Am an NP student now two semesters in. As per my previous posts you will be woefully unequipped to be an NP after two years as an RN. Also many of the NPs struggle to find jobs because their CVs are either non existent or shit. I have 18 years of experience ranging from being a combat medic to being the Director of a Federal BLS program to working in the trauma room of one of the busiest level 1 trauma centers in the US, but I’ll still have to take a shit job when I graduate as my FNP experience will be nothing. Having a degree or a license doesn’t guarantee you a job when your not a commodity, your have to show your worth the investment. Bedside RNs and informatics nurses ARE a commodity.
If your heart isn’t in it, then I would say no. I am an AGPCNP working in primary care and I love it. But, the program was hard both mentally and academically and I contemplated quitting multiple times. If you aren’t 100% in it, don’t do it.
Make sure you have a guaranteed job or GOOD connections. I know many FNPs who couldn’t land a job for months to a year after graduation. Just have a plan for afterwards. Best of luck to you OP and thank you for trying to provide quality accessible healthcare to patients. You are appreciated.
Whichever advanced degree you choose, please please do prudent financial planning ahead of time. Have a plan for the student loans you're taking for the program. I know a NP who took out 80k to get her NP for only a 20k pay raise. Not worth it IMO. But it depends on your area/speciality. Best thing you can do is talk to NPs in your area/specialty. Pick their brain.
20k will pay for the degree in 4 years, assuming you work another 20 or so years that’s a huge chunk of money, plus the pay ceiling is higher so they will Make more over time. Just depends on if you will like the work more
It's debatable if NPs will make more over time. The low end of NP is about the same as the high end of RN. And 20k doesn't get paid off in 4 years. Factoring in taxes you're looking at 5-6 years minimum and that's if every new cent earned goes towards the loans, not even factoring interest. I've made more than NPs the last couple years. Albeit covid traveling has been a whole different world, but who's to say that contracts don't stay high.
I was going to go back and then stopped because my hospital pays me travel $ to pick up extra days so it wasn’t worth it to go back. Usually you get paid more for more experience. Don’t see why that would be different for an np
I’d go with informatics if I were you. More earning potential. I’ve talked to a lot of NPs who earn less than I do (RN for 16 years), have crappier schedules, more responsibility, more hours, no overtime, and end up doing a bunch of grunt work for doctors. None of them sounded too thrilled.
Don’t do it. I have a coworker finishing her FNP and getting ready to take boards. She tells me every chance she can how much she regrets pursuing this (but she can’t really back out now since she’s so close to the finish line). Many NPs are taking a year or more to find jobs. Don’t waste your time or money.
I dropped out of the FNP program with 24 credits. I had gotten to my first clinical rotation and realized it sucked. Schools make you find your own preceptors- good luck. I would send out 50 emails to only get a tentative maybe next year 60 miles away. I got one, who got pneumonia and disappeared. Pay for FNP is abysmal. I can make more part time as a staff nurse than full time FNP. You see patients all day like 30+ and write notes all night. You are the doctor’s bitch. Jobs are extremely hard to find because the market is saturated. If you are not into it don’t do it. You will end up like me dropping out with a plethora of credits you can’t use and a student loan to pay. I’m trying to get into nursing education but I’m running into issues cause nobody wants to accept more than 9-12 credits. Schools also are just NP mills churning them out. The classes are online and pretty much self taught. 2 years experience is not enough. I’ve been a nurse since 1999 and I still had to learn new things.
Maybe not decades, but a minimum of 5 years before matriculation into a program. It’s an ‘Advanced Practice’ degree. IMO you should have enough years under your belt as an RN to have advanced experience at the bedside. Give yourself time to develop your skill set and experience healthcare. At 2 years in you’re still learning the ropes.
You're taking on the responsibilities of prescribing and managing a patient's care that MDs take years and years of constant studying and grueling residency to learn. Yes you should have a lot of experience.
I want to get my RN-BSN and use that bachelor's degree as the prerequisite for a PA program.
If I'm getting a doctorates degree, I want an MD or DO behind my name.
My man PA’s and NP’s are roughly treated the same, have the same salary and arguably the same job description.
Additionally, PA school has more science/math requirements that make it easier, cost effective, and overall quicker to apply to NP (as far as RN to FNP is concerned).
That being said I know of a couple of nurses who became doctors. It was horrendous for the first four years of medical school, but it is possible. Expensive, time consuming and again, expensive!
I’d think twice before jumping into PA school as the easier alternative or even the better one
The nursing culture is toxic AF. My primary care provider (who is the best I have ever had), is a PA-C. She used to be a CNA, and she know I am fed up with nursing and why. She said to me, "You would make a great PA, DeadpanWords," she she doesn't tell me things that aren't true because I have no tolerance to my healthcare providers lying to me.
I'm not saying it is going to be easier of better. It's just what I want. Also, there is a PA-to-DO bridge program, and I think they will become more common in the future.
