Vanderbilt NP program..help!

ANPFNPGNP · Feb 9, 2009

Beware. As you probably know, Vanderbilt's tuition is nothing short of outrageous. I personally know a PMHNP who went through their program and advised me against it because of the cost. He will be paying off that six figure loan for the rest of his working days and probably then some.
Keep in mind that you will probably have to take out some money for living expenses and I'm sure this factored into the amount he had to take out as well. Any program worth its salt will probably not leave you with much opportunity to work much.
Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching...
I am going through a state school and the cost is way, way cheaper. Try $15-17K total. By the time it's over and when all is said and done the Vanderbilt graduates won't be any further ahead than the state school graduates as far as career opportunities go. In fact, as a state graduate you will not have all that debt.
I hear tell there is a Vandy NP working for 10% of a cardiologist's salary who supposedly makes 3 million a year, but I mentioned hearing this to a doctor and nursing director who is also going to NP school and nearly got laughed out of the room.
I didn't really believe it, either.

I graduated with a MS from Vanderbilt and a post-Master's from UT-Houston. Yes, the cost of Vanderbilt was incredibly expensive, not to mention the other expenses associated with it, i.e. hotel, travel, etc. However, the Vanderbilt "name" has definitely helped me get jobs...doctors have been very impressed that I attended school there. I actually liked attending school there, but I paid up front and I wouldn't have considered that program as an option if I had to take out loans...no way!

As far as a NP making $300,000 (10% of 3 million)...I have actually heard of a couple of NP's in Louisiana who work for a large cardiology practice and SUPPOSEDLY they are pulling down around $300,000 a year. I heard that from a friend who knows a friend, etc. My response was..."Why wouldn't they just pay a doctor that, why pay a NP who has to be supervised?" It makes no sense whatsoever! However, I know a NP who is paid $90/hr...he works at an onsite clinic for a manufacturer - this has been verified. They also pay his supervising physician $8,000 a month plus his malpractice insurance. The doctor doesn't have to do a thing...just pick up a check. I know a doctor who is board certified in ER medicine and he moonlights at a local refinery and they only pay him $80/hr. I guess it's all about being in the right place at the right time!

MissBehavin · Feb 10, 2009

TO ANPFNPGNP question

I am planning on moving to Nashville from Arizona. I have extended family there and my father and grandparents are only 200-250 miles away in Illinois. I decided that it was better than having to fly there every month. I am nervous about it, but my fiance is very supportive and can move just about anywhere with his company.

To all

This school is expensive, but I have heard from many it is worth it. The University where I recieved my BSN has a FNP program (no ACNP) and it came to about the same price because it is 3 years long.

I think that choosing a school should be about fit for the person not just the price. I love the subspecialties (trauma, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, Emergency ect.) that Vandy has to offer, and I am willing to spend a couple of years paying for my loans.

Good luck to everyone waiting to hear from their schools of choice.

ANPFNPGNP · Feb 10, 2009

TO ANPFNPGNP question
To all
This school is expensive, but I have heard from many it is worth it.

You will be surprised at how many doctors/employers will be impressed with the Vanderbilt name on your diploma. This will help you in finding a job...you won't be one of the thousands who graduated from some online program.

I liked the Vandy program b/c several of the lectures were given by the faculty at Vanderbilt Medical School. Also, the NP faculty are required to work in their specialty area...I thought that was awesome. There's nothing like being taught by professors who are practicing in the real world.

You will love being in the center of the action...the nursing school, medical school, VA hospital, Vanderbilt Children's, etc. are all connected by underground tunnels. I also liked that about UT-Houston...we were in the center of the largest medical complex in the world - located right next door to MD Anderson! An online program can't even begin to compete with that, in fact, most traditional programs can't compete with that.

Good luck!

