Residency programs for NP graduates?

I would bet real money that any NP program would let you take the clinical rotation for years if you wanted to...as long as you keep paying for it!

I am sure they would. I'm talking about specific areas for instance the ACNP programs will allow you to specialize in many areas: General surgery, ER/Trauma, neurology/neurosurgery, cardiology/cardiothoracic surgery

I just think it may be better to go the FNP route then maybe do some post draduate rotations in other areas if you wanted to specialize further.

Take into account that a PA is stating from Day 1, you already have four years of schooling behind you............

Your right Im just worried I may not feel comfortable with only 700 hrs in the role of a practitioner. Plus I would love to work with a cardiology group seeing patients inpatient/outpatient an first assist during surgery if possible. Seems like most positions like this go to the PA's but i guess i could be wrong.

Take into account that a PA is stating from Day 1, you already have four years of schooling behind you............

I was basically called an idiot on another thread for taking this position.

That and most NP programs require 2 years of FULLTIME nursing experience in order to be considered for admission. Math:

36 hours a week x 52 weeks a year x 2 years = 3744 clinical hours

Most PA's actually have some background such as EMT or medic or other experience, however the programs were designed to have more clinical within them exactly for the reason you cite - we start with a known clinical background, they do not.

This isn't a bad thing - it's just different.

Neonatal NP already has a program like this essentially. You have to work for 2 years, full time, in a level III NICU prior to being able to do your graduate level clinicals. So, for people like me doing a direct entry program, we go to school and get our RN, stop school for 2+ years while we work in the NICU and then go back to finish our graduate work. It comes very close to 4000 hours, just in those two years alone, which are spent dedicated to the area we will be going into.

There is a nurse practitioner residency program in community health and primary care at the Community Health Center in Connecticut. One year with salary and benefits.

http://www.NPResidency.com

The school I'm going to has 750 hours of clinical time.

In my experience this has been a chronic problem with virtually all levels of nursing education/training. Your exposed to the basics. Then whoever hires you is supposed to provide on the job upgrading. This is OK to a point. But when your getting 600-700 hours of clinical, you just don't have the experience/exposure to really be up to speed. Hopefully the new DNP's will have a significantly greater level of time working the patient.

I'm a dual cert NP/PA. I did the PA emergency residency at LA County General as a PA. It was an additional (approx) 4000 hr clinical, along with about 400 hr specialty didactic plus modules, presentations to the residents, lectures. I was much better prepared after, along with being more efficient and proficient. Picking this up on the job would have taken many years and not been anywhere close to as standardized. It was one of the finest experiences that I had ever had (also damn near killed me-lol).

But please remember this. This is what worked for me. Not everyone has the same goals or needs. But nursing does need to start exploring the concept. (And for christ sake don't make it mandatory-we'll never get out of school).