Jennifer Vitti

One day back to school and I already didn’t post…sheesh!

School started off with a bang–as usual! Lots of assignments given, lots to learn, and I came down with a slight head cold today (I’m lucky I haven’t been more sick since I see kids multiple times a week a lot of them coming in with all sorts of viruses). As indicated by my previous posts, in my first class we discussed what it is to be a NP, why we’re not doctors and not PAs, etc. It was interesting class with a lot of people discussing the NP scope of practice, where the NP profession is headed…it’s a career to look out for in the near future that’s for sure. I learned that now in MA, patients can declare NPs as their primary care provider, which I think is awesome! I’ll have to research it more, but it’s very exciting. Then I had Primary Care and we learned about exanthems of childhood (i.e. measles, mumps, rubella, roseola, and fifth disease) and bronchiolitis, the latter of which we’re seeing A LOT of this time of year in primary care. It should prove to be an interesting last semester to say the least. It’s a lot of work, but I really enjoyed the previous semester and I hope that proves true for this semester as well. And now that I have all my clinical hours planned out I can finally breathe easy on that aspect too.

Sorry another short/uninteresting post tonight because I’m just not feeling great. I’m hoping to kick this cold pretty quickly so I can be productive and get ahead this weekend! Now that school has started I hope that my posts won’t slow down terribly, but inevitably it won’t be AS frequent as they have been–priorities. Can’t wait to share with you guys about my last semester, preparing for boards, applying for jobs, etc…among other things going on in my life as they come up!

~love always~

Jen

The third question I get before people finally feel like the understand my profession if they previously had little to no knowledge of it, is if an NP is the same thing as a PA (Physician Assistant)? And the answer is that although they may do similar tasks, they are not exactly the same.

A PA, similar to an MD, follows the medical model of thinking vs. the NP who follows the nursing model of thinking when approaching patient care. A PA also practices under an MD’s license, whereas an NP practices under his or her own license (i.e. independently). In my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (this is definitely not 100% true) I tend to find NPs in more of a primary care setting and PAs in a more acute care setting. People share with me that “Oh the newspapers say that they’re looking for PAs to work in the hospitals and that there are lots of jobs for PAs there”. I usually chuckle and calmly mention that “I think that’s great for the PAs and their job market! Glad to hear there is such a good outlook for them. But my plan isn’t to work in the hospital, but instead in primary care or a “doctor’s office” and the newspapers say the same things about NPs in this setting. There is a lot of room in this world for both professions”. I don’t take offense to any of these quesitons, it is simply a misunderstanding about a fairly new profession and I don’t mind doing a bit of educating.

Short and sweet post today. If you have any other questions about my personal experience about becoming an NP or about the NP job in general, feel free to ask!

~love always~

Jen

So now that everyone knows what an NP is…why did I want to become one? And “why didn’t I just become a doctor”? When I first started out in my schooling I used to resent that question and get really defensive. Like someone was saying I wasn’t smart enough or I was settling being an NP. Now I take a different, more positive, approach to the question and people usually respond really well to it. I take it as my mission to educate people on how an NP is different from a doctor, both very necessary professions, but also different, in my opinion. The biggest difference, and the reason why I, personally, chose the NP profession, is that an MD (which stands for Doctor of MEDICINE) follows the medical model of thinking, which often focuses on disease processes when working with patients. The nurse practitioner who in my case gets an MSN degree (which stands for Master of Science in NURSING) follows the nursing model of thinking, which looks more at the person as a whole and takes a holistic point of view. Now of course NPs and MDs take a few chapters from each other’s books, but for the most part they generally follow these models of thinking. I chose to be an NP. I considered medicine at one point, I did my homework, and determined that a profession in nursing was what fit my personality and future goals. And then within the nursing careers, I liked the autonomy and the larger scope of practice that the NP had vs. some of the other nursing professions. I also really enjoy primary care and the need for NPs in primary care is large and the job market is supposed to grow over the next few years and even longer. It’s an exciting profession and I can’t wait to get out there and start working!

That’s my explanation in a nut shell and as I said usually it has a pretty positive response from people (i.e. THEY GET IT!), but it often usually leads to one. more. question…”So then how does an NP differ from a PA?!” To be answered…tomorrow!

P.S. Wanted to share that I was printing out my powerpoints and documents for the start of classes this week and I flipped through the first powerpoint of my Roles and Issues in Advanced Practice Nursing class and I kid you not that it has slides devoted to all three of the questions I am answering! (And the powerpoints were just posted today and I started answering the questions yesterday). Guess I did my homework for the first day of class But it just goes to show how common/important these questions are!

~love always~

Jen

I get asked this question a lot! That and why did you become an NP? or What’s the difference between an NP and a PA (Physican Assistant)? So I thought I would do a post addressing these three questions over the next couple days.

First “What is a Nurse Practitioner?”

