3 Ways to Prep for Your New NP Job
As a nurse practitioner student, I couldn’t wait to graduate! I could not wait to begin my new career as a nurse practitioner after so many years of hard work. Little did I know that I needed a course on explaining to me what I needed to do after you graduate. Hopefully, you are in a better situation than I was when I graduated. I have listed 3 tips on how to prepare before getting your first nurse practitioner job.
Get Certified
Typically the last semester of your program your school should be prepping you for the board certification exam. The certification exam is the first thing you should check off your to do list before you can do anything else. Of course, there may be employers that may be OK with you not being certified at the time they hire you but that’s not common.
So, what is the importance of the national certification exam? Just like the nurse boards you took before you were licensed as a registered nurse, the nurse practitioner board exams is a competency-based exam that assess your clinical knowledge and skills at the entry-level.
There are two types of certification exams: the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC). ANCC offers more certifications such as family, psych, pediatrics, etc. Whereas the AANP is the only one that offers the Emergency NP certification. The ANCC offers a variety of question styles including multiple choice, drag and drop, multiple response, etc. The AANP is just multiple choice. The ANCC’s 175 exam questions focuses on assessment, diagnosis, clinical management, and profession role. The AANP’s 150 exam questions focuses on assessment, diagnosis, plan, and evaluation. For both exams, results are immediate — yay! Lastly, the cost. ANCC is $395 if you are not a member of the American Nurses Association (ANA). With the ANA membership the cost is $295. AANP without an ANA membership is $315 and with is $240.
I took the ANCC exam and passed the first time taking the exam. While I was in school, I took the practice test and did not pass, both times. I was nervous about taking the actual exam so I enrolled in a review course which last two days for 8 hours each. It really helped me recognize information in simpler terms. I felt confident going into the exam and did receive my results instantly.
Get Licensed
The next step after you have passed your certification exam is to get licensed in your state. Visiting your state’s nursing board will tell you how to obtain your license. There will be a list of documents you need to submit along with your national certification number.
Depending on your state, it may take a few weeks before receiving an official document from your certification center as you may need this when applying for your license. I live in Texas and the state board required a copy of the official document from the ANCC. I believe this took about 5-6 weeks from when I passed my exam to I received the document.
Also, another important, IMPORTANT, important note to remember is when you are filling out your information on your state licensure application make sure EVERYTHING is correct and you use the same information in everything you submit in applying for license and when your employer is enrolling you in insurances. Any correction submissions to the state board will delay you from receiving your license number. And, you CAN NOT do anything (i.e. applying for DEA, enrolling in insurances, etc.) without your state license number.
I had the unfortunate experience of having to submit multiple corrections and had to wait to move forward with my employer. It was a guessing game as to what exactly needed to be corrected as telephone and email correspondence was minimal from the state board’s end. I do not blame them as they are continually processing RN and NP applications. Make sure you review your application before submitting it and, if you can, have someone else review your application as well.
Don’t quit your RN job
I write this next section not to scare you but, to make you aware that not everyone is in your corner. That sounds negative but, let me explain. I worked as an RN while I was in nurse practitioner school. My job was very supportive of me and supported me during my NP clinical rotations. However, as soon as I passed my boards, I was let go. This was a shock especially since they were supportive of my advancement up until that point. Suffice it to say, it was a bit of a struggle to find another RN job because not many employers wanted to hire someone that was going to leave as soon as her license number came through. Moral of the story, is just be aware that your employer may let you go because of your advancement.
The state may approve your license quickly and you may not have to wait as long as I did. Your employer may not let you go. However, the more I talked with other NPs in my area about my experience, the more I heard other similar stories.
If you do have to wait more than what you expected, my suggestion is pick up part time or PRN jobs. Maybe pick up a job that’s outside of nursing. Maybe look into alternatives streams of income. If you have the financial support, take a break! Give yourself, your mind, your emotional state a break and go on a long vacation. You definitely deserve it!
Hope these tips help and put somethings in perspective. My story is not everyone else’s story but it may be similar. It’s a long road but you can do it. You have come this far and it seems only right to see it through. Lastly, I would love to hear your post-graduation stories so share away!