I'm a new grad Adult and Geri Primary Care NP. I do not have RN experience. Since I started seriously pounding the pavement in my job search, I have had numerous phone and in person interviews. I've also received multiple job offers.
Has anyone asked me if I had RN experience? Yes. When I answer that I have none, here are the 2 responses I've received:
"Good for you!"
"You must be very smart."
This will probably upset some readers, but it's the truth.
There are some job postings for new grad NPs for outpatient specialty positions that do require RN experience - oncology is one.
Conclusion: if you want to be a Primary Care NP, you are fine going straight from BSN to MSN. There are plenty of employers that will be happy to have you, at least in the Western U.S.
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
Good for you for getting an ?oncology NP job. You must be very smart! I am sure the doctors were impressed by your fancy degree.
I'm an oncology NP with oncology RN experience. In my opinion, if you were to have interviewed against any new grad NP with RN oncology experience (or one with any good, solid RN hospital experience for that matter), it is unlikely you would have gotten an oncology position.
(Then again, you don't state the quality of position you landed. Hospital-clinic based? For profit? It could be a nightmare where you're seeing 20+ patients, plus walk-ins, a day, without so much break as teaching rounds once a week.)
When my hospital has an open position we RARELY interview new NPs anymore unless they have oncology experience or solid hospital RN experience. Why?
We feel our patients are far too sick to be safely cared for by a new grad. If the NP has several years of experience as an OCN-certified RN and the role of an oncology NP is why he/she went back to school to be an NP? Bring it on. That's a perfect example of a new grad NP who will be way ahead of the others.
In short--readers, please excuse this over-confident, original poster-- ONCOLOGY IS NOT A SAFE PLACE FOR MOST NEW GRADS!!!
I am the OP. I'm not sure what you are ranting about. I said, in my OP :
1. I am a primary care NP - specifically, AGPCNP
2. While most primary care NP roles do not require RN experience, I specifically stated that one of the exceptions is oncology. Many oncology NP job descriptions indicate RN oncology or ICU experience is required. That is, if you are unaware, the point of having a requirements section in a job posting. Yes, believe it or not, if you write a job posting, you are free to state, "Oncology RN experience is required for this job."
3. Since I am in primary care, I am not applying to work in hospitals. You do understand the difference between primary care and acute care?
4. Where I am going to work: basically where no one else wants to go. Rural areas or small towns. FQHCs or Native American clinics. So if you really care about patients, as you claim to, then you should be glad that there are NPs willing to go to these underserved communities. Or should the people of those communities seek your approval when they desperately need a primary care NP?
5. Fancy degrees - yes, I have plenty. And yes, they are impressive. Am I supposed to be ashamed of that? I worked very hard to achieve those. And my prior career achievements were very impressive, too. VP and Direct level, running $20 million programs, running my own practice, P&L responsibilities, consistently achieving over 100% of targets for revenue and profit. Read it and weep.
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
I have had experience with direct entry NP's and I found the experience concerning. While textbook smart this is person had no practical knowledge or skills. From general pt contact/interaction skills on up. One vivid memory I have is over insulin. We were in a clinic setting. She wrote a prescription for 2 ml vials of insulin. I went to clarify the order ( I hadn't heard of 2 ml vials , per her that is what hospitals use))..do you mean 1 vial? It will last 3 days or do you mean do you mean 10 ml vials or 10 2 ml vials. She said there was no such thing as a 10 ml vial. She wouldn't believe me until I was able to show her in print.
Her thinking was so black and white and so concrete and she had difficulty individualizing care.. I have 20 + years of nursing experience as an RN .. and she sometimes had the attitude of my degree makes me more knowledgeable than you..so everything had to be proven and justified. Not to say, she didn't have knowledge I didn't as far as advanced practice. She just didn't really get that there was so much more.
I really think "stepping up" ADN- BSN-MSN working between programs each step builds on the last. You practice and solidify skills and knowledge and then add on. But then again this is just my opinion and experience..
Your sample size was one. n = 1. This is an anecdote of one experience, that is all.
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
Perhaps you are unaware, but the post listing all of your achievements and accomplishments did sound egotistical and self-important, not self confident. Attitude is important when dealing with staff who will essentially be working for you. You will come to value the respect of the bedside caregiver, whatever their title or position.
What planet are you from? What is wrong with stating my achievements and accomplishments? How do you think I got all those job offers?! Should my OP have said I totally suck and have no achievements and accomplishments? Get a grip. You come across as someone who is easily threatened.
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
Well, this has been an interesting thread. I am the OP and I am going to address a couple of points. I have been attacked for not valuing or incorporating the nursing foundation of being an NP. Since none of you know me in person, I have no idea how you can reach this conclusion. My treatment philosophy is holistic. In fact, during rotations and while shadowing as part of my NP interview process, MDs and NPs complimented me on this.
