How Long To Become NP After RN (And Why)?

Exact Answer: After about 4-6 years

Nurse Practitioners, commonly known as NP, are the most highly qualified professionals in the field of medical sciences. They play a pivotal role in the proper maintenance of the health of the nation. They are professionalized not only to provide primary level care to the patients but also to provide other medical care demanded by the situation of the patient. As they are the most responsible individuals in the field of medical sciences, they are trained to perfection. The training process takes about 6-8 years to complete.

An NP has the most important role in any kind of medical procedure. She can examine the condition of patients and carry out a proper diagnosis. Apart from this, she even serves the role of prescribing proper medications to the patients.

How Long To Become NP After RN?

These individuals have as much respect as the physicians and have the potential to practice fully in the region of the US. They have the power to practice in about 20 states in the US. In other states, NPs have to work under the guidance of doctors but are still more respected than usual nurses. The duties of NPs depend on their highest qualification and area of work. The basic work responsibilities which every nurse practitioner has to perform various functions like acute care, women’s health care, adult care, mental health care, medicine, etc.

If the nurse practitioner has received enough training in other specific areas, then they may be permitted to work in fields such as allergy, neurology, emergency, hospice, dermatology, pediatrics, geriatrics, orthopedics, surgical, endocrinology, sports care, pulmonology, gastroenterology, urology, etc. They even carry out some basic duties such as diagnosing the patient, taking histories of medical conditions, providing proper basic health care, prescribing medicines, ensuring the proper functioning of medical instruments and equipment, and other such activities.

A nurse practitioner is no less than a doctor. Rather, her job responsibilities are far more than a normal doctor. Doctors have specializations which makes them proficient in the respective field. However, a nurse practitioner has job responsibilities that are more diverse in the field and has basic knowledge of all the fields. Hence, naturally, their training period has to be professionally more as compared to other medical professionals. This is why the training period of practitioners varies from about 6 to 8 years.

The basic steps which one has to undergo for being a nurse practitioner are, becoming a registered nurse, achieving a professional degree of masters level, successfully passing the examination conducted by APRN. After completion of the course of RN, which takes about 2 to 4 years, one can go for attaining the master’s degree and other steps to be the NP.

Why Does It Take So Long To Become NP After RN?

One has to first complete the course of registered nurse successfully. For successful completion of this course, one needs to hold either a bachelor’s degree or some diploma degree. These degrees required for the eligibility to be a registered nurse requires about 4 years to be completed. The course for becoming a registered nurse takes about two to three years to be completed successfully. On completing this course, one can be known as a registered nurse.

After completion of this program, one has to complete the LPN-to-BSN program to gain the license for practicing either as practical or vocational nurses. Under this program, the individual has to acquire a degree of successful completion of bachelors in the field of nursing science, which takes about 2 years for completion. After this, one has to complete the BSN program during which the individual is trained enough to get on the field without prior experience. The completion of this course takes about 4 years.

After this, one has to complete the RN-to-BSN program to gain the diploma which takes about 2 years to be completed successfully. After this, one has to complete the Accelerated Degree BSN program which takes about 20 months to be completed successfully. Following this, one has to complete the Second-degree BSN program during which an individual specializes in all other fields other than the one with which he completed his graduation. After the successful completion of this program, the individual has to appear for the NCLEX RN examination to attain the license.

The license is the most essential requirement for a registered nurse to start practicing professionally. After this, one has to obtain the master’s degree successfully within 2 years to gain knowledge about the basic ethics of this field. After the completion of this course, one can attempt the APRN examination within 12 months. On successfully passing the examination, one can go for practicing legally with a certificate.

Conclusion

A nurse practitioner has various responsibilities. They do not specialize in any one field. Rather, they need to have information and knowledge about almost all the fields. Although in some areas, a nurse practitioner has to work abiding by the instructions of the doctor, the knowledge attained by a nurse practitioner is much more than that of a doctor. Hence, their training period is so long.

However, after being a registered nurse, one can easily go through other steps, attain the basic degrees and attain the license within 4-6 years. One should be patient to gain knowledge through all the courses.

Reference

1. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23216643
2. https://journals.lww.com/tnpj/fulltext/2005/12000/does_rn_experience_relate_to_np_clinical_skills_.9.aspx