Hey Ladies,
Are any of you nurses or doctors? I have some career questions that I'd like to ask you if that is okay. I'm doing some life mapping and advice from a mom working in the medical field would be really helpful. Let me know if you are available to chat please. Thank you in advance.
Re: Moms in Medicine
I am really excited for you! Nursing is awesome and challenging. There are so many fields to go into that each nursing job can be different from the next. Good luck!
I definitely agree with PP that you really need to become an expert nurse before moving on to becoming an advanced practice nurse. Book smarts only get you so far. Until you have adequate experience and skills, you can't excel as an APN.
If you already have a bachelors degree, there are accelerated RN programs that you can get done pretty quickly. Within 2 years. After that a great option is starting your Masters, etc while you gain experience as an RN. Take a class or two at a time. Tuition reimbursement is awesome.
Not that it matters, but my original post should have said "I was an L&D nurse for 4 years before I went back for my Master's." It was 7 years by the time I was done and got a job as a Certified Nurse Midwife. Like others said, I would definitely recommend working as a nurse in the specialty you desire for at least a few years before going on for your NP. While some programs let you jump from one degree to the next, the experience can't be read. As for your doctorate, I'd say go for it. Especially if you enjoy teaching. I think I am done with school for a while. Though dh will tell you I say that every time. Kind of like being done having kids when I am pregnant