Specialties - What do you do? Do you like it?

karibo · Oct 10, 2008

Really? NO one wants to talk about their specialty??

Please help me out here! I would love your feedback!

Trauma Columnist · Oct 10, 2008

Ok - I'll take a stab at this:

I'm an adult health CNS and I work in a nephrology practice. I like the hospital work with acute pts very much but the chronic pts on hemodialysis are a different story. I like the patients, just don't care for the repetitive nature of the job.

I live in central IL and the market is expanding in my area.

VivaRN · Oct 10, 2008

I'm a soon-to-be FNP working in HIV.

LOVE IT! I work in a large outpatient clinic affiliated with a major hospital. HIV medicine is fascinating - all body systems, acute and chronic, always changing with new drugs and science. The public health and social justice aspects feed my soul. But I wouldn't recommend it to everyone because it's not for everyone. You have to find what YOU are passionate about.

Maybe you could shadow some providers in different specialties. Do you have to get your masters right away or could you work for awhile as an RN to see what you like? It is difficult to make a decision about your masters without a clear direction in mind. And the reality of a job can be very different from the idea of it.

:twocents:

jer_sd · Oct 10, 2008

The role of your education will define what areas of health care you can be employed in. In addition state laws vary between states for scope of practice.

Adult and family will have the widest variety, all others are more limiting. I would be careful with Oncology it is a great area but some states dont recognize that certification unless you also have ANP or some other to use (FNP, ACNP).

Part of it falls to what do you want to do when you are done with school, see if you can shadow some APNs in your area and see what you woul dlike to do. In patient, out patient, ICU, anesthesia, midwife ect....

What you might like in concept could be very different than the real world.

Jeremy

ANPFNPGNP · Oct 11, 2008

Hi everyone,
I am currently applying to several nursing programs for a combined BS/MS.
For most of these programs, I have to choose a masters specialty now when I fill out my application. There are a lot of fields I am interested in, or think I might be interested in, and I am a little at a loss to even narrow down the choices, let alone choose one!
These are the options I have to choose from (at least for Columbia, where I am most interested in going):
Acute Care, Anesthesia, Midwifery, Neonatal, Oncology, Women's Health, Psychiatric Mental Health, and Adult, Family, Geriatric, or Pediatric Primary Care
So I was hoping for some help from you wise APNs out there.
I would really appreciate it if you would please respond to this post with answers to some or all of these questions:
- your specialty
- what type of facility you work in (hospital, nursing home, clinic, etc.)
- what you actually do on a daily basis
- if you feel comfortable, about how much money you make or what the salary range is for your job/field
- where you are located and how difficult it is to find a job in your field
- if you are happy with your specialty and would recommend it, and if not, why not?
- anything else you want to share about your specialty
Thanks so much! I am having a really hard time figuring out what people actually wind up doing with their degrees, so I would love some help!

I'm certified as an ANP, GNP and FNP. I work in a large primary care practice and also in a minor emergency/urgent care facility. I absolutely love it b/c I get to see it all. I get paid $50 per hr and no benefits (which sucks) and I'm an independent contractor. I've been offered jobs with decent salaries and benefits, but I would have to work a lot more and I would end up making less money in the long run. I am currently waiting to get credentialed at some hospitals and I will work 9-15 ten hour shifts per month in the ER. I will make $60/hr with that job plus full benefits with a 401K. I still plan on working a day per week in primary care though.

I would recommend that everyone start as a FNP and then specialize from there. I'm very thankful for all my additional clinical time in the Adult and Geriatric programs. I don't think FNP students spend enough time in geriatrics and this can come back to bite them. I see a lot of elderly patients with very complex illnesses in primary care. FNP's should spend a minimum of 500 clinical hours in geriatrics and that's just getting their feet wet!

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Oct 14, 2008

I am in the Neonatal NP program at Columbia... PM me if you have any specific questions about the program....