As we’ve discussed previously, not all nurse practitioners (NP) are cut from the same cloth. Career options can vary greatly. NPs work in a variety of settings, from primary care to the very specialized neonatal medicine. Just as no two nurse practitioners are the same, neither are the paths they took to get there.
The traditional academic route is no longer commonplace in the world of nursing. Everything from age, availability, lifestyle, home life, and geographic opportunity will influence many of your career decisions. Some NPs will follow the traditional path of starting nursing school immediately after high school and continue their advanced degree shortly after attaining their Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. Other NPs attain their degree after a series of stops and starts over a longer period.
What if I told you not all NPs knew they wanted to become an NP? What if I told you they discovered this career by accident? What if I told you I was one of them?
How I became an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
I’m a non-traditional nurse in every sense of the term. Nursing is my third career. And I only discovered it by chance after an experience I had as a patient. Before that, I was under the impression that all nurses were women, and all they did was pass pills and clean up poop. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, boy was I wrong. The impact my nurses made on me when I was a patient was life-changing because shortly after discharge from the hospital I started taking classes and by the next year I was in nursing school.
It would be another four years before I would meet my first nurse practitioner. I didn’t even know they existed until I worked side-by-side with one in a Level 1 Trauma ICU during my 3rd year as a bedside nurse. And I have to tell you; I was in pure awe at what I saw they could do.
I remember walking away after my first interaction with her thinking, “Wait! That was a nurse? A nurse practitioner did those things, and not a doctor?!” Life would pull me away from that job after a short two-year stint, but I never forgot what I saw and experienced. What that NP could do never left my mind or my heart.
Starting school
A couple of years later I returned to the classroom for my Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) because I was ready to advance my career. My BSN was a short two semesters. Remember, I told you this was my third career? I had built up a few college credits along the way. When it came time to graduate, I needed to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I worked in the ICU and worked closely with the PACU staff, including the anesthesia department. Everyone assumed I would be entering anesthesia school to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). It was just the next ‘logical’ step. Almost all my colleagues and co-workers were rooting for CRNA school, but something kept pulling me back to that NP.
Don’t get me wrong; I still applied for CRNA school. I even went through the interviewing process. Up until that time, I always assumed I knew what CRNA’s do. I mean, I worked with them shoulder-to-shoulder in the recovery area. I was also good friends with a handful of CRNA’s and Anesthesiologists. I know exactly how that job “works,” right?
Thanks to the expert guidance of my BSN program advisor, I job shadowed a CRNA for the day, a friend and coworker. I was scheduled to work with her for a full 8-hour shift, but I only lasted a single surgical case. I didn’t make it past the first hour. I knew almost instantly it wasn’t for me. Everything from the operating room work environment to not having therapeutic conversations with my patients and their families disinterested me. Not to mention I can’t sit still, and I’m not a fan of repetition. Three months later I entered the Master’s of Science for Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program.
Was it a yellow brick road of a journey? No, not in the least. I questioned my decisions numerous times as a student. Many times I wanted to quit. But, thanks to my ever-supportive wife, a lot of soul-searching and constant positive self-talk, I battled through it all and proudly graduated.
When it’s your turn to make that big decision, just remember to be honest with yourself and follow your path. Not the path laid out by others.
