RunNP

I went straight into a Pulmonary practice with 50/50 inpatient/clinic work. I had wanted all inpatient work, but overall I have grown to enjoy my clinic patients more than the inpatient side.

Is this even a serious discussion? There is a huge difference between DNP and MD. I am a little embarrassed for anyone who would even assume they are even close in position. An MD has 4 years of undergraduate work, 4 years of medical school followed by residency (depending on specialty) that can last 4-8 years (also depending on specialty and fellowship) So you are looking at anywhere from 10-12 years at minimum of post high school education and countless more hours bedside and on call. I am proud of my DNP but honestly it does not even slightly compare to the hours my husband spent working towards his medical degree. Be proud of your accomplishment and stop comparing to others.

Im in Wisconsin and there are jobs in the rural areas. I have heard Madison and Milwaukee can be tough markets for a new grad. However, there are tons of family practice positions in most of the smaller cities...

We see what is happening in our communities. My position which I have been in for nearly two years pays less for new hires in the same role today. Throughout the region the salaries have dropped 10-15K for entry level NP. I have had discussions with various members of my leadership about this and they flat out stated they respond to the trends in the area and the salaries have dropped accordingly.

If I come to work from the gym I am in sweats or shorts, but change once I get to work. I have never thought about wearing shorts to work in... If in doubt of the appropriateness of the item just run it by your practice manager or another provider. There are some more dressy options in shorts. I did clinical rotations where providers wore jeans and nobody batted an eye. In my current practice they do a jersey friday during football season where staff wear jerseys/shirts of their favorite teams. It is well received by patients and they have fun with it. It is mainly a clinic thin and does not translate well to the hospital.

Not often, but once in a while when I have only clinic hours with no procedures scheduled or on admin days I will dress up a bit and wear the heels or sandals. I have scrubs, tennis shoes in my office in case things change or most likely I spill something on myself (it has happened twice).

My spouse and I both hold doctorate degrees and I have yet to receive an invitation that was not addressed to Dr & Mrs. I do not sweat it. His took a whole lot more time than mine did...

When I started working in my current position we were given the option of how we wanted our name/title to come out in the EMR, business cards, lab coats, etc... I went simple with First name last name and NP. I really did not give it much thought.. I have seen all sorts of different and pretentious combinations over the past few months. 1. Jane Smith, RN, MSN, FNP, FNP-c, ARNP 2. Jane Smith, ADN, BSN, MSN, FNP-BC, APNP, CEN but my favorite was 3. Jne Smith, RN, RN-C, ADN, BSN, MSN, CEN, ARNP, APNP, DNP actually it was not her exact cluster, but I cannot help but chuckle overtime i see one of her notes. Seriously! I am actually dying to ask her what gives! Last week i saw a form she signed and she actually wrote out the whole alphabet soup by hand!! I work with a few other NP/PA and they just pretty much roll their eyes, but it made me wonder if anyone else out there feels compelled to list every designation they have ever earned.....and why?

1. Were you able to work full time while completing your program? My program was a brick and mortar and I worked full time at first then switched to weekends only plan when clinical picked up pace. 2. How would you compare the difficulty of MSN-FNP schooling to nursing school? Nursing school was cake. I don't ever remember being stressed out with studying. NP school was more difficult in spots. My issues were from vague instructions and a few professors who took enjoyment in creating tricky and misleading test questions. 3. Are you happier as an NP than you were as an RN? I am happier with parts of my new role. When I started as an NP the treatment is so different. RNs get treated like children in a hospital setting with how many minutes from the hour you clock in to time stamps on your charting. It could be suffocating at times, but when I clocked out my time was mine. In the NP role there is stress of a different kind. I worry about making a mistake or missing something. I selected to work in a specialty group and underestimated how much of a gap there was from my knowledge base and the expectations. It is a daily struggle. 4. Did any of you graduate from a program similar to mine, if so, how did you like it? No, i selected a traditional NP program because I wanted the interaction with other students and instructor and my husband was finishing up his fellowship in the same city.

I took them both and to be honest i did not think one was tougher than the other. I was more nervous and anxious during the AANP one as I took it first so sitting for the ANCC I was not so tense. I did score better on the ANCC.

I can not imagine having my first job be a locum. Good luck!!

I feel for those of you who deal with the chronic pain issue and drug seekers. I remember in school how they carried on about the contracts, pill counts and urine tests for people on pain med contracts. In my clinical rotations it seemed to be a daily issue or daily headache.

I try to see the other side of an issue and form some type of understanding of another's point of view, but there are just some ideas in this topic that make me sad. Some areas I do not understand such as gender reassignment and I cannot walk a mile in their shoes or relate to the pain these individuals endure nor do I feel qualified to dismiss their pain as unreasonable. This a gray area where I admit I do not have enough information nor should I expose my ignorance on the topic to belittle others. The same respect I apply to those who believe in a deity. I do not share their beliefs nor do I every want to dissuade those people from their beliefs, but in the same respect I do not want those beliefs forced on me in the form of laws or missionaries showing up on my door step. What worries me about the Trump and his followers is that there seems to be a lack of respect for the dignity of others. Our country is the great melting pot and it is the diversity that makes us strong. muslims love their children enjoy their families and worship as they see fit - just like Mexicans, people from India and Americans of color and all deserve to be treated with respect and hopefully a bit of compassion. not as NP but as human beings and the lack of respect and compassion shown is sickening.

I would start the process early as not all states are that quick with the process. You can also apply for your NP while still in school and just update as you go. I have worked in some states where it took less than a week for a license and others where it took months. My DEA in my current state took 10 weeks where classmates back in TN had theirs within two weeks.

I have a dear friend back in TN who was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS some 17 years ago. He now lives without any real restrictions and has been on SSI/Medicare/Medicaid for years. I asked him years back why does he just not return to work, because he appears so healthy. He explained that he would lose his prescription coverage and just one months of meds was well over $1k. He was stuck riding the system or basically die. It is sad that healthcare is just so out of reach for so many. If my friend could return to work and afford his meds then it would save the system money in the long haul. I was able to perform clinicals in a remote clinic for a semester and it amazed me how many patients just did not have health insurance and could not afford treatments they needed all because of money. I do not know the answers, but I know we are failing as a people when we make healthcare out of reach for so many.