To me, though, when I think of nursing, I first and foremost think of caring, especially for vulnerable and underserved populations. Perhaps I did not make this clear, but as a Nurse Corps Scholar, I must perform 2 years of public service in an area with a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) score of 14 or higher. Let me give you an example - this is now my top job choice: town of 3,000 people up in the mountains of northeast California. Nearest tiny hospital is 30 miles away. The clinic I want to work for is the ONLY primary care practice in the area and is a FQHC. The nearest medium size hospital is 50 miles away. The nearest major hospitals are at least 5 hours away by car. This clinic, while lovely and state of the art, has an extremely difficult time recruiting any provider, unfortunately, because very few people are willing to live in such a remote location. Personally, I think it is beautiful and an outdoor recreation mecca.
Honestly, those of you clucking in disapproval of me because your feelings are somehow hurt or you feel threatened by someone like me, should feel ashamed. You are putting your feelings ahead of the needs of desperate, underserved communities. Should these communities not hire people like me because some of you disapprove? Or should they not hire someone like me because it might lead to a surplus of NPs?
Finally, one of my good friends has a great saying, "There's nothing wrong with being arrogant and egotistical if you can back it up." However, to reassure you all, I am actually quite charming in person. How else do you think I got all those job offers?
I think it was Ali who said "it ain't bragging if you can do it". Old blue eyes quipped "success is the best revenge". Where is the oldster from Pittsburgh headed with this? Go do your job. Do it well. To hell what critics may think. Most will gain respect based upon your performance. The one's that don't can stew in their own juices and judge how the world would be a better place if everybody just did everything exactly the way they want it.
I don't think there is much difference between a direct entry NP, and an NP who was an RN with 5 years of experience at 2 or 3 different unrelated jobs.
I also think that personal factors matter much more than what is on a resume.
In my case, I would have been unqualified as a new Psych NP, if I did not have about 5 years of RN experience in the field, while in NP school part-time, and all the while doing a great deal of self preparation.
It would be quite unfair of me to say other people are unqualified without this preparation, especially primary care providers. I just don't know enough about their field.
Fancy degrees - yes, I have plenty. And yes, they are impressive. Am I supposed to be ashamed of that? I worked very hard to achieve those. And my prior career achievements were very impressive, too. VP and Direct level, running $20 million programs, running my own practice, P&L responsibilities, consistently achieving over 100% of targets for revenue and profit. Read it and weep.
Oh my god. Just reading your posts are migraine-inducing. I feel sorry for whomever gets stuck working with you.
So essentially: You got a primary care job high up in the mountains, 30 miles from the nearest hospital, where no one else wants to work.
Did you ever think you got this job not because you were charming but b/c no one else wanted it???
My problem with your posts is that your experience as a new grad with oncology is not emblematic of the field. Well, maybe some, but certainly not people with your attitude or breadth of knowledge.
(And you do know that most outpt oncology centers are attached to hospitals and that the NPs do not need to be ACNPs, yes? God, I can't believe I'm arguing with such an idiot.)
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
Oh my god. Just reading your posts are migraine-inducing. I feel sorry for whomever gets stuck working with you.
Oh, and yes, I do know the difference between a hospital and a clinic. But you should know that the vast majority of oncology clinics are affiliated with or either directly attached TO A HOSPITAL. This doesn't mean you have to be an ACNP to work at the oncology clinic, so I'm not quite sure why you're so confused.
Have fun paying off all the loans for your fancy degrees. Sounds like you've changed you're mind a lot!
You are the one who is confused. Is English your native language? Let me try to make this comprehensible to you:
1) I said that primary care NP jobs usually do not require RN experience.
2) I said that an exception to #1 is oncology and the job listings I saw for oncology clinic NPs usually specified that RN experience in oncology or an ICU is required.
3) I never said that being an ACNP is required to work at an oncology clinic.
4) However, since you mentioned hospitals, I pointed out that I am a primary care NP and therefore, not applying for hospital jobs.
As far as my finances, since you are so concerned, I paid mostly cash for my BSN because I was successful in my previous career. My MSN didn't cost me very much because I won a full ride Nurse Corps Scholarship, which BTW, is a competitive process. So I don't have substantial student loan debt.
I changed careers once, from business to nursing, because I committed to public service. That is to be lauded, not denigrated. In addition, my executive management and leadership experience, along with my technology, consulting, strategy, and sales skills can be very valuable to healthcare organizations.
Your energy would be better spent on improving your own career, not worrying about mine. In fact, you could channel that energy into obtaining some fancy degrees of your own, so you aren't so threatened by someone like me. Your comments betray deep insecurity.
Oh, and I am a pleasure to work with. In my previous career, people transferred over from other projects and practices specifically to work for me. My teams were high-performing and happy. My clients were satisfied. I worked hard to mentor my people and also to help their career advancement.
