For nurses, attending graduate school can take a lot of planning and thought, especially when you have so many different career advancement opportunities to consider and need to think about how you are going to fit studying for an advanced degree around your career. Right now, a career role as a nurse practitioner is one of the most popular options for nurses who want to progress in their career. With very high demand, excellent salaries, and full practice authority in twenty US states allowing you to start or run your own practice without the need to be supervised or signed off by a primary care physician, it’s easy to see why this is a great choice for nurses. Before choosing the right nurse practitioner degree program for you, these are some of the main things that you should consider.
Where You Want to Work
One of the first things to think about is where your ideal workplace setting will be once you have the necessary qualifications and are licensed to work as a nurse practitioner. Whether you prefer the idea of working in a clinical role directly with patients or want to spend more time in an office setting, keeping this in mind will help you make the best decision when it comes to the program that you choose. If you want to get into a management or leadership role as a nurse practitioner, this DNP FNP program from Baylor University might be an ideal choice for you, providing you with the skills that you need to eventually manage your own practice as a nurse practitioner.
Patients You Want to Work With
Some nurses are genuinely happy to treat everybody that comes their way, while others prefer working with a certain patient population or have a preference for treating certain diseases, injuries, and conditions. Before deciding on the right nurse practitioner training for you, consider if this is something that is important to you. For example, if you prefer to work with children, you might consider training as a pediatric nurse practitioner, or an adult-gerontology nurse practitioner if you want to work exclusively with adult patients. On the other hand, a career as an oncology nurse practitioner might be an ideal choice for you if you are interested in working with cancer patients.
Your Experience as a Nurse
Your experience and qualifications that you have already gained in your nursing career might have an impact on where and what you can study on your journey to becoming a nurse practitioner. Getting onto an advanced program that is designed to provide you with the knowledge and training needed to work as a nurse practitioner is not always an easy task, and these programs are often very competitive. Before you start sending applications, it’s important to consider the nursing experience that you have and where it is most likely to stand out, to be in with the best chance of getting accepted.
How to Study
Another major factor to think about before deciding on the right nurse practitioner degree program for you is how you want to study for your advanced nursing degree or postgraduate certificate. Today, more and more registered nurses are deciding to take the online route when it comes to getting an MSN or another advanced nursing degree to become a nurse practitioner. Studying online is usually the most ideal choice for many nurses since it is a flexible option that allows you to fit your education around your career as a nurse while causing as little disruption to your current life as possible. And, if you study online, you will usually have more options when it comes to where you can study and which programs you can apply for since there is no need to plan a relocation.
Where to Study
Once you have decided whether you want to get an online degree or take the more traditional route of studying on-campus to get your advanced nursing degree and prepare for a future career as a nurse practitioner, it’s time to think about where to study. The college where you get your master’s degree and eventually get the qualifications that you need to work as a nurse practitioner can have a huge impact on your future. One of the most important things to make sure of is that the college and the program is accredited. This is especially important if you are planning to study online, since creating online courses is easier than ever and while there are plenty of informative options out there, an unaccredited degree could wind up being worth about as much as the paper that it is printed on when it comes to improving your career.
Part-Time or Full-Time?
You’ll probably also want to consider whether you want to study for your advanced nursing degree on a part-time or full-time basis. While studying full-time will get you qualified as a nurse practitioner faster, part-time might be worth considering if you have a lot of other commitments that you are going to struggle to fit full-time study around. For the most part, a part-time degree program will take you around double the time as a full-time degree, but will not usually cost you more. Alternatively, if you decide to study online, you could look out for more flexible options that are set up for you to be able to take the program at your own pace rather than sticking to a full-time or part-time schedule.
Future Plans
For some nurses, becoming a nurse practitioner is not the end goal when it comes to their career. If you want to be able to progress even further in your career after qualifying and gaining experience as a nurse practitioner, this might also influence your choice of an advanced degree program. Consider the education that you are going to need to meet your future goals, and choose a program that is the best option to help you get there.
With more degree options now available, there are lots of opportunities for nurses to train as nurse practitioner. But before you send applications, keep these factors in mind to help you choose the best program for you.
