<p>I want to be a pediatric nurse practitioner and I want to know what are the step to becoming one? Thanks♥</p>
<p>It requires a bachelors degree in nursing; then at least 1-2 years of clinical practice in a pediatric setting. At that point you can apply to various graduate programs to obtain a masters degree in nursing, with the area of specialty being a nurse practioner.</p>
<p>Don’t be fooled by any program that offers to help you obtain a masters’ degree in nursing directly after your undergratuate program… No hospital or clinic will hire you without actual hands-on clinical experience in pediatrics. The job situation in nursing is tight at present, though nurse practioners are in demand at present. Not sure what the market will be like in 5-7 years, it could easily be thoroughly saturated.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! I have heard that find a job after graduating is somewhat difficult for nurses. They all require experience…does the experience you receive before you enter the master’s program count as experience for employment? I have heard many people say that they have no jobs after nursing school because hospitals only hire nurses with experience but the thing is, how can nurses get experience if they won’t hire them?! Please help…anyone??? Thanks!!(:</p>
<p>One way to get experience is to work as a Nurse Assistant while getting your BSN. My d did this at her university’s hospital the summer between junior and senior year then continued to work reduced hours throughout her senior year. It was a tough load senior year with working her clinical hours and assistant hours in the same hospital, but good to have money coming in and it proved to be the crucial factor in getting a job after graduation. You would think that clinical experience would be enough…</p>
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<p>You can do a direct entry masters in nursing program, meaning you obtain your undergraduate degree in something other than nursing, and you receive your bachelor’s in nursing AND your masters in nursing in just 3 years. These schools that offer these programs are very prestigious, also. Just to name a few: Yale, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Emory, Massachusetts General Hospital, UCLA, UCSF, Northeastern, Vanderbilt, Duke, Marquette, UPenn… some pretty awesome schools. And the job placement is very high, from what I have heard. Some of the schools (Northeastern, for sure) have you work part time while completing the masters portion.</p>
<p>Competition for admission to Nursing Graduate Degree Programs is beginning to escalate as more and more BSN nurses are pursuing Advanced Practice Degrees, especially in your more highly “rated” Nursing Graduate Programs. Compared to BSN slots the number of slots available is dramatically smaller. For example the University of Miami’s Family NP Program (one of the top rated Nursing Graduate Programs in the South) had over 200 applications for this Fall and only 20 slots were available (an applicant success rate of less than 10%). So you really need to do well in your BSN Program to ensure you are competitive when you apply to Graduate School. It used to be relatively easy to get into Nursing Graduate Programs, but not so any longer, and it is likely to get more competitive in the future.</p>
<p>Admission into nursing programs has become extremely competitive over the last few years. Jobs have also become much more difficult to get. However, being a pediatric nurse practitioner is an excellent career choice–just make sure you stay on top of things. Not only do you want to do what is required of you, but go above and beyond! Start reading and doing research as early as possible! There are tons of books and resources on pediatrics out there that you should begin reading on your own time, like The Harriet Lane Handbook from Elsevier Health <a href=“http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/Medicine/Pediatrics/book/9780323079426/The-Harriet-Lane-Handbook/[/url]”>http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/Medicine/Pediatrics/book/9780323079426/The-Harriet-Lane-Handbook/</a>. Be sure to also stay up to date on the latest news in medicine, especially pediatrics. Doing some reading and studying now is not only a great way to prepare for admission into grad school, but it will also help you once you’re accepted.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>