Why did you become an NP?

Why did you become an APN? How long have you been an APN?

About to graduate from my FNP program. I always knew I wanted to go back to school and wanted my graduate degree in something clinical, despite being a nurse manager. I was accepted into CRNA school at TCU several years back, but after spending time shadowing a CRNA before the program started, I realized it wasn't for me. I love the role of the NP, being a provider, but still approaching things from a nursing perspective, and bringing a great nursing teaching ability along with it. I truly think NP's overall have a huge leg up in engaging their patients due to their time in the trenches.

How did you get your current job?

I went to a program where I had to find my preceptors, and chose an internal medicine physician I knew I would love to learn from. 1 month into my first clinical rotation with him, he asked me about my interest in working with (he never said for) him. A few weeks later I was presented a great contract and accepted.

Does your job require national certification? Yes.

Is your current job what you thought it would be?

Technically haven't started it yet, but have done hundreds of clinicals hours with him basically doing what I will be doing once I finish. Although my dream job is working for the state department as a health practitioner, this job is exactly what I want out of school and also long term.

What do you wish you had learned in school to better prepare you for the real world?

I wish I would have received better pharmacology and better patho.

What advice would you give to a new np student?

Download PERRLA APA software. Never worry about APA again. Also get Epocrates as a student since it is heavily discounted for you. UptoDate is also a great clinical resource as well as school resource since it is full of current information on a variety of diseases and treatments.

What do you like the best/least about your np job?

Can't really say yet. What I can say is that after almost 8 years of bedside critical care nursing on night shift, I'm ready to once again join the realm of the living and have a normal schedule again. From an NP standpoint, I feel like I'm going to hate the feeling of being a "baby NP" like I did when I was a new nurse.

Why did you become an APN?How long have you been an APN?

2+ years as APN, in primary care. Became an APN because I love learning all things medical and knew I had what it took to work with patients. I fell in love with primary care from my first day of clinical.

How did you get your current job?

Referred by someone else to the doctor I work for. Got my previous job on Craigslist.

Does your job require national certification? Yes

Is your current job what you thought it would be?

Yes, because I had previously worked in a primary care setting.

What do you wish you had learned in school to better prepare you for the real world?

More ordering and interpreting labs (you can never get too much experience with that before you start your first job!). More ECG interpretation. More about imaging techniques.

What advice would you give to a new np student?

Read the consult notes on your patients. All of them. You will learn a lot from what the specialists write in their notes. LISTEN carefully to your patients; don't open up the EMR the second you walk into the exam room. Learn good tracking and follow-up habits for important problems your patients have. Ask all the questions you can think of; people like to be helpful. :)

What do you like the best/least about your np job?

Best: forming long-term relationships with patients who trust me and who I trust. Least: knowing people for a long time means some of them will get very sick and some will die. It is tough to deal with the death of a favorite patient.