Jo Dirt · Feb 11, 2009

TO ANPFNPGNP question
I am planning on moving to Nashville from Arizona. I have extended family there and my father and grandparents are only 200-250 miles away in Illinois. I decided that it was better than having to fly there every month. I am nervous about it, but my fiance is very supportive and can move just about anywhere with his company.
To all
This school is expensive, but I have heard from many it is worth it. The University where I recieved my BSN has a FNP program (no ACNP) and it came to about the same price because it is 3 years long.
I think that choosing a school should be about fit for the person not just the price. I love the subspecialties (trauma, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, Emergency ect.) that Vandy has to offer, and I am willing to spend a couple of years paying for my loans.
Good luck to everyone waiting to hear from their schools of choice.

Just as long as you know it will be a heck of a lot more than a couple of years...but I'm sure the Vanderbilt name would be considered a feather in your cap.

I'm just too darn cheap. Send me to the Budget Inn.

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Oct 28, 2010

Obviously, because they have to pass the boards TO practice, right?

Browndog · Oct 31, 2010

I have heard that the Vanderbilt diploma actually has the opposite affect if you are trying to work in the Tennessee market. I have had more than a few employers tell me that they would not hire a Vandy NP grad (one of whom is an MD employed by Vandy). Essentially, they said that they were not impressed with paper writing and that they want more clinical focus and experience in a candidate.

I chose to go elsewhere and had no problem landing a job right out of school. Also, look at getting an Accelerated BSN and then working as an RN while in the MSN program. Experience as an RN is a huge asset....both from a clinical and job search standpoint.

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Nov 2, 2010

Good things to know. I don't think I'll be rushing into grad school ASAP. I think I'll work for at least 3 or so years, and then go back. Getting that clinical experience, plus saving up some money will be nice. Hopefully NP isn't a doctorate by the time I go into it. If it is, I'm not sure what I'll do. Probably still do it.

king_nurse · Aug 20, 2011

hey there, im doin my senior year at king college in bristol tn for my BSN and a classmate & i are thinking hard about vandy's ANP route...we understand there is a week/month on site in nashville and clinicals able to do in your home area...hoped someone could shed some light on the following...

-how is the gre? is there any prep work for this?

-how is the staff? (king is a small private college & we are used to warm & caring instructors-tough-but caring)

-we would come straight from graduation, with the changes in 2015 we don't have a choice...would that hurt us? like being behind on the experience/learning curve?

-do they offer any assistance/counseling with job placements/loan reimbursement with potential employers?

-r we going to meet any resistance in the workforce going thru a 1 yr program? im only a senior and i feel like i dont know anything really...is that normal? all nurses say you really start learning once u start working

-are u able to work while u do this program? could i do 3/12 hr shifts 3 outa the 4 weeks?

-how many clinical hrs per wk are there? or do you just meet a certain number per semester and work them on your own pace?

thanks for any input...we really want this, but its a huge decision....any help and advice is much appreciated!

-amanda

mammac5 · Aug 20, 2011

i just graduated from vusn's anp program and will do my best to answer your questions:

