What to Expect
Students in nurse practitioner programs are registered nurses training
for jobs with greater responsibility.
Kathryn Flanigan and Michael McMunn trained to become nurse practitioners
in two different ways. While Flanigan attended school part time over several
years and took one course per year, the four courses of McMunn's first semester
were taken back to back one day per week.
McMunn, who studied at the Medical College of Georgia, says his day of
classes "began at 8 a.m. and ended at 9 p.m. First semester included classes
on pathophysiology, assessment, research and health-care policy. It was
good to have all the classes in one day."
He adds, "The second semester was lighter -- two classes from 9 a.m. to
4 p.m."
Flanigan says much of her studies were self-directed. "I [did] two to
three hours of homework per night with Friday nights off," she says. She
put in more time for essays and other asssignments. She also had weekly
tutorials, which were three to seven hours long.
Her homework assignments included reading, answering questions about
case studies and writing essays.
"I like to be challenged and I love learning medical info," she says. "I
like case studies and applying theory to practice."
An NP program is "hard but fair," says Dwayne Andras, a graduate of the
University of South Alabama's program. "It is not easy, but it is definitely
obtainable."
He credits support from family and friends with getting him through the
tough times. "Networking with other students is always a big help to pull
together and help each other."
How to Prepare
"Plan and be sure that this is something [you] want to do," says
Andras. "I had a few classmates that decided halfway through that this was
not for them and quit halfway into the program. That was a big waste of money
and time."
"The experience I have from working for 10 years before returning to school
has served me well," says Flanigan. "No education is a waste, but knowing
what you want to do or become and having the maturity and ambition to go for
it may not happen at 19 years of age."