{"id":9792,"date":"2023-01-26T14:34:46","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T14:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.picmonic.com\/pages\/?p=9792"},"modified":"2025-03-04T21:44:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T21:44:00","slug":"insider-tips-nurse-practitioner-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.picmonic.com\/pages\/insider-tips-nurse-practitioner-school\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Insider Tips for Planning Your Nurse Practitioner (NP) School Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Picmonic'sIt’s hard to imagine what your nurse practitioner school experience will be like if you haven\u2019t had the pleasure of attending yet. Maybe you were just accepted and are wondering what\u2019s next. Maybe you are on the market for a program and need more information. Look no further for things to know and how to prepare for the adventure ahead!\n<\/span>\n

5 Insider Tips for a Successful Nurse Practitioner School Experience<\/span><\/h2>\n\"Nursing\n

Tip #1: When Considering your Program, Don\u2019t Worry About What to Wear<\/h3>\nA totally online or hybrid NP program like family nurse practitioner (FNP), pediatric nurse practitioner programs or other Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) programs offer the opportunity to do the coursework on your time. You may look forward to studying anemias in between binges of \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d (a nod to all you older Millennials) while in your PJs or athletic wear. If so, a flexible online or hybrid option can offer you this opportunity. However, many nurse practitioner students feel attending online courses essentially leads to teaching yourself the material. This may be the case for both online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs. It can also be difficult to find specifics about this when reviewing program admissions or skimming recruitment information. A good resource to ask about this is a program recruiter or current students enrolled in your program of interest. Understanding a program\u2019s academic offerings, administrative faculty, facilitates and learning supports is a smart way to find a program worth attending.<\/span>\n

\"Nursing<\/b>Tip #2: Show Up for Socially-Distanced Class<\/h3>\nPersonally, I think hybrid programs are \u201cradical\u201d (a nod to all Boomers).\u00a0 Many<\/span> programs<\/span><\/a> offering a BSN-DNP option may blend online courses with a once-a-week traditional classroom meet-up.\u00a0 There are many reasons why this option can lead to a good academic experience.\u00a0 Meeting with your instructors face-to-face assists with understanding certain concepts through informal dialogue and questioning.\u00a0 Also, being part of a classroom with your peers offers the opportunity for lasting friendships and peer support through this stressful time.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nFor many graduate nursing students, there are challenges in attending traditional classroom-based courses.\u00a0 Competing employment demands, child care needs, sleep, self-care, health and wellness, and other obligations all point to the value in greater flexibility offered with online or hybrid programs.<\/span>\n\nA healthy majority of us experienced the durability and shortcomings of online education during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 whether from news stories, our children\u2019s experiences, or maybe our own experiences \u2013 like all you recent BSN and MSN grads! When considering \u201cwhat will work for me,\u201d many top programs like<\/span> Yale<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> University of Washington<\/span><\/a>, or<\/span> John Hopkins<\/span><\/a> require weekly to at least once a semester classroom attendance. This is a good barometer to measure other programs against.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nFinally, many previous hybrid or traditional programs may not have as many in-person opportunities this year anyway (thanks, COVID-19). These programs may rely on greater online delivery of coursework for the foreseeable future.\u00a0 Consider this when searching for and inquiring about the right program for you.\n<\/span>\n

START LEARNING FREE WITH PICMONIC<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"Nursing<\/b><\/h2>\n

Tip #3: Work the Net! Or Not<\/h3>\nMany schools require students to find their own clinical placements and preceptors. You may be left to your own devices, essentially cold-calling clinics to see if you can find a preceptor who will take you. This may require significant networking, and for many students, it could be a serious problem.<\/span>\n\nAdditionally, clinical sites and preceptors often change the plan at a moment\u2019s notice. For example, while attending my Family Practice II clinical rotation with a local clinic, a certain virus-who-must-not-be-named ceased all \u201cnormal\u201d activity for the organization and barred all students except medical residents from tending their academic requirements. Now, this is a rather extreme example, but individual preceptors experience life events that require them to drop potential preceptees: job loss, injury or illness, or a taxing workload from their employer. Not to mention the majority of preceptors are not compensated for their additional efforts in training future APRN professionals.<\/span>\n\nSo, what do you do? One strategy is to be a part of a professional nursing collaboration, such as the<\/span> ENP Network<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 NP students can empower themselves to not only find preceptors, but connect with local professional organizations, attend sponsored events, search for jobs, and more. Students must register with the collaborative to participate, and for a nominal fee, exclusive options are accessed when searching for and communicating with potential preceptors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n\nAnother strategy is to forgo the entire \u201cpreceptor hunt,\u201d and find a program that does this for you.\u00a0 The<\/span> program I attend<\/span><\/a> dedicates a team of faculty to perform this function and many of the faculty work in the same organizations where they network the preceptor pool.\u00a0 An added bonus to this strategy is the vetting process. My program and faculty conduct regular and routine evaluations of both preceptors and clinical sites. This process ensures quality sites and personnel are retained for current and future classes.\u00a0 Without such dedicated effort, many students may find themselves at risk for adverse learning conditions or compromised academic quality in their sites and preceptors. Have no fear! Just be aware of these conditions, and take your time when researching your potential programs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\n\n*BUT WAIT, THERE\u2019S MORE (for BSN-DNP students)!<\/i><\/strong>\n\nI\u2019d be doing all of you BSN-DNP students out there a disservice if I didn\u2019t mention the magic associated with planning and coordinating your Capstone Project. Though my wonderful instructors and faculty assisted me with my clinical experience (a BIG thank you to them), my program hasn\u2019t implemented a support program for finding and maintaining a network to support students\u2019 DNP Capstone (or Quality Improvement) Projects. A quick refresher on this: the<\/span> American Association of Colleges of Nursing<\/span> (n.d.) proposes the \u201cFinal DNP Project\u201d as an opportunity for integration of learned practice skills and demonstration of nursing scholarship principles and competencies into a change on the organizational or system level. Many of my peers and other students implement their projects with their current employers and respective departments. I think this is a good way to address needed changes in your organization, and a wonderful opportunity to initiate quality improvement.\u00a0 I personally had the same opportunity, but I felt a greater calling to the role of a consultant working outside an organization to address problems they were encountering.\u00a0 Yes, this was difficult, but there were many reasons why this was advantageous.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nFirst, it required me to see the problem more objectively. The problem did not directly affect me, so it allowed me to search for solutions with fresh eyes. Secondly, it broadened my network. If I needed an employer, this gave me an opportunity to make good first impressions and secure a position. Thirdly, I felt more open to possible quality improvement ideas as I was not locked into one.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\n\nFor anyone pursuing a DNP, I\u2019d recommend the following:<\/span>\n