What am I doing? I'm totally insane.
 

I keep moving forward with this plan, even though part of me is screaming that I'm a moron. But that's kind of how I've done everything in my life. I always figure, I'll just get it started, and I can always quit tomorrow if I want. But like the Red Queen says, today is never any other day...

I have registered as a student. I have laid out a tentative schedule of the prerequisites I need before the "intensive year" of the program starts. I have found an excellent special needs inclusion preschool, and worked out the total cost for both kids over the summer, and one kid half-time going into the school year. If I can't get a loan, we'll pull it out of the IRA under the non-penalizing heading of medical costs.

If all goes According To Plan, 3 years from now I will have my master's degree and my nurse practioner's license. WTF am I thinking?

All great ideas have to start at the beginning. lol ~skysidhe quote

You'll make a great nurse practitioner.

Hooray for you and everyone you will help! :)

You are thinking wisely. It is a PIA but we all need to set a course once in a while. Good luck, the world needs NPs with your background.

Heading for a NP is heavy duty, especially for Moms.
My daughter just finished her MS in Nursing, and is planning,
but a tad apprehensive, her NP courses starting early next year.
She feels she has ~20 years more of nursing employment, and the NP will be of real value.

But, what would the dreams be if you were not reaching for the more difficult goals ?
Some Moms just know no barriers.

So, best of wishes to your progress.

Yeah you're nuts, what's new? :haha:
As long as you are willing to let go of the goal, if it makes a major undesirable impact on the kids/family/you. Goals that must be completed at all costs, usually cost all.

Add 2 more years and become a doctor. Why? because chicken thigh, that's why.

That's funny, that's what my dad said. He tried to sort of talk around it, but he considers nursing to be a rather un-intellectual career. He outright refused to believe that nurse practitioners have prescription pads with their own names on them, kept telling me that I had them confused with Physician's Assistants.

unintellectual? really?

Tell Dad the Veteran's hospitals will pay you $80 to $100k. ;)

Physician Assistants don't have their own prescription pads ... they have the one belonging to the doctor they work under who has to countersign every prescription they write.

Nurse practitioners do have their own.

It is unusual to hear of someone who is not already an RN entering an RN-P program, but hey, if it's what you want to shoot for, go for it.

I don't know why she would give up the life of luxury as a stay at home mom, with nothing but Bonbons and soap operas. :lol2:

good luck Clodfobble! you can do it, woman!!

Depends on the state. Prescriptive authority is different in each of them. If I returned to my home state I could get it. In GA it is based on your area of specialty. And besides doctors are married to their jobs, becoming a NP ensures you will remain married to your husband. And besides, it is more than 2 more years, a lot more.

That is the beauty of not becoming a PA IMHO. PA programs do not require you to have a medical background to enter them.

Clod - you amaze me once again.
But in a way I think I am diminishing you by even thinking that.
Your posts, your education history, your career and the issues you have dealt with (both children and stepchildren) should have been enough to convince me you are an exceptional person, And they have. So I duly apologise for my surprise.

Many people here do the same to me by moving into challenging new jobs, taking further education, pursuing uncertain careers. I wish I had a tenth of your (collective) drive.

Congrats. Clod. You'll be an asset to any goal you seek to accomplish.

Clod, I said become a doctor not because I don't regard NPs as highly (SIL is one) but because I think, given your experiences with shithole docs, you would be an asset to moms and dads who have been in your place, a little more power for you to change the world.

Whatever you do, you will obviously be great at it.

The problem is the the time and cost it takes to go through that training. Premed requisites are all contained in the undergrad program. A nursing degree does not give them to you. 4 years of medical school. 1 year transitional internship. 3 - 5 years residency training, depending on your specialty. Even Family Practice is 3 more years. And guess what, you have to pay for it all and you are really married to the program, it would be nearly impossible for an active mother to do without a husband with a great job and a lot of time off to take care of the family.

I think he sees it as mostly bedpan-changing. He's got a little bit of old-school genteel misogynism leftover from his upbringing. Amusing but harmless.

There's a specific program for it at the University of Texas, the "Alternate Entry MSN." Designed for people with a bachelor's in something else. There are 9 undergrad prereqs (some of which I already have, the rest I'll be knocking out over the next few semesters before applicaion time,) then a 2-year intensive program. At the end of year 1, you have your RN, but it's only valid in Texas, and they are very clear that you should not use this as an exit point from the program. At the end of year 2, you have your master's, and are qualified to take the NP certification exam. Roughly 80 spots in the program per year, out of 120-160 applicants. The prospect of which does frighten me, that I might get on this train and then not actually make it into the program next Fall, but I'm reasonably confident I'm going to be in the upper 50% of applicants.

