Scope of Practice information.

PG2018 · Oct 6, 2016

Grasshopper, you have come down the rabbit hole.

Typically, you won't find narrative scope such as what you're looking for. Often, boards of nursing have ridiculous decision trees or some other algorithmic graphic to determining whether you're qualified to engage in a given act or decision.

The popular consensus is "if you're not trained to a level of safe competency then don't do it."

Nursing is rather a vague and diffuse field.

Please ask away if you have more questions or concerns.

Summarily, however, as a FNP you're not qualified to do everything because your population is birth to death. A lot of budding FNPs seem to have this ambition.

finally03gt · Oct 6, 2016

Thank you for your reply and the verbiage gave me a chuckle. I have come to that conclusion. I'm looking for a level of clarity that simply doesn't exist. It seems the closest I will come is the BON:

(in summary)

1. Have you been formally trained

2. Are you individually competent

3. Does it comply with state, local, federal, and facility guidelines (which seem to be clear as mud)

I have come to the conclusion that FNP probably opens the most opportunities for a NEW APRN, and to really know what I may want to specialize in, I need to spend sometime in the medical profession. I just know I majored in General Business, which turn out to be too general to be worth it's paper, and I don't want to repeat that mistake. I plan on spending about 5 years and $50K to get to APRN, and want to make sure it is as beneficial as possible.

ANY feedback or opinions are welcome.

finally03gt · Oct 6, 2016

I did think of one specific question. I a person obtains their APRN in FNP, how much is involved to add a specialty later?

finally03gt · Oct 6, 2016

I'm still very early in the process, but right now, I'm starting my BSN from UT Arlington, and unless I find something better, will probably continue there for my Masters with FNP preparation. My question was, if I maintain that course, how much does it take to add, say, Adult-Gerontology Acute care to my scope of practice, later on. I believe I've seen similar scenarios described as a "blended role"

babyNP., APRN · Oct 6, 2016

The big question is: what do you want to do in your career? I only like taking care of babies, so I chose to be a neonatal nurse practitioner and I work exclusively in the NICU. You may not know exactly what you want to do right now, which is totally fine as you aren't even in nursing school yet. I didn't know I wanted to do NICU until my senior year during my BSN.

Some of the major NP specialties are family NP, Pediatric NP, Adult NP (acute care in a hospital setting), Psych/Mental Health, Geriatric, Women's health, and then there are nurse midwives & certified RN anesthetists.

Beyond a specialty, you also have to consider if you want to work in-patient in a hospital (acute care) or work in out-patient in a clinic.

If you want to specialize in 2 of these fields you generally get a post-masters which is generally about a year long.

finally03gt · Oct 6, 2016

Great points to ponder. I have spent the last 12 years in the offshore oil and gas industry. The last 9 of that working on ROV's (remotely operated vehicles - basically robotic submarines) I got spoiled to only working 60% of the year, so working 12's and having 3 days a week off is very appealing to me. That said, I can see myself later in life enjoying working at, or maybe running a family practice clinic. I do not feel called to the kiddos, not opposed to working with kids, but not my greatest desire. My wife is a RN and her 7 year career has been in pediatrics, that's more her thing, haha. In the broadest sense, what brings me satisfaction in my job is analyzing. Looking at a system and the abnormal operation, and trying to figure out what is not working properly and why. I especially like tackling the problems that have more elusive solutions.

babyNP., APRN · Oct 6, 2016

It sounds like you would prefer in-patient then, as clinic folks generally work 9-5 M-F unless you go part time. In-patient does 12 hours at a time in some fields- generally the ICUs. In-patient care also tends to have more "complex" problems that take awhile to sort out as clinic patients you spend about 15 minutes with each one and have to basically rush through the appointment even if they have 203948209385 morbidities. The downside is that if you work in-patient, then you generally have to also resign yourself to working some amount of nights, weekends, and holidays for the rest of your working life.

Everything I said is only generalized and you can certainly find niche jobs where the above doesn't apply (I myself am for all intents and purposes a permanent day shift NNP, which is almost unheard of), but unless you're willing to move, probably unlikely to get exactly what you want in every category.

finally03gt · Oct 6, 2016

I was thinking in patient would be the right place for me , at least in the beginning of my career. Nights weekends and holidays are nice to have off, but again after 12 years in the oil patch you get used to missing that kind of stuff. I do think that I need to find a general direction to point myself, but not stress myself about the details too much until I actually get in the health care world and figure out what ignites my passion

PG2018 · Oct 6, 2016

Thank you for your reply and the verbiage gave me a chuckle. I have come to that conclusion. I'm looking for a level of clarity that simply doesn't exist. It seems the closest I will come is the BON:
(in summary)
1. Have you been formally trained
2. Are you individually competent
3. Does it comply with state, local, federal, and facility guidelines (which seem to be clear as mud)
I have come to the conclusion that FNP probably opens the most opportunities for a NEW APRN, and to really know what I may want to specialize in, I need to spend sometime in the medical profession. I just know I majored in General Business, which turn out to be too general to be worth it's paper, and I don't want to repeat that mistake. I plan on spending about 5 years and $50K to get to APRN, and want to make sure it is as beneficial as possible.
ANY feedback or opinions are welcome.

The types of positions you can fill are probably most abundant, but, statistically, you will also have the greatest sum of competition in getting those positions thus they're harder for you to fill. Doable nonetheless.

Typically to add a post-master's certificate, you'll need at least 500 hours in the new chosen specialty plus whatever extra school requirements exist. It might take a year tops.

PG2018 · Oct 6, 2016

II do think that I need to find a general direction to point myself, but not stress myself about the details too much until I actually get in the health care world and figure out what ignites my passion

I thought this too but never found a nursing niche that I enjoyed until I moved into advanced practice. I bounced between med-surg and some minimal ICU which felt WAY too cluttered, managing a jail infirmary, emergency, urgent care. The only thing I've ever enjoyed is outpatient psychiatry (not inpatient to any degree) and only in a "provider" role. I think headache would be an intriguing field. Derm and Allergy, in addition to psych, are all generally high income roles.

finally03gt · Oct 6, 2016

I will definitely pursue my practitioner. It the roles offered there that finally gave me the nudge to choose nursing. I actually want to pursue a DNP, but we'll see if I get that far. Psyc does not call my name, but I'm open. What do you mean by headache? Also, I think I understand what you mean buy provider role, but would you be willing to clarify that