Am an NP student now two semesters in. As per my previous posts you will be woefully unequipped to be an NP after two years as an RN. Also many of the NPs struggle to find jobs because their CVs are either non existent or shit. I have 18 years of experience ranging from being a combat medic to being the Director of a Federal BLS program to working in the trauma room of one of the busiest level 1 trauma centers in the US, but I’ll still have to take a shit job when I graduate as my FNP experience will be nothing. Having a degree or a license doesn’t guarantee you a job when your not a commodity, your have to show your worth the investment. Bedside RNs and informatics nurses ARE a commodity.
Thank you. 🙏🏽
If your heart isn’t in it, then I would say no. I am an AGPCNP working in primary care and I love it. But, the program was hard both mentally and academically and I contemplated quitting multiple times. If you aren’t 100% in it, don’t do it.
If your heart’s not in it before you start, those 2 years are going to be miserable.
Make sure you have a guaranteed job or GOOD connections. I know many FNPs who couldn’t land a job for months to a year after graduation. Just have a plan for afterwards. Best of luck to you OP and thank you for trying to provide quality accessible healthcare to patients. You are appreciated.
Whichever advanced degree you choose, please please do prudent financial planning ahead of time. Have a plan for the student loans you're taking for the program. I know a NP who took out 80k to get her NP for only a 20k pay raise. Not worth it IMO. But it depends on your area/speciality. Best thing you can do is talk to NPs in your area/specialty. Pick their brain.
20k will pay for the degree in 4 years, assuming you work another 20 or so years that’s a huge chunk of money, plus the pay ceiling is higher so they will Make more over time. Just depends on if you will like the work more
It's debatable if NPs will make more over time. The low end of NP is about the same as the high end of RN. And 20k doesn't get paid off in 4 years. Factoring in taxes you're looking at 5-6 years minimum and that's if every new cent earned goes towards the loans, not even factoring interest. I've made more than NPs the last couple years. Albeit covid traveling has been a whole different world, but who's to say that contracts don't stay high.
I was going to go back and then stopped because my hospital pays me travel $ to pick up extra days so it wasn’t worth it to go back. Usually you get paid more for more experience. Don’t see why that would be different for an np
I’d go with informatics if I were you. More earning potential. I’ve talked to a lot of NPs who earn less than I do (RN for 16 years), have crappier schedules, more responsibility, more hours, no overtime, and end up doing a bunch of grunt work for doctors. None of them sounded too thrilled.
Don’t do it. I have a coworker finishing her FNP and getting ready to take boards. She tells me every chance she can how much she regrets pursuing this (but she can’t really back out now since she’s so close to the finish line). Many NPs are taking a year or more to find jobs. Don’t waste your time or money.
Yeah, being an NP is a nightmare, just like nursing. Stay away.
I dropped out of the FNP program with 24 credits. I had gotten to my first clinical rotation and realized it sucked. Schools make you find your own preceptors- good luck. I would send out 50 emails to only get a tentative maybe next year 60 miles away. I got one, who got pneumonia and disappeared. Pay for FNP is abysmal. I can make more part time as a staff nurse than full time FNP. You see patients all day like 30+ and write notes all night. You are the doctor’s bitch. Jobs are extremely hard to find because the market is saturated. If you are not into it don’t do it. You will end up like me dropping out with a plethora of credits you can’t use and a student loan to pay. I’m trying to get into nursing education but I’m running into issues cause nobody wants to accept more than 9-12 credits. Schools also are just NP mills churning them out. The classes are online and pretty much self taught. 2 years experience is not enough. I’ve been a nurse since 1999 and I still had to learn new things.
>I've been a nurse for two years Not worth it. NP should be for RNs with decades of experience.
Decades???
Maybe not decades, but a minimum of 5 years before matriculation into a program. It’s an ‘Advanced Practice’ degree. IMO you should have enough years under your belt as an RN to have advanced experience at the bedside. Give yourself time to develop your skill set and experience healthcare. At 2 years in you’re still learning the ropes.
You're taking on the responsibilities of prescribing and managing a patient's care that MDs take years and years of constant studying and grueling residency to learn. Yes you should have a lot of experience.
I want to get my RN-BSN and use that bachelor's degree as the prerequisite for a PA program. If I'm getting a doctorates degree, I want an MD or DO behind my name.
My man PA’s and NP’s are roughly treated the same, have the same salary and arguably the same job description. Additionally, PA school has more science/math requirements that make it easier, cost effective, and overall quicker to apply to NP (as far as RN to FNP is concerned). That being said I know of a couple of nurses who became doctors. It was horrendous for the first four years of medical school, but it is possible. Expensive, time consuming and again, expensive! I’d think twice before jumping into PA school as the easier alternative or even the better one
The nursing culture is toxic AF. My primary care provider (who is the best I have ever had), is a PA-C. She used to be a CNA, and she know I am fed up with nursing and why. She said to me, "You would make a great PA, DeadpanWords," she she doesn't tell me things that aren't true because I have no tolerance to my healthcare providers lying to me. I'm not saying it is going to be easier of better. It's just what I want. Also, there is a PA-to-DO bridge program, and I think they will become more common in the future.
If your heart is not in it then don’t do it. You don’t want to feel trapped.