Finally, I got nine NP job offers. As they say, you can't argue with success.
Now, I'm going to decide which offer to accept. I'll be sure to let you know of my decision.
You are the one who is confused. Is English your native language? Let me try to make this comprehensible to you:
1) I said that primary care NP jobs usually do not require RN experience.
2) I said that an exception to #1 is oncology and the job listings I saw for oncology clinic NPs usually specified that RN experience in oncology or an ICU is required.
3) I never said that being an ACNP is required to work at an oncology clinic.
4) However, since you mentioned hospitals, I pointed out that I am a primary care NP and therefore, not applying for hospital jobs.
As far as my finances, since you are so concerned, I paid mostly cash for my BSN because I was successful in my previous career. My MSN didn't cost me very much because I won a full ride Nurse Corps Scholarship, which BTW, is a competitive process. So I don't have substantial student loan debt.
I changed careers once, from business to nursing, because I committed to public service. That is to be lauded, not denigrated. In addition, my executive management and leadership experience, along with my technology, consulting, strategy, and sales skills can be very valuable to healthcare organizations.
Your energy would be better spent on improving your own career, not worrying about mine. In fact, you could channel that energy into obtaining some fancy degrees of your own, so you aren't so threatened by someone like me. Your comments betray deep insecurity.
Oh, and I am a pleasure to work with. In my previous career, people transferred over from other projects and practices specifically to work for me. My teams were high-performing and happy. My clients were satisfied. I worked hard to mentor my people and also to help their career advancement.
Finally, I got nine NP job offers. As they say, you can't argue with success.
Now, I'm going to decide which offer to accept. I'll be sure to let you know of my decision.
I've been following your posts throughout this thread, and as a fellow DE grad, I fully support your path and agree that you can be a successful primary care/clinic NP without RN experience. Some people have been somewhat disagreeable and condescending. That gets hard to listen to over and over. I understand your desire to defend yourself, the DE track, and the choices you've made. You have every reason to be proud of what you've accomplished.
I am dismayed to see this last post of yours, as you really do come across as arrogant, rude, and over confident, and that detracts from anything positive and true you might have previously written. As Boston FNP previously stated, you haven't even worked as a NP yet. No matter what your previous accomplishments were, you are now a rookie again. Keep that in mind as you see your first patients. They won't give a rat's orifice that you hit your sales numbers every quarter or mentored numerous underlings. You will be a brand new, NOVICE NP that they are putting their trust in. That's an awesome responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly. An overconfident provider is a dangerous provider, IMHO.
This last post of yours came across to me as just as rude and condescending as some of your detractors. Why would you want to lower yourself and further support their doubts about you and DE grads in general? I'm not saying you should shut up or not support your beliefs. However, it is better to express yourself in a manner that is dignified, thoughtful, and courteous. DE grads are underdogs, for lack of a better word, and unfortunately, the burden of proof is on us to show that we are prepared, competent,and capable. Becoming overdefensive, snarky, and bragging about oneself does not help with that battle. I've said on several posts that those who have not worked as NPs really can't say for sure if RN experience was necessary. You have not worked as a NP either, so you are really not in a position to say for sure that you'll be successful. You've had job offers and have your choice of positions. That's the easy part. I think you likely will be successful, but please go into that first job with the intention of doing a lot more listening than talking, and keep in mind that despite your education and training, you know very little about working as a NP. None of us did as new grads, regardless of how smart we are and how much success we had in the past. You still have much to learn. Let your work speak for you.
FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP
2 Articles; 1,942 Posts
I am the OP. I'm not sure what you are ranting about. I said, in my OP :
1. I am a primary care NP - specifically, AGPCNP
2. While most primary care NP roles do not require RN experience, I specifically stated that one of the exceptions is oncology. Many oncology NP job descriptions indicate RN oncology or ICU experience is required. That is, if you are unaware, the point of having a requirements section in a job posting. Yes, believe it or not, if you write a job posting, you are free to state, "Oncology RN experience is required for this job."
3. Since I am in primary care, I am not applying to work in hospitals. You do understand the difference between primary care and acute care?
4. Where I am going to work: basically where no one else wants to go. Rural areas or small towns. FQHCs or Native American clinics. So if you really care about patients, as you claim to, then you should be glad that there are NPs willing to go to these underserved communities. Or should the people of those communities seek your approval when they desperately need a primary care NP?
5. Fancy degrees - yes, I have plenty. And yes, they are impressive. Am I supposed to be ashamed of that? I worked very hard to achieve those. And my prior career achievements were very impressive, too. VP and Direct level, running $20 million programs, running my own practice, P&L responsibilities, consistently achieving over 100% of targets for revenue and profit. Read it and weep.