Why you shouldn't become a nurse practitioner

[chillnurse]

You may not be able to work in your favorite specialty.

Currently, work in the ER as an RN? Do you love it? Good, well your first job out of school may not be in the ER as you have lingered during your nursing career. Love the ER? Well, recruiters love experienced NP's in the ER, so you may be out of luck for a few years.

You may take a big pay cut.

WHAT, A PAY CUT???? I MAKE 45 DOLLARS AN HOUR AS A LOCAL TRAVEL NURSE AND MY STARTING NP PAY IS LIKE ONLY 38 AN HOUR, DUHBULL YEW TEE EFF. Yeah, that's right, your first job might land you in a local community health center making less money with a masters degree, than with an associates degree.

You have to learn an entirely new trade.

The term "advanced practice nurse" is really misleading. We don't practice in any way as an RN does. Our role more so mimics physicians. "Man I have been an ICU nurse for 12 years and an ER nurse in a level trauma center at 16 different Mayo clinic locations, I GOT DIS BRUH." No, you don't get dis. What you have is a new steep stepping-stone into a new trade. You are on the other side of the brick wall now writing the orders for your old self to follow. Welcome to "advanced practice nursing."

Another 30-70k in loans and other fees.

Running short on change due to having to support a family, bills, expensive hobbies, or for some other reason? Well, the solution sure isn't to take out another student loan. Becoming a nurse practitioner costs A LOT OF MONEY. Yeah, it isn't medical school, but we also don't make what physicians make either. Count your coin prior to becoming an APRN.

Time

Looking for a 1 day a week online nurse practitioner program that requires no travel graduates in 5 months, 10 clinical hours, and a 2.1 GPA to get into? Looking at some of the online programs that exist, I wouldn't doubt there are at least a few of these. I am sure there are some great online programs out there, but trying to take the easiest shortcut probably won't pay off in a competitive market such as todays. A good program will require a decent time commitment. Should getting a master's degree not at least be as much work as your associates? Some seem not to think so, they seem to believe that once you have your RN you should instantly be crowned Dr. Nurse with the wave of a magic wand and the writing of a few 'nursing policy' papers.

Labels and role confusion

Get ready for this one... Labels. The patient walks in the room. "WHAT A NURSE, I WANT TO SEE A DOCTOR, WHAT IS THIS NURSE DOING HERE." All that extra school and you still get called a nurse. Where did the word practitioner go? Oh, that's not in a good amount of people's vocabulary. Nurse is a nurse is a nurse is a nurse nurse nurse. Don't think that big white coat with the MSN FNP flashing around is going to make people bow down to Dr. Nurse. You will need to present yourself well to avoid this dilemma.

Poor support from licensing agencies

This is a big one. Look around online and I see adds all over the place stating garbage such as: "EASTERN FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY OF PHEONIX GOVERNERS UNIVERSITY is now taking applications for their CNA-to-DNP program. Please apply online, no GRE, college education, high school diploma, or GED required." Wow. Good job ANCC, AANP, or whoever credentials these places, you sure do make sure that only the highest, and I mean HIGHEST standards of education are upheld in the prestigious field of nursing. I am sure the AMA would rather get kicked in the balls multiple times before they would allow the credentialing of a fully online medical program from a fully for-profit university with teachers posting online quizzes and tests from their garage. And people are lobbying for less nurse practitioner restrictions? I know there are great nurse practitioners and programs out there but PLEASE, let's be real.... Until some limitation is put on the quality of these bed-bug ridden basement nurse practitioner programs, we will never have the support for unregulated practice.

Now I am not saying that become a nurse practitioner is terrible, but these are some things to consider. I am sure this is going to be rather controversial, so I have put on my jock strap and am ready for low blows to the land down under.

Thanks for reading, if you made it past the 3rd paragraph without cursing me under your breath, we may be able to be friends.

Best of luck to you all!

why-you-shouldnt-become-a-nurse-practitioner.pdf

[hmnorwood]

Very true. When you become an NP you are another provider with a scope of practice that differs greatly from a regular RN. The big difference is the approach to a situation and the type of thinking comes from a nursing perspective. I find myself to be a much better teacher than many physicians I've worked with during my clinicals simply because I've spent so much time teaching patients as an RN.

Similarly, previous experience helps, but the quality of that experience is important. I've worked 7 years in critical care, most of it as a charge nurse. The type of nursing I do is very independent and full of critical thought, which has been a tremendous help in my NP program. If I were a cath lab nurse handing over supplies, I probably wouldn't value my experience as much in NP school. Additionally, having experience was a huge asset when it came time to having to find my own preceptors. I can't imagine being less than a year out of school and having to find people.

Cath lab nurse here, just wanted to say what a ****** thing to say that was nor is it true.

[fsalazar1]

On their knowledge of nursing care. Looking at resumes to see if they've been actually working. A good friend of mine has been an NP for about seven years, and she said that she's grateful for her 10+ years of experience because it helps her in diagnosing and providing care. I would imagine that when working directly with patients, seeing different conditions and knowing what we have to know as nurses, we start to understand what should be ordered and begin to work with medical practitioners, often suggesting care plans and orders to them (if not suggesting, but at least having an idea of what they might order before they do it). I also know quite a few NPs who went straight through without much experience, and they wish they had at least 2-3 years of nursing experience.

This is just my opinion. Everyone is different. Like I said, if you want it enough, you just might be good at it off rip!

