Preparing for Nurse Practitioner Jobs: 5 Questions the Prospective Nursing Student Should Ask
The prospective nursing student wanting to get into the market for challenging and fulfilling nurse practitioner jobs must first complete nursing school. Nursing program students are understandably both eager and anxious to get their formal training under way. They have completed the difficult academics and undergone the rigorous screening. The next step is to simply surrender to the process and let the program take over.
Despite the best orientation, informational meetings and tons of handouts, most nursing students always have other questions. For example:
1. What qualifications, besides advanced degrees and practical nursing experience, must the nursing faculty have met?
Nursing students can research their state nursing faculty qualifications to answer this one. Look for wording to the effect that the faculty must have had “graduate preparation in teaching and learning, curriculum development and implementation.”
2. What nursing scholarship or grant programs are available for nursing students?
This will depend in large part on whether or not the nursing school has a scholarships or grant coordinator. The nursing student can also do independent research on line. Look around. There is scholarship and money out there.
3. What nursing specialty does the nursing program favor?
The answer will probably be: “None. We rotate our students through a variety specialty experiences.” However, some research on the background of the faculty (reading their online CVs and profiles, or just asking around) will be most enlightening.
If more than one nursing instructor comes from the same specialized background – pediatric care, for example – expect at least a bias in shunting students to that specialty. If the program has an instructor who was once a nursing practitioner, so much the better.
4. What is the attrition rate for nursing students in this program?
The alarming fact is that attrition rates for nursing students are generally high. According to one Journal of Nursing Education article:
“On average, attrition rates have been reported to be 50% for students enrolled in baccalaureate nursing programs and 47% for students enrolled in associate degree nursing programs…”
(For minority nursing students, it is even higher – about 80%.)
Knowing the local attrition rate will give the nursing student insight on what to expect in terms of program difficulty. Also, look for evidence that the nursing program is designed to struggling students through study groups, extra instruction, etc. Ask those who are getting ready to graduate how many of their peers dropped out before they got their nursing pins.
5. Which instructors most closely follow the material in the textbooks students must buy?
Taking the trouble to ask other students this question, could save hundreds of dollars in needless textbook purchases. One of the most common complaints of nursing students is the accumulation of expensive and only slightly used texts.
If, on the other hand, you’re closer to the end than to the beginning of your quest to become a qualified nurse practitioner, be sure to contact us for the latest nurse practitioner openings.
