I feel like I have been focusing on the challenges of being an NP, which much of the time entails a bit of complaining. Not that there is anything wrong with venting and sharing our trials and tribulations. I'd be insane right now if I kept it all in. But, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to share what I am grateful for in my first job ...

I have been working as an NP for a year now, and it is time for my annual performance appraisal and reviewing my employment contract. I am oddly nervous about the performance appraisal, much like I felt when at my first performance review as a Registered Nurse. I am also really uncomfortable about renegotiating the employment contract - I think ...

When someone tells you, ''no news is good news'' has not been waiting for a call, or should I say ''the call,'' from one of many interviews over the last two months. At last report I was believing that I would be making a decision between the MICU position over the nephrology position. Well, that has not come to fruition. I did, however, make a ...

So, I have been officially been practicing as an NP for 4 months. I guess all of the sudden it dawned on me that I am one-third of the way through my first year. It seems pretty paltry in the grand scheme of things, but I do feel like I have collected some valuable experience already. Here are some reflections. 1) Ask, ask, ask. When job ...

When I made the decision to go back to graduate school, it was not without reservation. I had graduated from an ADN program in 1978 and then worked nights while going through the BSN program. By the time I graduated in 1983, I was ready to just work and see what all life had to offer for a few years. I thought that I would wait about 2 years, then ...

By last report I was celebrating my new found certification and awaiting my COA. I was hoping to be able to report and share my new career and challenges, but sadly I have not found my career nor have I had any job offers over the past month. I can remember a year ago while still in school all the job opportunities my professor would share with ...

When my alarm clock starts blasting this ridiculous melody, it takes everything in me to drag myself out of bed.  The misery starts the day before when I get a bad attitude late in the evening before my scheduled work day.  Once I am in the clinic, something takes over my body and I get this burst of energy when I encounter my first ...

I am sure that nothing drives home the need for healthcare reform more than being an actual healthcare provider. Of course, I was already aware of the issues being a RN. But a whole new dimension is added as an NP that orders labs, tests and medications. It's constantly on my mind: Does this patient really NEED this lab or x-ray? Did I prescribe ...

Every September, I love the way the air is cooler, the sky is bluer and yellow school buses are on the roads. No, it's not because I have kids in school; I think it just evokes memories of childhood. In my practice, I see kids with ADHD, migraines, seizures, motor tic disorders and developmental or learning differences.  These kids ...

I passed certification! Now comes the difficult task of finding my career. There are and have been sooo many opportunities, so much so that I turned down two job offers and an interview for a position that I believed was right that now I am still looking for my dream position. I was told this week that the position I believed to have landed in ...