Christopher Ljucovic

Hi Beth, Are there training courses or certifications that are only available for us APRN-Nurse Practitioners that you could recommend? Thanks and be well! Best, Chris L.

As a practicing FNP now, I wouldn't go back for any further degrees or post-master's certificates unless it was FREE! I have enough debt and need to focus on working and getting more experience right now. Hopefully you're nearing the end of completed the Pace program! Good luck either way and be well!

Congrats! I graduate in May 2020. OnlineMedEd and APEA are AMAZING! I also utilize Osmosis, which is another great resource. Hope this helps some NP students out!

Hi Wendy, Stony Brook University Medicine program core clinical e-books for Cardiology are as follows: - Braunwald's Heart Disease : A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine - Hurst's The Heart - Preventive Cardiology : A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease Hope this helps you! I am interested in taking the boards as well! Keep us posted and good luck! Best, Chris L.

Good luck!!

Hey Julsca, I remember scoring extremely low when first taking the practice NCLEX NLN exams back in 2011. It's okay to initially see low scores but they should improve as you review and study. Honestly, I would push it back to Jan 2nd if you feel you are not ready. You'll only feel more anxious and stressed if you don't feel somewhat prepared. It's only a couple of weeks away anyway. Use the time to review more! Good luck! PS: I personally used NCSBN Learning Extension (LearningEXT.com) online review course (along with various NCLEX review books) prior to taking the NCLEX and I think it most definitely helped me pass the first time (it stopped at 75 questions and took me about 40-45 minutes)!

Hello Playa, It was for an RN PACU position. I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to commute from Long Island to NYC during my last year of NP school. It's rare to see NP's in PACU unless they do pain management rounds. They are primarily in presurgical testing and do a lot of the H&Ps and ensuring everything is done prior to surgery. I graduate in May 2019! I can't believe it's alrady here! 3 years really does fly by quick.

I've done mostly E.D., Critical Care ICU/CCU, and Hospice & Palliative Care. I'm moving up into the NP role as of next May 2019 and can't wait! I'm so over being a bedside nurse. :)

I'm a third-year FNP student and I still can't believe we have to find our own clinical site placements... I find it absolutely deplorable and nothing but a disgrace to the nursing profession! What other professions are required to find their own clinical placements/rotations?! Not MD/DO, PA, PharmD, DPT, nor DVM!! Just this past semester I knew of students who were allowed to do their Adult/Geri clinical rotations while taking their Pediatric didactic because they weren't able to find Peds preceptors in time (or at all for that matter)! So, they'll have to do their Peds clinical during their Adult/Geri didactic this coming Fall 2018 semester, if they find one, of course (we can only hope!). And if they didn't take the offer mentioned above, they'd have to withdraw from the program and wait an entire year to start up again. Honestly, I'd do it too if I had no other options, rather than wait an entire year to start up again... It's completely absurd if you ask me! I'm already stressing out about the thought of having to find an OB/GYN/Woman's Health clinical site for the Spring 2019 semester, as I've heard it's near impossible for male students. ***If anyone knows a OB/GYN/Woman's Health MD/DO/NP, office group, or clinic that is willing to take a male student in the Suffolk County, Long Island NY region then please message me ASAP! The deadline for placement is October 1st 2018*** Thanks in advance! :)

Vmm1995, you're very welcome! I currently live in NY as well, but in Eastern Long Island. I just interviewed for a PACU position at a Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan; fingers crossed I get it!!! As someone already mentioned above, it can't hurt to apply. If you come to find it's not your niche, then simply back out! And don't worry, whether a nurse or a provider, all patient interactions are meaningful, yet in different ways. I hope you get the opportunity to shadow an NP before making any final decisions, as this will help you decide if it's the right fit for you. If you choose the acute care NP route I highly recommend you get into a critical care fellowship/internship so that you get the most in depth training possible for the relatively short amount of time you'll be at the bedside. Oh, and a huge plus to working before going back to graduate school is the tuition reimbursement or free schooling you'll receive, especially if you work for the big New York City hospital systems. I also want to mention that most graduate nursing program core pre-reqs are the same across the board. So you may want to start in the NP track to get them out of the way and then eventually switch to the CNS, nursing education, or other M.S. track later down the line, as I know some who have!! *(First find out if you're able to easily switch programs or if you have to go through the whole rigmorale of an application process)*

Jules, yes! It's the unfortunate truth! These universities want the money and will push undergraduate nurses to pursue higher degrees before they've even graduated. I can foresee this becoming a great diservice to the patients and our profession, as the new grad nurses barely get a chance to hone the art of nursing, let alone figure out what their true passion in nursing is. Then they get into an APRN role and are expected to be experts without the much needed basic nursing experience.

