sweetvi

I am embarrassed to write this but I have an important question. Has anyone studied to be a nurse practitioner but never worked? I recieved my Masters in pediatrics around 2009 and even passed my exams. However, I didnt feel this profession was for me at that time. I always wanted to travel, so I started to do that instead. I am a NICU nurse and still loved bedside,. Unfortunately I have seen it turning for the worse and being overworked and more stressful. I returned to my home state after a few yrs and then decided to pursue that career. Unfortunately I couldn't find work due to lack of experience so I return ed to bedside. Now my certification has expired and I really want to give this career a try. I went to the ANCC website and it states that I would have to retake the exam and do other things. My questions are: Do I need to return to school? (I hope not) Has anyone ever studied but didn't practice, and what did he/she do to get into the career? Should I retake the exam? Even if I pass the exam, will it be difficult to find work due to my degree was so long ago?

Wow! I didn't know you need your ANCC. Maybe I can go there lol Wow so you graduated 10 years ago? working as FNP or bedside Nurse? I wonder if there are refresher courses..hmm

Well I think you have more options has an FNP. I was limited with pediatrics.... I did not want to be stuck in a clinic but now that a few years has gone by, I notice more hospital and urgent care positions are being created. I have some friends that did the Walgreens -CVS route , teachers, and also CNS.. I am happy to have obtained my Masters though

WOW! I did not know volunteer hours counted? I can't do clinical hours if no one is hiring...:-( Thank YOU!

Okay thank you. Will he ever sit for boards or just continue teaching? I notice there are many avenues with my MSN so I will look into that..

I have a question? I completed a Master's in NP program back in 2009 and passed my certification exam for a pediatric specialty. One thing however, I never did anything with that degree. There were many reasons such for not pursing that career as fear of not liking my career and wanting to travel (travel nurse). I still enjoyed being a bedside RN because the hours were flexible and I felt comfortable in my position to be honest. While in school, I noticed many of the NP's that I followed in clinicals stated that they were not completely satisfied in their career and would have rather just stayed at bedside. That was one big factor in discouraging me, and I also wanted to maintain 12 hour shifts as opposed to 9-5. Now that a few years have gone by, I wanted to pursue this new career path in NP. I have applied but because of no experience, I never received a call back. In addition, I have one year left until my certificate expires. I'm noticing that most positions are now requiring Family so I decided to return for my post masters. As anyone obtained a NP degree but never did anything with it? Did you decide to return and pursue a career in it and how difficult was it? were their jobs willing to hire with no experience? thanks!

Thank you! I will check to see if they have an online program..

I have a question? I completed a Master's in NP program back in 2009 and passed my certification exam for a pediatric specialty. One thing however, I never did anything with that degree. There were many reasons such as fear of not liking my career, wanting to travel (travel nurse), and I still enjoyed being a bedside RN. The reason being that the hours were flexible and I felt comfortable to be honest. In addition, I noticed many of the NP's that I followed in clinicals stated that they were not completely satisfied in their career and would have rather just stayed at bedside. That was one big factor in discouraging me, and I also wanted to maintain 12 hour shifts as opposed to 9-5. Now that a few years has gone by and I have become interested in seeing where my NP degree will lead me. Unfortunately, I have one year left with my certification and have been unsuccessful in finding a job. I noticed that most positions are now requiring Family ( I only have peds), and more urgent cares and 12 hour shifts are being created. Im thinking of going back for a post masters.. I want to know what school do you guys recommend for state of Florida and how long are the programs. Several schools has told me that I need to submit an applications first before determining the length of program.