NP & PA Student Blog : Being an NP Student

The Real Price of Medical Education

Terrance Clarke — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:19:00 GMT

The real tragedy of getting a medical education is not the understanding of your own mortality or quantification of personal risk factors. It's not even the fact that friends and colleagues want you to look at something awful that is growing out of their...(read more)

The Hardest Semester Ever

Stacey Snodgrass — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:04:00 GMT

This has been one of the hardest semesters ever. It isn't just that my clinical hours have doubled, but I am coordinating a couple of different clinical sites, and the work load seems overwhelming. I feel as if I am perpetually behind, behind in reading,...(read more)

My First Job as an Accelerated NP Student

Terrance Clarke — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:26:00 GMT

It is tough for new nurses in accelerated nurse practitioner courses to find a first job. A lot of the places willing to hire new grads want them full time, which is impossible with the work load our training requires. There are some employers that require...(read more)

My "Smeducation" in Patient Smells

Caroline Pilgrim — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:30:00 GMT

If I could give any future medical student advice about the ER, my three most important words would be: Vicks Vapor Rub. When I first entered the ER, I was prepared to be jaded, but I was not prepared for the smells: abscesses, STDs, rotten teeth, body...(read more)

Becoming an NP Online

Stacey Snodgrass — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:21:00 GMT

Last month during the lull of winter break, I had a sudden fear that I would not be able to find a job after graduation. I guess it was because of the lull, no case studies to do, clinical hours completed for the semester, and final grade deemed passing,...(read more)

Ghost Stories

Terrance Clarke — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:36:00 GMT

I am sitting in a building erected in a decade when buildings were square and walls could never be thick enough. Brown ivy climbs a brick exterior white-washed so many times that it seems smooth. The old steel radiators chitter like a multitude of sparrows...(read more)

Traversing the Finals Steps of NP Education

Stacey Snodgrass — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:26:00 GMT

Yes! I proclaim with clinched fists, because I have passed yet another class on my journey to become an FNP. I have only two classes left, and though these two classes are intense, and will occur over the course of the next year, I am beginning to glimpse...(read more)

The Importance of Medication Lists

Olga Trouskova — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:29:00 GMT

During my first rotation in family medicine, we had a patient present to the clinic with a random collection of symptoms that seemed to come and go with no particular pattern. She had been experiencing sweating, dizziness, nausea and shock-like sensations...(read more)

A Grim Outlook on Nursing

Terrance Clarke — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:18:00 GMT

I am currently in a class called "Societal Forces" as a precursor to my first semester of advanced assessment in the Adult/Gero Primary Care Nurse Practitioner track. The teachers are passionate and well informed. The speakers are excellent, but the subject...(read more)

My Fears as an NP Student

Stacey Snodgrass — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:48:00 GMT

I have developed a few fears recently, regarding my hopeful future career as an NP. A few weeks ago, while at clinicals, I saw a patient with vague non-specific complaints that did not relate to any one ailment. I found the situation frustrating and asked...(read more)

Death With Dignity?

Terrance Clarke — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:15:00 GMT

"Suicide is so frowned upon in this society, but honestly, life isn't for everybody. It's sad when kids kill themselves 'cause they didn't really give it a chance, but life is like a movie: if you've sat through more than half of it and it sucked every...(read more)

Painting a Clinical Picture

Stacey Snodgrass — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:09:00 GMT

There have been times in my nursing career when I have put the pieces of a clinical picture together only to see something entirely different than the treating physician. The picture I would see was not based only on the lab work, or clinical manifestations...(read more)

Students vs. The Nurse Veteran

Terrance Clarke — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:53:00 GMT

In an accelerated NP program, newly-minted nurses often find themselves in graduate-level classes with people who have been in the profession for most of their lives. I just passed the NCLEX two weeks ago -- hang on -- I can't hold it in. Hire me! I'm...(read more)

Renewing Your Routine

Stacey Snodgrass — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:02:00 GMT

Fall has officially begun. Usually I am excited because I love fall, but this year, as I enter into my fifth week of class, I wonder where summer went. These first few weeks are usually clumsy as I learn my way around the course and assignments. I know...(read more)

Mistaken Identity

Olga Trouskova — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:58:00 GMT

As I entered the patient's room, I introduced myself and asked if her name was "Sarah." She said "yes," nodding in my direction with a welcoming smile. Prior to entering the patient's room, I had diligently reviewed the chart. She was 93 and had been...(read more)