hey there, im doin my senior year at king college in bristol tn for my bsn and a classmate & i are thinking hard about vandy's anp route...we understand there is a week/month on site in nashville and clinicals able to do in your home area...hoped someone could shed some light on the following...
-how is the gre? is there any prep work for this? the gre is not a big deal. i bought a book to prep/practice and worked on it for about 3 days. took the test about 10 days after surgery. it was fine.
-how is the staff? (king is a small private college & we are used to warm & caring instructors-tough-but caring) staff and instructors at vandy are wonderful. of course some are more "warm & caring" than others, but all are experienced in their respective fields. we had lectures by people outside of vusn who are known experts in their fields as well.
-we would come straight from graduation, with the changes in 2015 we don't have a choice...would that hurt us? like being behind on the experience/learning curve? this is a matter of great debate. some will say there should be some sort of requirement to work as an rn x number of years prior to even applying to np schools. some will say the jobs are so entirely different from each other that the years of experience are not necessary to do well. that's something you'll have to decide for yourself. personally, i was not a nurse prior to entry (i did the bridge program) and i don't feel it hurt me at all. i did have several years of outpatient care experience as a certified medical assistant and i have greater life experience (i.e., i'm older!) than many of my classmates were and that was very helpful, too.
-do they offer any assistance/counseling with job placements/loan reimbursement with potential employers? no. of course, they do the required loan counseling that comes with any institution that accepts federal student loan monies. they do have the nhsc folks come in to speak about the ins/outs of finding a loan-repayor site after graduation, how that application process works, etc.
-r we going to meet any resistance in the workforce going thru a 1 yr program? im only a senior and i feel like i dont know anything really...is that normal? all nurses say you really start learning once u start working again, this is something you have to determine for yourself. i just graduated, have not yet completed certification exam, and am looking forward to getting to work within the next few months. i believe the name "vanderbilt" is impressive enough that it trumps any misgivings employers may have about the program "only" taking one year. the program closest to me, geographically, would take 3 years but that was going to class/clinical only one day per week. i don't think you can compare the two really.
-are u able to work while u do this program? could i do 3/12 hr shifts 3 outa the 4 weeks? depends. if you're going to try to work full-time, have a family and home, and have some sort of social life...i'm going to say no. i worked part-time the first semester of my specialty year and then did not work at all the last 2 semesters. i have no young children at home, a fairly self-reliant husband, and a low-maintenance dog. my parents were upset with me all the time because i couldn't hang out with them...there were some tense times.
-how many clinical hrs per wk are there? or do you just meet a certain number per semester and work them on your own pace? clinicals for anp are a minimum of 630 for the year. first semester we were not doing outside clinicals, but did advanced assessment skills in the cela lab at vandy and some nursing home work in nvl. so that's 630 hours in 2 semesters (30 wks) or over 20 hours per week. they are set up according to your preceptor's schedule/preferences, not the student's. very important that you know that. if your preceptor takes vacation time, is sick, gets injured, has a sick child, or whatever, you will be off when he/she is off and working when he/she wants to do it. combined with the other courses you have, this is a fast-paced program.
thanks for any input...we really want this, but its a huge decision....any help and advice is much appreciated!
-amanda

king_nurse · Aug 20, 2011

wow, thanks so much for the quick response, I also am a bit older than the traditional student (31) and have a 4 yr old at home with an amazing dad, this will be a family decision and i appreciate your honesty...i worked with a nurse who is going thru the program there and he says our hospital works with his schedule so im hopeful to have flexible hours if i go this route...thanks again and congrats-i admit it excites me to be able to say i graduated from vanderbilt!

danceluver · Aug 21, 2011

@mammac5----did they help you enough with setting up your clinical rotations in your specialty year? If not, was it difficult to find preceptors or not so bad? Do you think your job prospects are going to be good in your area?

mammac5 · Aug 21, 2011

@mammac5----did they help you enough with setting up your clinical rotations in your specialty year? if not, was it difficult to find preceptors or not so bad? do you think your job prospects are going to be good in your area?

the clinical placement office at vusn can give you contacts for any offices/clinics/docs who have had students from vusn in the past that are in your geographical area. from there, it's all you. out of my three rotations i was able to secure one via contacts i had in the medical community prior to going to vusn - that rotation turned out to be my least satisfying! the other two were offices that i called cold to find out if they would be interested in taking a student. thee rotation i did in june/july was a little more difficult to arrange because july is also when the new medical interns get started on clinicals so any office that had a med student/intern didn't want to take an np student at the same time. all in all i didn't find the process bad at all.

based on conversations i've had so far, i don't anticipate any problem finding a job in the next month or two after i pass boards. i don't believe it will be my "perfect" job where i'll stay until i retire, but i can find something for a year or two to get enough experience to apply for the really great type of jobs that i want. most of the best-paying jobs with top benefits require 2+ years of experience - at least where i live. if i wanted to relocate to a more urban area i believe i could finding something greater, faster.