nursecatraxa

OP, Did you end up getting the job.?

Depends on the area you are concentrating on, and your interests. I am an FNP so I focused in primary care offices and places. The most learning (and currently working at) is definitely a FQHC. You see the weirdest, rarest, complex, interesting cases there because: 1) pts belong to many categories and combination of being uninsured, homeless, foreign born, poor and very sick, severe mental health and addiction. 2) You see a variety a procedures, and specialties because they cannot reach an specialist so you are the mental health, derm, ortho, endo, rheum, neurologist du jour for many patients on waiting lists for donation and pro bono specialists. 3)you get to manage time real fast because you are given 15-20 mins for 20-22 pts a day no admin time, many times no prior medical records with them or of them anywhere and said pts need medications to be given to them for free since they cant pay for them, all while taking care of them and making sure there is a f/u appt set so they are not lost, with forms to be filled all in the allotted time. You don't typically see this in private offices. 4) you a have a great team of assistants, MDs, PA, and NP ready to mentor you, and DM educators and Mental health team to refer to within. I am still a new NP, and believe me no NP school could have taught me all the skills I have acquired since I was student doing rotations there. The patients let you do procedures while the MD or another experienced provider literally holds your hand to do it, and they are grateful and Ok with that while you learn. is a win-win situation. I am confident I can be "thrown" into any situations and not be afraid. However, this is not for everyone, but it will be toughest job you will ever love. I digress, I feel FNP practice for FNPs, and acute care NP if you want to be hospitalist and or ER. I did rotations in those as well and I would have been totally inadequate as an FNP or the learning curve would have been tremendous that I would have been in a psych unit or dead from stress, and feelings of inadequacy, burn to a crisp etc. but I saw the signs before and I stayed within my scope. I am happy.

Thanks for putting FQHC in a good light! It is in my opinion the best place for new grads. It is like a residency.I am a new FNP (5 months working as one)I am working where I did some of my rotations and I stayed due to the reasons you mentioned: Positive peer, MD, PA, NP collaboration and health aides and MAs that help you triage and do procedures. I have lots of great mentors and my Boss is a "walking brain" as well as a caring MD who loves to teach, so I am blessed to be learning from these providers. I ask questions all the time and also consult with the clinical pharm D and diabetes educator, mental health counselors that are all part of the team so I am never alone solving cases with my patients. For an anxious, new NP, I feel pretty good, becasue they are ramping up until I get to 20 pts per 8 hr day and I know that I have anyone near me to consult as ask questions. The patients are grateful (most of the time) to have someone listen to them since other places won't take them since they have no insurance. You are basically still learning while getting paid. Definitely recommend to someone that has student loans too!

1)Kids do not malinger. 2)They say the darnest things! 3) You get to see cute overload. 4) You get to see them grow up in front of your eyes (primary care peds) You do make a difference in their lives because they are resilient and they want to do things to get better and their innocence is refreshing. The downside is sometimes you can see children suffer and die (thats why I am not a peds oncology RN) or can see abused children (Peds ER) or parents can be too much (eye roll) but you focus on caring for the child and you get through. When I was in BSN school, I did not think I could be a peds RN but after getting my first RN job in peds, I realized that they bring the kid in me out and also bring the best of me. I found my niche here.

Hi, it is never too early to secure a preceptor. A semester in advance is good, even a year in advance if the area you are in is competitive. I agree with everyone that it is indeed aggravating that you pay school tuition money, and course fees and then ending up to find a preceptor on your own. My school does provide a list of preceptors and it is affiliated with a prestigious teaching hospital so you would think that would be enough to get everyone a preceptor. However, there are several schools in the city and shortage of providers that even the clinical instructors are having a hard time placing and matching students with clinical preceptors. I had great response from my first site I went for clinical but I wanted to try other sites and I called a preceptor myself a semester before I wanted to start. She had two students already and she still took me in. I feel very blessed because some of my classmates don't have anyone aligned for this fall semester. That would be scary and would not want to be in that position.