RN transition to advance practice nursing

[Spunkycgill32]

I am currently enrolled in advance practice nursing for FNP. I am finding the transition to be harder than expected. It seems like everything I've learned over the 10 yrs of nursing has left me mind boggled or it could be fear of success or the transition. Has anyone else found the transition to be difficult?

[WV-RN]

Very difficult. NPs are supposed to be "advanced" practitioners but the more advanced I have become, the further away from my basic education I have become. I have been in mostly specialty areas and it's true that if you don't use it you lose it. Some of the things taught in my masters program were completely different than what I learned 25 years ago. There are many questions on all nurses about how long to wait after becoming an RN to start the NP process. I say don't wait more than 5 years to keep current in practice.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Very interesting perspective. I had been an RN for 12 years when I became an APN. My RN experience was 1 year adult ICU, 1 year Peds ICU and 10 years level 1 trauma ER. I felt (and still feel) that ER prepared me very solidly for my APN role.

I do see your point though that if you are in either a non-clinical role or a specialty where basic clinical skills or assessment skills are not used frequently, that might make your APN education a little bit of catch-up

Thanks

[Chiefschick10]

I just graduated from an FNP program. I have been an RN for almost 14 years. I feel like all my nursing experience helped me during my FNP program and will continue to be of benefit when I began my practice as an FNP. I have worked the past four years as a med-surg float and the nursing experience I gained doing this has been invaluable.

I don't think there is a certain time frame to be placed on when to go to NP school. I do think it helps to stay in the clinical setting though. All of the skills we learn as a nurse will be of great benefit as an NP. Nurses are good listeners. I think that is one of the most important skills nurses have. Always listen to what the patient and their family is telling you. They know when something isn't right. Nurses are trained in ways physicians are not and I personal feel like we can bring so much to the advanced practitioner role.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

There are few studies on this topic, however, it is discussed in the extant literature as "role confusion".

I precept students will all sorts of different backgrounds. I have said it before, but one of my most challenging students to precept was an ICU nurse with more than 20 years experience. If I was ever in the unit I would want her taking care of me, but in the end, we both decided that the out-patient NP role just wasn't for her; she had difficulty making the transition from the micromanagement of the ICU setting to the out-patient setting. The other problem I commonly see with experienced RNs making the transition is the shift to "owning" the patient. It's a hard thing to teach, and I imagine, a hard thing to learn.

[Libby1987]

There are few studies on this topic, however, it is discussed in the extant literature as "role confusion".

I precept students will all sorts of different backgrounds. I have said it before, but one of my most challenging students to precept was an ICU nurse with more than 20 years experience. If I was ever in the unit I would want her taking care of me, but in the end, we both decided that the out-patient NP role just wasn't for her; she had difficulty making the transition from the micromanagement of the ICU setting to the out-patient setting. The other problem I commonly see with experienced RNs making the transition is the shift to "owning" the patient. It's a hard thing to teach, and I imagine, a hard thing to learn.

I apologize for posting as I have nothing to offer to this topic, but the bolded bit, this is what I always see missing from most of the general threads/posts on this site. Coming from an RN case manager in home health, I feel like I come from a different planet. I never read any sort of ownership in posts about the general nursing experience. Being a career home health nurse it comes so naturally to me, these are my charges, not a temporary assignment that I've been tasked, well they are usually temporary but not in the hand off fashion. I could never not take ownership and I agree that it must be difficult to teach in other settings.

I wonder how that affects work satisfaction?

[rnkaytee]

I've been a NICU nurse for 16 years and am finishing my NNP. There's also a huge ego shock - like, I'm great at what I do as a nurse but I feel stupid as an NNP! You basically have to start all over again and that's so hard. When I was taking my "across the lifespan" courses I did think the newer nurses had an advantage (there's another Hepatitis since I went to school!) but I think in the long run a good solid nursing background is a plus. And yes, many NPs have a difficult transition moving from the "side of the bed to the head of the bed."