The time has come! I've passed boards, obtained my state license and I am scheduled to have ''temporary privileges'' at my facility next week! This is such an exciting time for my family and me! We've worked so hard for so many years and this is it. The really amusing thing? I opened the mail a couple of weeks ago when my license came through ...

Have you visited our blogs lately? Last week, new NPs and nurse veterans battled on the value of floor experience. Our NP & PA Student blogger Terry Clarke, currently enrolled in a fast track NP program, expressed his views on what experienced nurses have going for them and what they still have to learn. Here are a few of the comments your ...

Our ADVANCE for NPs & PAs community is always growing and providing better feedback every week. Our social media goal this week is to hit 2,000 fans on Facebook. We're only 28 ''likes'' away! If you're not already following us, make sure to check out our page and let us know what you think. If you are, share our page with your colleagues and ...

Q: I am just finishing my BSN and will graduate in December 2012. I have a BSBA, ADN, LPN-Diploma and associate degree in general education. I am now considering doing the FNP program but I will be in the middle of the program when the DNP is required to set for the boards in 2015. I work full-time, I have a family that depends on my income, and ...

Terry Clarke, student nurse here. I am in an accelerated nurse practitioner program at UMASS Worcester. We just finished our year-long RN BSN equivalency. I've been feeling like a hand-stamped 18-year-old at a bar, able to join the conversations but not order a beer. As my NCLEX draws nigh, I finally feel competent to write about this experience. ...

On Facebook last week, we shared a reader question: ''Would any of you kind folks happen to know anything about transferring from Florida to Arizona as a nurse practitioner? There is a prescribing requirement that states 'you shall submit written evidence of 45 contact hours of education in pharmacology or clinical management of drug therapy ...

On Facebook last week, we began the month of August with new images from our current issue. The cover article, ''Head Lice Update,'' describes the life cycle of head lice, how the organisms can be removed, and the proper protocol for allowing children with lice to attend school. Check out our new cover image and let us know what you think, ...

Last week, New Grad NP blogger Samantha Damren posted the struggle she encounters working with multiple physicians: memorizing the preferences and practices of each. On Facebook, reader Amber said, ''20 in my emergency physician group ... can get frustrating!'' On our blog, more readers weighed in. Here are some of their ...

After Mother Teresa's death, it was revealed that in private correspondence she wrote of not feeling the presence of God - of lack of faith and spiritual anguish. Helen Keller, who spent her life fighting for suffrage and the rights of the disabled, was a radical socialist. Florence Nightingale was a long-term user of opiates. These facts are a ...

In the past week, we shared the news that the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American College of Nurse Practitioners plan to merge. With 28 Facebook ''likes'' and many ''shares,'' it seems NPs support the decision. On our blog post readers are responding with positive comments, too. Cathy said, ''It's about time. This was so ...