Time to get real -

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Okay, I am getting sick of nursing students and new grads saying the same old routine cliche tagline "All I need is 6 months of bedside experiences before I can go back and get masters and become a NP or a CRNA"

You are SOOOOOOOOOO W-R-O-N-G!

Keep dreaming if you think 6 months is going to pass for CRNA or NP qualifications.

Yes the salary is fantastic but I personally wouldnt pursue yet another nursing career if I could - I would hightail my butt out of nursing and go to Engineering or Law. Basically the same amount of time in school and gonna cost about the same (can we say lifetime of Debt?).

This whole fantasy that MANY MANY people have about NP and CRNA.....the mentality that all your time thus far in school and clinicals was just unimportant. "Just 6 months of bedside care" - Get real - more like 6 YEARS.

Nobody (few exceptions) goes from the bottom of the totem pole to the top in the blink of an eye.

I agree with maybe getting out of nursing if bedside isn't for you. But don't go for law unless you REALLY want to be a lawyer, the market for new attorneys is worse than the market for new nurses, with a lot more debt.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I obviously cant speak for everyone who wishes to be an FNP and I do agree that people who gain no clinical experience from their programs may not be well suited to the job. But for me personally I am only looking at programs with strong clinical experience incorporated into the program. I know that not all the online programs do this. Georgetown University helps you find a preceptor and clinical experiences in your area. I definitely want that because I learn by doing and I want to be proficient in my career. I also plan on working at least part time during school.

I know - I can tell you try to be better than you need to be just to get by. They're really trying to standardize these programs and as someone mentioned there is a push right now to have the new DNP degree the minimum to start practice as an NP, but they will fold some existing Masters programs into it as they say many of these programs have comparable amounts of class/clinical time to doctorate level degrees in other disciplines. Right now it's like herding cats. :)

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Specializes in LTC.

I don't put nothing pass anybody. And WHO CARES if someone wants to become a NP with 6 months experience. I find that the ones who start these type of posts probably wish they could be a NP.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
And WHO CARES if someone wants to become a NP with 6 months experience. .

Uhhh their future patients and coworkers perhaps? :rolleyes:

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I don't put nothing pass anybody. And WHO CARES if someone wants to become a NP with 6 months experience. I find that the ones who start these type of posts probably wish they could be a NP.

Wrong.

I happen to care quite a bit. People who say this have probably seen what can happen when an inexperienced practitioner is let loose on patients. Why shouldn't we advocate for "minimum" competence? Peoples' lives are at stake, and NPs-to-be are haggling over the minimum amount of time they have to put in on the floors before they can become an NP. Looks like someone gets lost in the shuffle...the patient.

You don't know what you don't know. (Not "you" personally.)

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

You don't know what you don't know.

The many with a lack of insight to consider this are worrisome to me.

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I agree with NurseLoveJoy88 (except for the part where she says that those sorts of OP's probably wish they could be NP's - I don't know what they wish - and I don't care either).

Personally, my plan is to be an FNP. Right now I'm an ADN student and a CNA in a nursing home. I think it could be a great career. I hope to get a job when I get my ADN. After that - I'd like to go to school part time - work part time and hopefully get my MSN (or DNP if I'm unlucky) in 6-7 years.

We'll see, hardly anything works out exactly to plan.

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None of us here (as far as I know) make the rules regarding how long a nurse has to be on the floor until s/he can become an NP. I think it depends on the academic institution.

For example, there are a few near me that require two years at least part time floor experience before being accepted into an MSN or DNP program.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
None of us here (as far as I know) make the rules regarding how long a nurse has to be on the floor until s/he can become an NP. I think it depends on the academic institution.

For example, there are a few near me that require two years at least part time floor experience before being accepted into an MSN or DNP program.

Which is exactly why some standards should be put in place. Residencies for physicians are clearly defined. NPs should be advocating for standards. It would give them a lot more credibility. Right now, it's just a crap-shoot.

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Which is exactly why some standards should be put in place. Residencies for physicians are clearly defined. NPs should be advocating for standards. It would give them a lot more credibility. Right now, it's just a crap-shoot.

Maybe. I really don't know the details regarding how current standards were instituted regarding FNP minimum competency and education. If nurses collectively advocated for more control over their profession - and attempted to consolidate power democratically in the nursing workforce in order to implement real-world standards in terms of competency and education, that's something that I could get behind. But, as I understand it right now, these decisions are not made in such a way. So, aspiring NP's have to live in the real world and play by the rules if they want to get their MSN or DNP.

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Specializes in FNP.

NP colleagues I have had that had difficulty getting a job after graduation were those with little to no RN experience. I was a nurse for 25 years before becoming a NP. IM (limited) experience, one career has almost nothing to do with the other, and I can't say that my extensive RN experience has been too terribly helpful, clinically speaking, thus far. It did help me earn more money than I would have otherwise.

FWIW, I went to law school, graduated in 1982. 25-30 years makes a big difference, ;) but my NP education was more than 2X as much, and I went to the same Ivy League school for both, lol. As a NP in 2011, I will also make about half of what I made in my one year of law practice, way back in 1982-83. I hadn't really thought about this until now, and now I'm depressed. Thanks a lot.

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You know what I value experience. I'm getting my experience before starting school, but you know what I give credit to any nurse who wants to further their education and as soon as possible. If a CRNA program will take you with 3 week floor experience, Go for it. It's ideal to get your education before you have kids, a spouse, and responsibilities. Forget the naysayers. After graduation start planning for that next educational goal, because the longer you stay out of school the harder it is to go back.

Isn't it funny, growing up they tell you, go to school and when you graduate they tell you to slow down with the schooling

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