Why become a NP

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What are the benefits? What made you decide to go this route? What's the "best" speciality? Any negatives? :heartbeat:nurse:

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Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.

I chose to go this route because I was tired of the bedside....Hospital RNs who work at the bedside are not always given credit for what they know (As in when a patient said to me "I don't understand why that nurse (an RN) didn't come right away to take my mother to the bathroom... what do people go to nursing school for anyway?" Scary thing is she was very serious about this. I'm convinced most folks have no idea what is learned in nursing school.

More time with my patients instead of rushing between 7 or 8, I can see them one at a time..... I have holidays, weekends and evenings off. In some states, autonomy....in other words in some states the NPs can set up their own practice (like in Washington DC). When I wear the white lab coat with my stethoscope around my neck, for some reason I can be saying the same thing that I said when I was wearing my cute nursing scrubs and now because I'm an NP it carries more weight with the patient.:)

I'm an adult NP working in a hospital.... I think the NPs with the most opportunities are the Acute NP and Family Nurse Practitioners (who can see womb to tomb). In my state I can see 15 years old and up.

Negatives. Much more responsibility (though sometimes this can be a positive also). In the hospital when the day shift RNs are leaving after their 8 hour shift, I may still be around finishing up the new admission paperwork with the doctor..... Though most primary care ANPs work specific office hours.

Hope this helps.

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Wow this helps alot. I start nursing school August 19. I'm so excited. I'm already plotting my next career move. I'm becoming more and more interested in NP. Thanks for responding!

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When I wear the white lab coat with my stethoscope around my neck, for some reason I can be saying the same thing that I said when I was wearing my cute nursing scrubs and now because I'm an NP it carries more weight with the patient.:)

I know what you mean about getting more respect dressed in street clothes and a white lab coat. Pretty amazing...

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Specializes in Med surg, cardiac, case management.

The best explanation of why become an NP (in this case vs a CNS) was that an NP expands the nursing role horazontally, that is into new areas (whereas a CNS expands the nursing role vertically, becoming more specialized). I think either elkpark or llg came up with that metaphor.

Neither appeals to me, so I'm going to become a researcher/educator. ;)

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.
I know what you mean about getting more respect dressed in street clothes and a white lab coat. Pretty amazing...

As a current bedside nurse I wear a white lab coat over solid colored scrubs. And I am often complimented on how professional I look by my patients., especially the older ones.

This sounds old fashioned but I preferred it when we all wore the same colored scrubs and white lab coats - it looked so much more professional.

I mean it's heard to take someone serious when they are wearing a cow pattern lab coat. And don't even get me going about the tattoos .....

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Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.
As a current bedside nurse I wear a white lab coat over solid colored scrubs. And I am often complimented on how professional I look by my patients., especially the older ones.

This sounds old fashioned but I preferred it when we all wore the same colored scrubs and white lab coats - it looked so much more professional.

I mean it's heard to take someone serious when they are wearing a cow pattern lab coat. And don't even get me going about the tattoos .....

Yep. That is so true. I can remember I started off with the "cuter" scrubs as an RN and by the time I was in NP school I had started wearing scrubs with a solid color lab coat. It was just my preference and made me feel more professional (Though I'm sure the dear nurse I remember who wore "Betty Boop" scrubs, had more nursing knowledge than I, I always thought that such scrubs took away from the seriousness of the job and made patients not take us as seriously.... just my opinion though.

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As a current bedside nurse I wear a white lab coat over solid colored scrubs. And I am often complimented on how professional I look by my patients., especially the older ones.

This sounds old fashioned but I preferred it when we all wore the same colored scrubs and white lab coats - it looked so much more professional.

I mean it's heard to take someone serious when they are wearing a cow pattern lab coat. And don't even get me going about the tattoos .....

I would never wear it at work but I would like the cow pattern lab coat.... wait i might wear it on october 31st.

Jeremy

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Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.
Wow this helps alot. I start nursing school August 19. I'm so excited. I'm already plotting my next career move. I'm becoming more and more interested in NP. Thanks for responding!

To get back on topic. I became a nurse practitioner because I was concerned about the direction that advanced practice was having in the UK and in particular in my hospital and I wanted to be a part of developing the role to benefit the patient. I have managed to do that but also discovered that I love being a nurse practitioner. I get continuity with my patients that I could never get on the ward as I see them in out patients, when they are admitted pre and post op then as follow up after discharge. I get to help them throughout the whole process and am able to build a relationship throughout thier whole journey rather than a snapshot when they are on the ward.

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Specializes in Critical care, gerontology, hospice.

I became a Nurse Practitioner so I could more fully realize the role of the nurse. We are meant to be fully functioning clinicians, not hiding behind MDs, following someone else's orders. That is not to say that I think I know the same things as an MD, I collaborate with them every day and ask advice. But it's advice, not orders, it's direction, not some legally binding dictate. I guess I'm really a rebel. I love taking full care of people, getting the history and working up the complaint, following up the prescription or solution I've recommended. In hospice I deal with uncontrolled pain, vomiting, constipation, dyspnea, and many other problems, from superior vena cava syndrome to bowel obstruction to active dying. It's very satisfying when what I did made a difference, and the patient is comfortable at last.

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Specializes in Critical care, gerontology, hospice.

BTW, I've never like the cutesy scrubs either. How do nurses think they will be taken seriously when they dress like that?

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Do NP's diagnois like MD's? I mean within the nursing spectrum but can a NP say someone is dehydrated or diabetic?

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