I currently have my BSN and want to pursue a masters in FNP. While doing a ton of research I've seen a lot of pros and cons. I wanted to hear some personal experiences from nurses about pros and cons to becoming an FNP. Some things I've heard include:
Cons
1. NP do not make that much, that their increase in pay is equivilant to a bedside nurse picking up one shift a week.
2. NPs have a lot of responsibility and that it can be too much at times.
Pros
1. Autonomy in field
2. Less physicial work
3. NP Hospitalist can make a ton of $ ( not something I'm personally interested in but good to know).
Any information would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you're an NP can you tell me how much you like your job and what field you work in!
Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.
I love being a FNP, it has opened so many doors, I taught nursing in a BSN program for 9+ years which I had not thought about when I was in NP school. I make twice or more then RN's, I live in a state with independent practice. Locally there are 8 FNPs who have their own practices. I wish I had done it sooner. My Masters degree/FNP cost just shy of $10,000. I am enjoying it very much.
How much you spend to become a FNP depends on what school you pick and what state you practice in may have big impact on autonomy in practice.
HudaMohsen said:
Hi, I think bedside nurses are more valuable than a nurse practitioner who can't even prescribe panadol I guess. I am sorry if I offended anyone.
it is really unfair that a nurse practitioner studies all those years but yet not allowed to function as a physician. An intern doctor who just studied 5 years will be allowed to do more than you.
OK Huda you have some explaining to do with this. Where do you live? Are you an NP? I was a bedside med surg nurse for about 25 years so yes agree that RNs are very valuable but NP's we are in a different role entirely.
Honestly i think it may depend on where you live. My mom is a nurse practitioner after working her way up from lpn. In MA everyone is in school. Its very competitive whereas my aunt in north Carolina is a bsn and i feel like the cost of schooling and loans wasnt really worth it. Last year my mom made 20,000 more dollars than me but also paid atleast 1200 a month for school loans so that didnt appeal to me. In new hampshire nps can have private practices and here they cannot. Making that autonomy a reality depending on where you are. As a hospital np maybe its awesome but to get those jobs here is a very difficult task. I think maybe if she relocated it would have been worth it but saturated areas will be difficult to navigate. And lastly the job satisfaction your searching for may not be fulfilled as ive seen in many many nurses and NPs. So think hard
And being responsible for diagnosing and prescribing isn't stressful?
Being a floor nurse is a different kind of stress which involves making allied/ancillary services do their job, playing bed shuffle all night, talking to apathetic consult physicians at 3am and explaining real concerns, dealing with crazy/nasty/smelling/demanding patients and family for 12+ hours, no rest breaks, getting blamed for everything because the buck stops with the bedside nurse, having little power but a lot of responsibility (especially in critical care) or terribad managment who keeps shoving protocols/charting down your face while cutting staffing. My run on sentence can go on forever.
APRNs have a different level of stress but it is an intellectual stress that I look forward to despite the level of responsibility it requires.
APRNs have a different level of stress but it is an intellectual stress that I look forward to despite the level of responsibility it requires.
Been there done that! I agree 100% and while I absolutely love being a NP it is so much more difficult I could have ever imagined. At the end of my shift I'm physically and mentally exhausted and experience a puckered body part far more often than when I was a nurse. And fwiw I'm quite good at what I do and generally a confident type A personality so its not just that I'm an incompetent nervous Nelly. This is some difficult $%!+.
And being responsible for diagnosing and prescribing isn't stressful?
I'm sure it's a better stress than floor nursing, you are not dealing with alarms blaring nonstop, and all the other crap that goes on. You get to use your brain and if you do well in school and study and keep up to date and use all the supplements available to you diagnosing and prescribing should be more of an enjoyable challenge! Granted you still are running on the assembly line at a fast pace but that is true for most healthcare jobs these days. Some primary care doctors are changing to a concierge system where patients pay cash and bypass insurance to make more money while seeing less patients. This may be the wave of the future for primary care, time will tell.
any career that proclaims easy success and low barrier to entry will be soon saturated.
Supply and demand laws
if money is a big concern do things other people do not want to do and make yourself enjoy it
work harder and smarter than everybody else
be willing to relocate
be able to solve other people's problems that money can't solve
make friends in high places
greet the janitors and housekeeping daily and make friends with them too. Trust me. They know things other people do not know.
Kick @$$
consider and/or do the above and you should be okay
i foresee in the near future np degrees not being worth it. And the near future is closer in some areas than others. If it has not reached you yet. It is coming for you
cheers fellow nurses
im actually a happy person in real life but unsustainable optimism will get you pwned in real life
any career that proclaims easy success and low barrier to entry will be soon saturated.
Supply and demand laws
if money is a big concern do things other people do not want to do and make yourself enjoy it
work harder and smarter than everybody else
be willing to relocate
be able to solve other people's problems that money can't solve
make friends in high places
greet the janitors and housekeeping daily and make friends with them too. Trust me. They know things other people do not know.
Kick @$$
consider and/or do the above and you should be okay
I foresee in the near future np degrees not being worth it. And the near future is closer in some areas than others. If it has not reached you yet. It is coming for you
cheers fellow nurses
I'm actually a happy person in real life but unsustainable optimism will get you pwned in real life
look up the word pwned for all you non gamers
I hope your tongue in cheek flavor doesn't overshadow the sage advice in this post. I have absolutely done every single one of the things you listed. In fact one of the housekeepers at a job I resigned from, to go work with a physician who was also leaving, actually hugged me and cried on my last day...I think it was the doughnuts I always brought but can't be sure, LOL.
Seriously though great advice! I looked up pwned and love it. I have always worked more than one job in part so no one thought they pwned my ***.
traumaRUs, MSN, APRN
87 Articles; 21,287 Posts
Moved to student NP. Best wishes with your decision.