?!"- but I get such a kick out of it and have a great schedule and benefits. Each has contributed to my knowledge base and enable me to deal with varying situations at work. Don't be afraid to wet your feet in something new if it interests you. That's the beauty of this profession- there's something (and usually more than one something) for everyone.

28 bed neuro-surgical ICU. Helped a surgeon place a becker drain my first day of orientation and almost passed out. Lol. Wasn't sure about going back on day 2 but ended up loving it and stayed in the ICU my whole RN career.

I can't tell that anyone has answered the question you are trying to ask about mental health and peds certifications. In order to sit for Psych-Mental Health NP certification, you must graduate from an accredited Psych-Mental Health NP (PMHNP) program. In other words, you cannot attend a Family Nurse Practitioner program and then be eligible to sit for PMHNP. Additionally, you must attend a Pediatric Primary Care NP program in order to sit for PPCNP. If you attend a FNP program, you are eligible to sit for FNP certification. Some programs offer dual certification. That would be a question to ask your recruiter. You can see certification eligibility info on both ANCC or AANP websites. As far as maintaining RN certifications once you are a NP, that is a personal choice. You are no longer practicing as a RN, so they don't serve a lot of purpose. However, if you have Cardiac-Vascular certification as a RN, for example, and apply for a Cardiology NP position, it may give you some leverage as a job candidate. Just my two cents. If I had to do it over again, I would probably go med school route. I loved org chem and physics, just couldn't fathom another 8-10 years of school and training at the time. I ended up working as a RN for 10 yrs before becoming a NP. The timing was all the same in the end.

This was my experience as well. Having years of RN experience didn't carry much weight during interviews. I was asked mostly about skills learned in clinicals.

I worked weekend-option while going to school full-time. Not working was not an option. I did clinical hours through the week and studied early morning/ late night. Just a word of caution that you may find some course work more difficult without having bedside experience, which may require more study time on your part.

I completed NP school with 3 children under age 5 (youngest was 6 months when I started), so I know without a doubt how difficult it is. But I also know without a doubt that it can be done!! My husband and I discussed my waiting until the kids were in school, but ultimately decided they would remember my "absence" more when they were older. We also knew it would strain us physically and financially, but decided we could do anything for 2 years. As it stands, my oldest (now 10) remembers me having to study a lot, but the other 2 don't remember a thing. They only know that I now have a job I love "helping sick kids" and I am home every evening and weekend. While in school, I worked full-time weekend option which allowed clinical hours during the week. I did most of my studying early morning before kids woke up, during nap time, and late at night once kids were in bed. If I had a big project or exam coming up, I focused on that and my husband took over dinner/ bedtime duties. He deserves a medal for supporting me during that time! Anyways, it was a hard couple of years and I lived in a sleep-deprived haze, lol, but I hardly remember it now and those temporary sacrifices were absolutely worth it!

From personal experience while interviewing for my first NP job, prospective employers were not as concerned with my RN experience as with what I gained during NP clinical rotations. That being said, I can say with certainty that grad school would have been a completely different (and much more difficult) ballgame without 10 yrs ICU experience under my belt. Classmates with little or no bedside experience constantly struggled with content that was second-nature to me. Likewise, my physician preceptors were thankful they did not have to teach me "assessment 101", which enabled us to move on to more advanced content/ procedures fairly quickly. This "extra" training definitely gave me an edge during interviews. I say this not to discourage you from considering this program, nor do I think you need 10+ years of bedside experience prior to becoming a NP. I just think it's important to realize you may be at a disadvantage during clinical rotations and therefore, have to work quite a bit harder to keep up.

Me: Hi, Doc. Your CICU pt is having frequent runs of vtach, some lasting >30 sec. She's alert, but short of breath and having quite a bit of chest pain. Doc: Have you had to cardiovert? Me: No, not YET. Kind of hoping to avoid that. Doc: Call me back when you have to cardiovert. (Hangs up)

Trying to find preceptors was one of the most stressful things about grad school. I eventually set up all my rotations through personal contacts. For example, two NP friends contacted their old preceptors and I set up my family and peds rotations that way. I contacted a pharmacist friend who has close relationships with several women's health providers and found a WH preceptor that way. After telling my nurse manager I was having difficulty finding an internal med preceptor (I was a night-shifter and the IM docs rounded during the day), she started asking around and found one to agree to precept me. This didn't all happen overnight but maybe over a period of 2-4 months. My program required us to arrange preceptors a year in advance. I did tons of cold calling and left messages for dozens of office managers. Some offices even have "student coordinators" as they get so bombarded with requests. Many requests went unanswered. Some called back and said they didn't take students. Some said they were booked with students for the next 1-2 years (!!). In the end, personal and professional contacts were the only way I found preceptors. Some providers may say no when asked by their office manager but yes to a friend that calls for a favor. I have already forwarded the favor to a couple friends currently in school. Spread the word that you're looking and don't be shy about asking! Good luck!

Night shift is so hard on the body in so many ways!! I recently joined the "land of the living" after working night shift for 10 years, so I definitely understand your pain! 2 things that worked for me: 1) I kept a "normal" person's eating schedule regardless of whether I was working that night or not. I would eat a good-sized dinner with my family around 6 pm before going to work and then a light breakfast (oatmeal, eggs, or greek yogurt) in the am before going to bed (this usually helped me sleep better as well). I usually took cereal or a light sandwich to eat around 1 am when I was starting to feel my blood sugar plummet and then maybe a piece of fruit and string cheese for later in the shift. Did my coworkers tease me that "all you ever eat is cereal"? Yes. Was I constantly complaining about weight gain like most of them were? No. 2) I made myself do something "active" on my days off. It didn't have to be a hard workout, but maybe just a 30 min walk around the neighborhood. I think the name of the game is that no matter what kind of schedule you decide to eat on, it needs to be consistent whether you're working that day or not. Night-shifters already have such "messed-up' cortisol levels that whatever you can do to keep your body on a rhythm is going to be a good thing. Additionally, if you do eat dinner before going to work, don't eat another high-calorie "dinner" while you're at work, ie fast food, pizza, donuts. It's hard to say no, but those excess calories really add up. Good luck! I hope you find a routine that works for you.

First of all, the fact that you are able to organize all your "issues" into a list of questions is a good thing! It shows that you are able to recognize your weaknesses and things you need to work on. I was an ICU nurse for 11 years before becoming a NP (going on 2 yrs now) and there are two things you brought up that I wanted to comment on: Always, always, always lay eyes on your new patients when they first come in. You don't have to start charting or asking questions right away, but at least lay eyes on them and know that they're awake, breathing, and not in distress. I can't tell you how many times this will save your butt and possibly, your pt's life. Once you get super proficient with the charting system, you may be able to whip through the questions with one pt before moving on to the next, but don't start with one pt before you've at least laid eyes on the other. The other thing I wanted to say- when talking to doctors, remember they are people like YOU. They are not perfect (even though some may disagree with that), they make mistakes, and ultimately, they want to help you accomplish what it is you're trying to accomplish. Try to have your ducks in a row (labs, vitals, assessment findings, current orders, etc) before you approach them with a concern. Know beforehand what it is you think they should order or do and be prepared to tell them all the data that supports why you think it's necessary. This will make your life so much easier. And if they approach you and want assistance with a procedure you've never done, tell them you'd love to help, but it's your first time and ask if they can walk you through it. Sometimes time may not allow this and they will request someone experienced and that's ok, too. They will respect you more for speaking up.