Surgical NP's

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Long story short, I'm pretty interested in becoming an NP in some sort of surgical setting, but I'm not sure what route can best get me there. What is the best NP specialty to go for to someday end up in a surgical setting? Any surgical NP's have any insight as to the job itself as well? (what your role is like, schedule, etc). Is it possible for a FNP to work in a surgical setting? Thanks!

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Acnp is what you want. Having an RN first assist would be beneficial as well. Don't waste time on FNP of you plan to work in an acute or surgical setting.

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

UAB has an ACNP with surgical first assist program.

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Thanks you guys!! I’m pretty sure that I want to do surgical, that’s what excites me the most. But I’m also afraid of limiting myself to that setting if I don’t like it, so I was hoping it would be possible for an FNP to work in a surgical setting. Have any of you heard of an FNP working as a first assist?

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21 minutes ago, dana16 said:

Thanks you guys!! I’m pretty sure that I want to do surgical, that’s what excites me the most. But I’m also afraid of limiting myself to that setting if I don’t like it, so I was hoping it would be possible for an FNP to work in a surgical setting. Have any of you heard of an FNP working as a first assist?

Not to harp on an over-played trope around here, but don't even consider it. Decide what you want in life, own it, and be good at it. Don't put your license (and patient lives) at risk because you want to be flexible. If flexibility is the name of the game for you, consider PA school as this is most geared toward broad range flexibility.

FNPs are not educated to a population where hospital work, acute care, or OR should be considered. They are educated in primary/urgent care and have been stretched toward ED only because of their population (though they should have ENP as a rider IMO if they are working there). If you want OR, you should be focusing on ACNP with RNFA. There are also some schools that dual major AC and FNP...but they are few and far between. Later in life if you decide clinical work is more appealing and you specifically want to work with families (not just adults), then you can add FNP as a rider and can probably get that with a year of additional education.

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ACNP + RNFA here. My hospital system will not consider FNP for a surgical specialty (or ICU) - ACNP only. (well, there is one FNP, but she has been in that position for decades) They will consider FNP for other inpatient positions, like the hospitalists, etc, but the FNP must sign an agreement upon hire that they will complete a post-master's ACNP within 2 years.

I live in western PA and the hospital systems around me (and across the border in WV) are phasing FNPs out of the hospital setting.

Like Djmatte said, if you aren't sure what you want to do, then don't rush into being a NP.

As far as my job goes, I round on inpatients (SOAPs, consults/H&Ps), scrub in the OR and have 1 outpatient clinic day each week.

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1 hour ago, Dodongo said:

ACNP + RNFA here. My hospital system will not consider FNP for a surgical specialty (or ICU) - ACNP only. (well, there is one FNP, but she has been in that position for decades) They will consider FNP for other inpatient positions, like the hospitalists, etc, but the FNP must sign an agreement upon hire that they will complete a post-master's ACNP within 2 years.

I live in western PA and the hospital systems around me (and across the border in WV) are phasing FNPs out of the hospital setting.

Like Djmatte said, if you aren't sure what you want to do, then don't rush into being a NP.

As far as my job goes, I round on inpatients (SOAPs, consults/H&Ps), scrub in the OR and have 1 outpatient clinic day each week.

Thank you out so much for your insight! Do you think I’d still be eligible if I went for AGPCNP and got my RNFA? Also what is your scheudle like? Do you work three 12’s or do you have a mon-fri type schedule?

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21 minutes ago, dana16 said:

Thank you out so much for your insight! Do you think I’d still be eligible if I went for AGPCNP and got my RNFA? Also what is your scheudle like? Do you work three 12’s or do you have a mon-fri type schedule?

No, it has to be acute care, not primary care. But again, you can do any specialty practice, including outpatient clinic, as a ACNP. People get so caught up in thinking FNP and AGPNP can see all ages or can be in primary care, they don't stop to think about what they actually want to do.

The providers (physicians, NPs and PAs) in my group work monday-friday. To my knowledge, the only NPs that work 3x12s in the system are the intensivists and the hospitalists. The other service lines are pretty much all 5x8s. In surgery you should expect to stay until the work is done - if you're scrubbed in, or there is a patient in the ER that needs to go to the OR, you're staying. Call is almost always involved. In my practice the physicians and APPs rotate through call. When one of the APPs is on call, a surgeon has to be on back-up call, obviously, because we can't perform surgery independently.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
On 4/2/2019 at 7:17 AM, djmatte said:

Decide what you want in life, own it, and be good at it. 

I so love this statement - that I would like permission to adopt it?

I spent a lot of years trying to discover myself until I did just what you said.

Hppy

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Specializes in acute care, ICU, surgery, vasc.surgery,trauma.

I am a surgical NP at a VA hospital. I am also a RNFA. We do not scrub because we have residents. Before this, I worked for a trauma center where only PAs/residents scrubbed. If you really want to scrub, do your research.

As for hours, our surgical service NPs/Pas work 12 hr shifts 7a-7p or 7p-7a. We cover the hospital 24/7,including ER. The day shift staff also work in the clinic.

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Specializes in Surgery.

Surgical NP here. FNP. I was an OR RN for the 10 years prior to starting school but zero of my internships including assisting donor was all on the job training. Love my job! Bottom line is it can be done via FNP route but if you’re coming in without a surgical background I’d imagine ACNP -at least for inpatient experience-May be the better choice?

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Specializes in CTICU.
On 4/2/2019 at 7:23 PM, Dodongo said:

ACNP + RNFA here. My hospital system will not consider FNP for a surgical specialty (or ICU) - ACNP only. (well, there is one FNP, but she has been in that position for decades) They will consider FNP for other inpatient positions, like the hospitalists, etc, but the FNP must sign an agreement upon hire that they will complete a post-master's ACNP within 2 years.

I live in western PA and the hospital systems around me (and across the border in WV) are phasing FNPs out of the hospital setting.

Like Djmatte said, if you aren't sure what you want to do, then don't rush into being a NP.

As far as my job goes, I round on inpatients (SOAPs, consults/H&Ps), scrub in the OR and have 1 outpatient clinic day each week.

Can you go into a little more detail as to what you do as a surgical NP? I am highly interested in this career path.

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