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Discussion

What if I don't like it?

I think I'm having cold feet :barefoot: (or I'm a chicken...:chicken:) LOL. I'm anxiously awaiting to hear from two NP programs to which I have applied. All I ever wanted to be was a NP and it was my entire motivation for getting through my BSN! So now I'm waiting on letters, hopefully acceptance letters, and I keep thinking "What if I don't like it"?

So basically, I'm wondering.... What else can one do with a FNP degree aside from patient care? If for some crazy reason I graduate from FNP school and decide I want to do something else, can I get into a Nurse Management role at the hospital? Or some other type of supervisory advanced practice/desk job position? Don't get me wrong, I still think I want to be an NP and I have plans shadow one, should I be accepted to a program, before I commit. But the real world of RN floor nursing is drastically different from what I perceived and because of that I am getting cold feet about this next step. I just want to know there is a backup use of my (future) expensive hard-earned degree should I find it is not what I expected. It is such a specific degree I don't know what else one would do with it beyond clinically caring for patients. Thanks for the input! Or words of encouragement!

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    • Featured Replies

    Bump! Excellent questions Robinelli. Any FNP's/NP's utilizing their education non-traditionally? If so,what areas? What brought you to that choice?

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    • Guides

    This has been years past for me but there were students in my graduating class in the other tracks (ANP, WHNP, Community Health CNS) who ended up teaching in various schools of nursing. I know NP programs don't really expose us to curriculum development and teaching strategies used in traditional classrooms but these schools found the students' clinical experience as valuable in being hired for clinical teaching positions. One of my ACNP batch mates worked as a nurse manager for a year before finally taking a job as an ACNP.

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    This has been years past for me but there were students in my graduating class in the other tracks (ANP, WHNP, Community Health CNS) who ended up teaching in various schools of nursing. I know NP programs don't really expose us to curriculum development and teaching strategies used in traditional classrooms but these schools found the students' clinical experience as valuable in being hired for clinical teaching positions. One of my ACNP batch mates worked as a nurse manager for a year before finally taking a job as an ACNP.

    Thanks Juan. Like the OP I have often wondered what someone does if they don't feel a draw to clinical practice. Teaching seems like another good option, early or later in career.

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    • Experts

    I actually started a dual MSN/MBA when I went to grad school because I wanted to have lots of options.

    I eventually dropped the MBA as I found business classes way boring. (However, I now wish I had stayed with it as MSN/MBA grads are really in demand in my area).

    With a clinical MSN, you do have options:

    1. many varieties of NPs - some work in the clinic, hospitals, with insurance companies doing UR/CM, LTC visits.

    2. you can also teach

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    • Experts

    I have a good friend who entered nursing via a direct-entry MSN program, only to find that she didn't like being an NP once she was one. She has gone into nursing education, and is making a career for herself there. As far as I know, she hasn't practiced clinically since fairly soon after she got licensed, and has no apparent interest in doing so.

    I would recommend thinking long and hard about entering a graduate program; unlike general nursing education, a graduate degre in nursing pretty much locks you into a specific professional role and career path. Any graduate degree in nursing is going to cost you a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (not to mention the $$$), so, IMO, you might as well be darned sure that this is what you want before you invest a lot into it.

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    @TraumaRUs,

    I was wondering what areas/jobs you have seen that desire the MSN/MBA combo. I have just applied to a fall entry FNP program. This is a second career for me; I have my MBA from the past one. I'm planning to work clinically, but would not mind exploring options that take advantage of the MBA as well.

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    • Author

    Honestly I have a strong desire to teach. I'd really love to teach Anatomy and Physiology and Pathophsyiology. I also have an interest in teaching pharmacology. Could I teach any of those courses with an FNP degree? At my school A&P and patho were under the biology dpt and our professors had biology degrees. I would absolutely love to teach those classes though!!!

    I think I would be good as a nurse practitioner also though because I have an aptitude for diagnosing even strange diseases (I looked at someone and guessed correctly they had Marfan syndrome just by observing their build/hands/fingers) and I have good assessment skills already. I've been told by our rapid response person I have "eagle eyes" because I catch things quickly. I caught a pulmonary embolism in a patient recently! That being said, I'm not interested in working in acute care. I really want to do primary care, most likely in public health like at the health dpt.

    So I guess I'm a little torn. I think I'd be good at both and I'd like to be able to try both. Maybe I have a commitment phobia. LOL.

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