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Glad to see there are others finally taking notice, as this is almost verbatim what I said 2 years ago. I’m sure there were others noticing the changing tides long ago, but every passing year the numbers grow, scary stuff. I’d need to look back at my previous conversation history but I’d still bank on if you aren’t already practicing in the next 3-4 years there will be such an overflow of np , as a new graduate I’d highly advise seeking another profession because there will not be a job for you, just like how it is in pharmacy now.

USF assigns your preceptors

I suppose to stir the pot lol. Or having second thoughts even though it has been stated that the decision is already made. Or lastly to hopefully sleep better at night, from possibly hearing an echo chamber concerning ones decision. Either way I do not believe the "study harder" to make up for the lack of NP curriculum is acceptable. Good luck with your decision.

Agreed, many careers benefit salary wise from personal investment aka experience. Why someone in their later years thinks they will benefit long term with only 10 years or less working as an NP left in their career I think is being disingenuous. There is a reason most business gurus push early invesment/ learning what you want to truly do early in life. Seems so simple to me.

Exactly, I've said it before and I stand by it now and will say it again. If you are not a strong asset to your company with good experience, your job and your salary are in trouble as an NP. I also project from all the research I've done, looking at projections, and using anecdotal evidence from others looking at their hiring difficulties, that if you do not have experience as an NP in the next 5 years you will be un-hirable. There is going to be so many excess NP's well over demand that a new graduate will have extreme difficulty. The last projections predicted well over 40k surplus of NP vs projected demands with no state being having a deficit by 2025. This by no means surprises me. I would also venture to say that this projection actually under projects the surplus from their inclusion that only a net growth of 53k primary NP's will be produced in over ten years. Last I looked AANP had 26,000 new NP's graduate this last year. At 60% being primary that equates around 15k new NP's. We obviously are going to continue to produce a net much larger than 53k in which the survey originally predicted. Yikes, the future looks fun.

I think a great question for you OP is what are your expectations from the profession. Name some end goals, expectations, etc and we can give much better insight. But one persons "grim" is another persons perfect situation.

Depends on how deep you want to go into it to be honest. That book is fine for basic pharmacology especially if you read it front to back. If you really want more advanced pharmacology then something like "Lippincott's Pharmacology", and if you want the gold standard then "Basic & Clinical pharmacology by Katzung" is the go to. Really just depends on how much time you want to go into it, and how comfortable you are with chemistry.

Yep I sure would. It's unacceptable. Good luck with whatever you choose.

You are preaching to the choir, and appreciate the perspective from someone who has been in a different field. I believe the only people that argue against your point are people that are either oblivious to their lack of knowledge or just stubborn with "pride".

It's very easy to see the difference in education if you take the eduction from mint PA and mint direct Bsn to np. In rigor, admission criteria and clinical experience. Let's not kid ourselves.

I understand what you are saying. But, the argument is weakened considerably when you look at the curriculums of many programs, their online open book formats, the variation of programs, and minimal requirements for consideration for acceptance. So if the arguement is RN needs to work then require X amount of years. If they don't then require no to minimal years but beef up curriculum. We can not have it both ways which is the current state of affairs unlike every other profession. Just wish I knew this before I went this route. Others need to know that NP education caters to everyone making it weak in many areas.

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Hmm non starter for some I will not argue this at the moment. I don't agree that we need to accommodate as a profession for someones current lifestyle and their cost of living having to support them working full time and going to school. But besides the point, I do agree on specifics for clinical would help. I also agree the certification standards need to be raised to prevent cramming and passing. I also find it weird that at many programs the entrance BSN is tougher to get into than the MSN or DNP which blows my mind.

Anyways to get back to topic: I think the single most factor that could be changed to increase knowledge base for NP's is make the schooling full-time. Just like any other respectable profession make the course load a full course load. Like 18 credits just like our peer professions. This would require future providers to take the schooling serious and not half ... it.

I do not believe anyone would agree that minimal to no RN experience is the "only" thing wrong with the profession. As evidenced by the current polling. It sure is a contributing factor but surely not the only factor. One persons anecdotal evidence of succeeding does not prove ones point either though. No one would take away the hard work that a DE put in to be successful. But, that person will thrive in spit of the schooling not because of it. This is just one of the many problems with the system, on top of the many you have already brought up.

100% agree with your last paragraph. Without the RN experience the advanced practice nurse degree is nothing more than a watered down PA. We wonder why many people in the know look down on us. Thankfully much of the public is still unaware.

State school that finds preceptor for the students that are in the area of the school. School thats have a diagnostic course. Schools that have other associated healthcare programs such as DPT, Pharm-D, MD etc. School that faculty have available CV's to look over and evaluate. Schools that accept high quality students. Schools that have a cap on the amount enrolled reasonable to the staff available.

To my knowledge there is no authoritative body that tracks pass rates categorized by school. All you can do is call up and ask the school on an individual basis and hope they are willing to tell you. But, to answer your question no there is nothing similar to the "nclex" tracking for FNP pass rates.

Might also be wise to inquire if they will specifically place you in say a fast track clinical or urgent care. FNP's get placed their very frequently and would help with your end goal.

Agreed, shame there is not more dual degree options meant more specifically for the ER/ Urgent care tract vs the hospitalist kind of education. I feel the ACNP is to broad. Big difference between ICU ACNP vs hospitalist vs ER vs cardiac cath outpatient.

Fair, there is good reason to choose PA over NP in certain circumstances but I won't go over that here. Anyways, to get to your career goals, what you are describing should work just fine. Direct FNP then ACNP. Also getting the FNP and ACNP should give you a broader medical knowledge base than either of them separate. It also ticks the box to cover ped's which can be important in the ER setting.

Seems logical to me. But because you don't have an RN and thinking of doing a direct FNP then ACNP its going to put you out let's see 3.5 yrs or so give or take (Just checked Ohio state and it's 3yr for direct entry + 1-1.5 for ACNP cert). Why not get the PA in 2-3 depending on possible Pre-reqs and then you are free to practice acute care?

Agreed 100%, its a shame that the DNP is just a title and not really indicative of a clinical degree. The add on courses add nothing to clinical practice and also have seen depending on the school that the "clinical hours" are from the project.

How close are you to passing? What categories are they saying you are weakest in?

I am not an ACNP, actually last semester of primary care np, but I'll chime in. I can not answer specifically about the stress's of the job etc, but can answer about the original question. Yes, ACNP can and are more than qualified to work outpatient specialty clinics. They should actually be the more preferred in outpatient cardiac clinics, outpatient surgery centers, outpatient GI, etc, because they can get training regarding drips, ACLS, cardiac emergencies, etc that primary does not. Only side issue I see come up is regarding taking care of ped's because the nursing community still hasn't made a Acute Care NP through the ages. I consider this less of a concern in many specialty's esp, something like cardiac that your main clientele will be 50+. Best of luck.