[fsalazar1]

See coment below

[fsalazar1]

I agree with this! I couldn't imagine myself with no nursing experience in a nurse practitioner program. I just feel that it's only right to respect the profession enough to get your feet wet in it. Sure, it won't matter down the road, I suppose, because you are in the role of a health care provider, but I would think that it makes the transition smoother considering that you are in the medical field, working with other disciplines and understanding what it means to be an NP before you truly hop in.

Then again, I guess one would never know unless they took the plunge, so to speak.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

Based on what?

Prove that is doesn't make a difference.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I agree with this! I couldn't imagine myself with no nursing experience in a nurse practitioner program. I just feel that it's only right to respect the profession enough to get your feet wet in it. Sure, it won't matter down the road, I suppose, because you are in the role of a health care provider, but I would think that it makes the transition smoother considering that you are in the medical field, working with other disciplines and understanding what it means to be an NP before you truly hop in.

Then again, I guess one would never know unless they took the plunge, so to speak.

Please use the quote function so we know who (or what) you are agreeing with.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Prove that is doesn't make a difference.

There is no way to"prove" it, but the extant literature has not demonstrated significant quantitative difference. There should be some larger scale studies done, there is a dearth of research on the topic.

Some reading for you:

Rich, E. R. (2005). Does RN experience relate to NP clinical skills?. The Nurse Practitioner, 30(12), 53-56.

Munro, B. H., & Krauss, J. B. (1985). The success of non-BSNs in graduate nursing programs. The Journal of nursing education, 24(5), 192-196.

Smith, P. L., & Shoffner, D. H. (1991). Non-nurse college graduates: A new resource for future nurse practitioners. The Nurse Practitioner, 16(1), 49-53.

Ortega, K. H., Burns, S. M., Hussey, L. C., Schmidt, J., & Austin, P. N. (2013). Predicting success in nurse anesthesia programs: an evidence-based review of admission criteria. AANA journal, 81(3), 183-189.

Sent from my iPhone.

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

chillnurse, This is the best (informative & entertaining) post I have ever seen on allnurses.com.

DUHBULL YEW TEE EFF

[fsalazar1]

Please use the quote function so we know who (or what) you are agreeing with.

Still getting used to the site. Sorry about that.

[fsalazar1]

There is no way to"prove" it, but the extant literature has not demonstrated significant quantitative difference. There should be some larger scale studies done, there is a dearth of research on the topic.

Some reading for you:

Rich, E. R. (2005). Does RN experience relate to NP clinical skills?. The Nurse Practitioner, 30(12), 53-56.

Munro, B. H., & Krauss, J. B. (1985). The success of non-BSNs in graduate nursing programs. The Journal of nursing education, 24(5), 192-196.

Smith, P. L., & Shoffner, D. H. (1991). Non-nurse college graduates: A new resource for future nurse practitioners. The Nurse Practitioner, 16(1), 49-53.

Ortega, K. H., Burns, S. M., Hussey, L. C., Schmidt, J., & Austin, P. N. (2013). Predicting success in nurse anesthesia programs: an evidence-based review of admission criteria. AANA journal, 81(3), 183-189.

Sent from my iPhone.

I respect your stance. There are plenty of NPs like you who haven't had any prior experience as an RN but are GREAT at what they do. I've just met many of them who wished they had more experience beforehand. My attitude about being an NP is changing, too, as I see the flexibility of the FNP and after shadowing an NP in a community health setting. As long as you are great a what you do BostonFNP, meaning that you care and have compassion in your approach, then God bless and keep on keeping on!

[LisaNP]

Love this! CNA-DNP is hilarious! It is all so true....I think I work harder now as an NP than I ever did as an RN. My highest salary as an RN was 75k annually and I have been an RN since 1996. I have been an NP for the last 2.5 years and I was just offered a job at the VA in primary care for $80k annually, plus I still have $30k in student loan debt. I also get asked by patients all the time "So have you thought about going back to school to get your PA degree?" UGH!!

[sorryiamanaprn]

I was a nurse for almost 30 years and was so excited about becoming an NP. I didn't do this because I thought I was going to get rich, I was sucked in by the promise of autonomy, respect, and ability to provide the kind of care I thought patients should receive. I really didn't think my pay would be cut to by 2/3 to 1/2 my RN pay. After 3 years I have accepted that there are few opportunities in my area for NP's. Many of these positions are open only because they have already run off every other NP they have hired. I have been verbally abused by employers, worked 16 plus hours a day, told to prescribe or perform procedures that have no therapeutic value and are not nor will they ever be accepted practices in medicine. I am unable to find full time work as an APRN. I am in a market that is super saturated with NP's and because of family obligations I am unable to relocate. I am currently STUCK in a job that is less than 25 hours a week but 4-5 days a week in which there is no personal satisfaction. I was recently offered a full time position with a Geriatric group at $50,000 a year, where the PA/NPs there are working 12 hour days taking call 1-2 nights a week and every 3rd weekend, and on their on call they have to see patients. BENEFITS -lol - unless you can get a job with the hospital associated groups - there are NONE. NO holidays, no vacations, no insurance and INSANE CONTRACTS.

I am currently trying to find a nice full time job as an RN, unfortunately potential employers think I will leave them as soon as a job opens as a NP. This is NOT gonna happen, I just want a reliable paycheck with decent hours, decent treatment for my patients and myself, and a vacation day or two would be nice