Question re: NP and clinical experiences...

[mskate]

I am planning to go back to school for my NP. There are so many great programs out there, but the one thing that I want to be relatively smooth is the clinical experiences. If you are in a brick and mortar school, do they provide access to the clinicals or do you need to find them yourself? In the online programs, it looks like you need to set them up yourself. How does all of this generally work??

[core0]

Well then, David, why stop with just precepting?? Why not do your "regular" job on a voluntary basis? Why don't we all provide our professional services on a voluntary basis and live off charity? We could beg on the streets in our spare time (our limited spare time, after we worked harder at our regular job than we would have if we were getting paid a reasonable wage). I see the dawning of a beautiful new world ...

If I work for free then I can't pay off my student loans:D. Then I can't precept. Its a vicious cycle:cool:. On the other hand I'm in a job which I like and where I am in the top 90th percentile in pay, and I'm considering applying for a job to help run a PA program in a foreign country at 2/3 the salary. What does that make me:eek:.

David Carpenter, PA-C

[zenman]

If I work for free then I can't pay off my student loans:D. Then I can't precept. Its a vicious cycle:cool:. On the other hand I'm in a job which I like and where I am in the top 90th percentile in pay, and I'm considering applying for a job to help run a PA program in a foreign country at 2/3 the salary. What does that make me.

David Carpenter, PA-C

Smart, depending on what country it is. I spent four years in Dhaka making $30k a year. How much of this landed in my bank? All but about $100 a month. Then there was the free house, the new Toyota for $300 a year (gas, oil, maintenance) and the housekeepers/cooks for $100 a month.

Now, I'm in Thailand not working while I finish up my NP certificate. Come see me and we'll walk down the street for a good meal at about $1.40, Coke included.

I plan on coming back to the states in two years...if I can stand the shock!

[BmoreCRNP]

In my program the instructors/director made some contacts and tried to get everyone placed. However, they caught HELL doing it. The director told me that he had several MDs tell him flat out that they were opposed to the existence of NPs and would not take part in their education. NPs either didn't have time for students, or they just didn't want to be bothered. Time is money, especially in primary care. Students = being slowed down = seeing less patients per day = less pay. That's if you're in the fee for service world. A number of the placements the faculty were able to make sucked. Bottom line. One of my classmates ended up having to make up her clinical time over the summer because her site was basically useless. She spent most of her time sitting there reading books. I think it just depends on the program/school that you go to.