Hey there! First and foremost, I'd like to welcome you to the nursing profession! I'm glad to hear of your love for nursing and I hope you continue to feel that way throughout the remainder of your studies and for many years to come! Before answering your question, I'd like to start off by saying that my response to you is solely my personal and honest opinion regarding advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). With that being said... I STRONGLY advise you, and any nursing student and/or new graduate nurse, work at the bedside for a MINIMUM of 1-2 years before applying to any APRN program. Personally, I don't even believe a year is enough time. That's why I think all universities should require 2-3 years of recent and relevant bedside nursing experience prior to allowing entrance into an APRN program, but I digress! Most, if not all, APRN programs are meant for baccalaureate prepared nurses who are experts in their specialty care area. This foundation allows for a smooth transition from the bedside nurse to the advanced practice provider role. Furthermore, many of the NP programs are now only offered online (distance learning/education) and mostly autodidactic (self-teaching & self-learning), with few to NO required days on campus. So, you can see why I can't stress enough how important it is to get your "on-the-job" training and "hands-on" experiences. I know this all too well as I, myself, am third year Family NP student currently enrolled in a part-time "distance education program" at a local state university and let me tell you... it is not easy! Even with my seven years of bedside clinical nursing experience in critical care, emergency med, and hospice & palliative care. I also have two board certifications through the AACN and ANCC in critical care (CCRN) and med/surg (RN-BC) nursing. I know you expressed your concerns about losing your "bedside nursing skills" once you become and NP. My answer to that is: Yes and No. You will inevitably lose the skills that you no longer perform regularly, like managing a patient district, getting patient's out of bed for meals, and timely medication administration. Believe it or not, many of your nursing skills will be enhanced. You'll build on the foundation of your nursing assessments through performing detailed physical exams that will ultimately lead you to a diagnosis and prescribed treatment plan. You'll also gain more pertinent skills and knowledge that relate directly to your specialty area, like for example, in the acute care setting, the NP will be suturing and debriding wounds, inserting arterial lines, and maintain a patent airway through intubation and etc. In my experience I would say that the primary care NPs lose the most of their nursing skills as they won't be doing any of the fun acute/critical care interventions like I mentioned above. Although they have weekends and holidays off, so you'll have to decide which you want. Also remember that you will no longer be carrying out the provider's orders but actually calling all the shots! It's a tough transition for many nurses at first but most get through it! I think I've said all I can. So, I'll leave you with this saying I always tell my nursing students and fellow colleagues, "the more knowledgeable you are, the safer the patient". No matter what path you choose please don't ever forget that. You can truly never learn or know enough! Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks! Two years into the FNP program at SBU I still don't know what to do about finding a quick post master's acute care NP program. I hope SBU starts one... How is your search going? Did you start an NP program yet?

I like the "I just need to shave a few spots for the EKG patches"

Hey All, I am in need of some advice and guidance from the ACNP community regarding the matter listed above. I'm currently enrolled in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York with intent to graduate in Spring of 2019. I've been looking into Post Master's certificate programs that are specifically tailored to primary care NPs looking to advance their knowledge and skills so they can practice in the acute/critical care setting. With most of my 5 years experience in emergency and critical care nursing, I naturally wanted to enroll in an Emergency NP program. After many hours of researching schools and universities that offered the ENP program, I became extremely frustrated for two reasons. The first being that NY schools/universities don't offer an ENP program and secondly, Non-NY school/university NP student's are not allowed to do their clinical rotations in the state of NY. Does anyone know of or hear of a New York school/university that is implementing an Online ENP or ACNP post master's certificate program? I'd even do an in-class program that is within 50 miles of Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. I truly appreciate your help in this matter! Thank you in advance! Best, Chris L.