It’s time for another edition of “Talking MSN”!

This time, we’re talking with fellow blogger and family nurse practitioner Jennifer Scott.

Jennifer blogs about her life as a family nurse practitioner at The Nurse Practitioner’s Place.

Today, she provides primary care in a rural health clinic. In Part One of our interview, I asked Jennifer to describe her path into nursing, and to share some advice with those who might be considering a family nurse practitioner career.

How did you come to choose nursing?

My nursing path actually started from a potentially tragic episode. I had pre-term labor with our youngest child and was relegated to bed rest from the 4th month. I had nothing to do but read and I read every book that I could get my hands on regarding pregnancy. The health spark was on!

After the baby was born (full term and healthy), my husband asked what I wanted to do with my life rather than go back to being a cashier/back office clerk at Wal-mart. I thought long and hard (about 20 seconds) and said I wanted to become a nurse.

I started prerequisites for nursing at my local college at the ripe old age of 30 with a 3 month old breast feeding infant.

Where did you obtain your MSN, and why did you choose to go for the FNP program?

I chose Florida State University. It was the only close online program that would not interfere with my full time work schedule. I first tackled the BSN and then onto the first online Master’s level program that they offered.

I knew going into nursing school that I would not stop at being a RN; I wanted to take care of my own patients as an ARNP someday. I graduated with my RN in 2001. I worked on a Med/Surg floor where I had done a lot of my clinicals and felt comfortable.

I hated the idea of “having to get in that one year of Med/Surg” because I originally wanted to become a Labor and Delivery nurse and then a Midwife. I stayed in Med/Surg for 7 years. Those years as a floor nurse help me tremendously, even today.

Do you have any advice for future MSN students interested in becoming APRNs?

• You must be very disciplined and able to complete tasks without an instructor breathing on your neck. I am a professional procrastinator and work better under pressure. Others are really good at tackling things in manageable bits. Every semester I swore that I would turn into that person. Don’t fool yourself for a second that it will happen!

• Warn your family just how much time this program will take.  My youngest child asked one day if I would EVER put down my books. I realized that I was missing a lot of important family time. I made a point of allotting time with no computer or books so that I could become mentally grounded and it helped me to remember why I was working on the program in the first place. Burnout can sneak up on a student just as quickly as burnout can on a regular nurse.

•  Make sure that you completely understand the requirements of the NP programs that you are interested in. Do they require you to travel long distances to take tests or to do check offs? Do you understand the total costs of the program? Can you find good preceptors? Start asking around now, even before you start. I see too many students on the discussion forums begging for information on preceptors in their areas. We are few and far between! I actually precepted with several doctors who didn’t realize that I was trying them on for size as prospective employers. Some didn’t make the grade!

• Make sure that coding is part of the curriculum. Billing properly is very important in  making you a commodity worth keeping in an office setting. It was not part of my program and it actually made working stressful.

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In Part Two, we’ll talk about Jennifer’s practice, the impact of health care reform and her opinion on the DNP question.