That's the beauty of the NP. I think in this state you have to have your caseload overseen by a doctor, but in our own clinic the majority of patients are seen by NPs exclusively, one doctor supervising, unless there are special circumstances. I will be able to be the exact asset that we are benefitting from right now. I haven't mentioned my plans to anyone at that office yet, but I know for sure I can get a recommendation letter for the program from our NP, and with any luck I'll have a job slot ready and waiting for me. And, if it turns out I can't handle all-autism-all-the-time, which I acknowledge may happen, the credentials are still transferrable to any other specialty.

I think this will be the wave of the future.

Go for it Clod.

My girls adore their NP.

I always end up seeing a NP because my doctor is usually booked up for three or more weeks. I really like them...they seem friendlier and more approachable. My doctor always seems slightly irritated.

Im bettin you will make a great NP, Clod.

I think it is a fantastic idea, Clod. I think the medical community needs more practical, intelligent people like you.

hell i say go for it!!

A question: How does a PA or NP differ from a FMC?

Go for it Clod!

PA = Physician's Assistant. My understanding is these are folks who graduated with pre-med bachelor's degrees, but didn't go to med school for whatever reason (the cynic says they couldn't get in, the polite person assumes they wanted a family instead of another 9 years of intense schooling.) In my experience, they only see patients for a brief time before the MD comes in, and take general information. They can't prescribe meds or diagnose in any way. There is also a thing called a "medical assistant," who work behind the scenes gathering lab results and calling in prescriptions that the doctor has written. These people don't have to have any schooling at all, technically, the doctor can choose to hire who he wants, although there is a certification program if one wants to pursue it.

NP = Nurse Practitioner. These are RNs who also have a master's degree in nursing and have passed a certification test. They have their own prescription pads, and are generally given appointments with patients where the doctor does not come in at all, the MD just reviews their cases with them at the end of the day to make sure nothing's out of line. Often there will be an additional letter at the beginning indicating a specialty--Family Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practioner, Gerontology Nurse Practitioner, etc.

I don't know what an FMC is--Family Medical Counselor? Focused Mental Conditioner?

A physician assistant is not someone who balked at med school after premed, but is a separate degree program. PAs grew out of a bunch of Vietnam-era medics who got back to the world and were told, "no, all of your experience in the bush doesn't count for shit, but if you want to get hired as an orderly and move bedpans around and have no responsibility that a janitor can't also manage, you can have a great career in medicine."

I think that the word "assistant" throws a bunch of people off.

PAs do write (countersigned) scripts, can do procedures, do diagnose and treat.

Any idea what an FMC is wolf?

Ford Motor Corporation!

Never heard of it, google didn't help. Context?

I dunno, BrianR was asking about it.

Field Medicine Certified. To me, a Corpsman. My medical professional in El Paso has this appellation, but he writes scrips against an MD. I was just curious.

Maybe the FMC is more akin to the EMT I,II,III or Emergency Medical Technician (or Technologist ?).
Here in Oregon, the EMT's are the ones driving ambulances and working in Emergency Response teams, such as firemen, etc.

Well this was unexpected.

I have a very predictable pattern, that I identified in myself somewhere in my teens: when I am stressed, I can't sleep; when I am depressed, I sleep too much. Not unusual, but like I said, it's extremely predictable in me, to the point that my sleeping patterns are always the first thing to tip me off if I'm depressed and haven't realized it yet.

For the first time in 2 years, I am suddenly finding myself unable to fall asleep at night. This is a good sign--a fantastic one, actually--as for the prior duration I was always ready to pass out by 10 PM, though most often forced myself to stay awake longer, not because I had anything to do but because going to sleep meant tomorrow would come that much faster, and I dreaded that. And the minute my head hit the pillow I was out, not even waking up when Mr. Clod would be on call and get pages all night long.

But for several nights in a row now, I have lain awake in the dark even after staying up later than normal, my brain churning, the way it used to in my old life when I used to care about things. It started the evening I registered for the GRE and briefly browsed the sample tests. I love taking standardized tests (not meant sarcastically, I really do love them) and couldn't stop thinking about the sample essay prompts. Since then the test has fallen into the back of my mind, but I've been thinking about other stuff, much of it not even school-related.

So my body chemistry confirms it: going back to school is a really, really good idea for me. What's more, it looks like our tax refund is going to completely cover the kids' preschool tuition during my summer classes, which is a huge weight off our shoulders. Just don't mention the master's program tuition to me...

Well then, I guess I'm glad to hear you aren't sleeping, Clod.

It's great that you are excited about something.