The “textbook” definition of a nurse practitioner is: “Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who are prepared, through advanced education and clinical training, to provide a wide range of preventive and acute healthcare services to individuals of all ages…Nurse practitioners may diagnose, treat, and prescribe for a patient’s condition that falls within their specialty areas of practice. This is done in collaboration with a licensed physician qualified in the specialty involved and in accordance with an approved written practice agreement and protocols. Nurse practitioners are autonomous and do not practice under the supervision of the collaborating physician” (Buppert, 2012, p. 1).

I usually give a definition similar to the one above (although maybe not as eloquent) and then I add in that nurse practitioners take the nursing/holisitic model of thinking–looking at the whole person. If I am giving a longer definition for someone I may also add that I am studying to be a primary care nurse practitioner specializing in pediatrics meaning I’ll be seeing children in “doctors’ offices” and I also may list some of the skills that a nurse practitioner is allowed to do under their license and scope of practice such as assess a sick patient, conduct a well physical, diagnose patients with medical diagnoses, order labs if necessary, and treat the patient accordingly including, but not limited to, writing prescriptions.

Once the definition of a nurse practitioner is understood this usually leads into the second question…”Well, why did you want to become a nurse practitioner?” (sometimes phrased as “Why didn’t you just become a doctor?”). I’ll address that one tomorrow!

~love always~

Jen

References

Buppert, C. (2012).  Nurse practitioner’s business practice and legal guide (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning: Sudbury, MA.

Just got back from a nice weekend with my immediate and extended family. We rented a large house a few hours away and then everyone met there. The reason was it was a gift for my grandparents for Christmas and everyone thought it would be nice to get together because it’s hard to get even the majority of people together in one place for an extended period of time.

The vacation ended up being very nice. Very low key, which is what I needed right before school gears up again. We arrived Friday night, had dinner, caught up. Then Saturday we went shopping in town, out for dinner, then people either watched the football game or played board/card games (Nota bene: read the official rules of Uno! Slightly different than what I played as a kid and a lot of fun!). Then Sunday we had breakfast and left for home. Overall the house was gorgeous and I think everyone enjoyed themselves and it was for a good “cause”.

On a separate note I finally got a 3rd preceptorship, so now I will be able to complete my 600 hours required to become a PNP by graduation in early May I also like the variety of patients I see in my preceptorship: one is in a fairly well-to-do community, the other is in more of an urban setting, and the other is in a school-based setting. I feel very blessed to have all these opportunities and I am learning so much from all of them! Can’t wait to get this last semester underway!

~love always~

Jen

Last Christmas (2010) I received a Kindle from my “in-laws”. What a great gift! I was hesitant about it at first, as many are, about how it would feel to read on an electronic device vs. a real book. I find that it’s not as disturbing as I would have thought, not at all in fact. I have found a place for both books and kindle books in my life (I tend to put books on my Kindle that are going to travel with me or that I want instantly or that I buy for myself) and I get “real” books when I’m given them as gifts and they’re just going to stay at home.

Source

I also have found that I use “real books” for my textbooks because graphs and pictures (especially nursing textbooks it seems) just don’t seem to translate well in Kindle format. However, I’m pleased to announce that now that I’m in my last semester and I’m taking more “management” type classes with text-only books I have been able to get some textbooks on my Kindle! I am very excited about this because now I can bring my textbooks to class and I don’t have to carry huge books! Hurray! I’ve already checked it out and it looks like it will work just fine

I also wanted to take this time to encourage everyone to join in to Nurse Teeny’s Book Club, which should be starting up later this year. I just put the first book My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira on my Kindle and can’t wait to start reading it! It’d be fun to have a good group reading this and discussing this–another way to bring the blogging/nursing (definitely being a nurse is NOT a requirement, but it is nursing focused) together! Head on over to Nurse Teeny’s site to check it out

~love always~

Jen

I had written a post on my old blog about using Microsoft Office OneNote in nursing school and although I deleted it I would like to readdress it again because I think it has been helpful in organization for me and others.

It would be even MORE helpful I think if I brought my laptop to class and took notes on it, but I have a monster of a laptop that I used as a desktop while in my undergrad portion, and now I have an actual desktop and use my laptop only in clinicals (if applicable) and to watch movies in bed But I digress…

At the beginning of every semester after I receive my syllabi, I set up my OneNote for that semester. I have a page for my school and in that page I have a General tab, along with a tab for every class I’m taking.  The General tab contains some inspirational quotes/pictures along with my schedule for that semester and any other important general information (school calendar, upcoming general school-related events, etc.). Then for each class’s tab I put that class’s schedule, the professor’s contact information, the required textbooks, exam dates, that sort of thing. As the class goes along I try (again this would be more consistent if I took a laptop to class) to take notes in each class’s section for each lecture–summarizing the main points, putting in any pertinent pictures, jotting down key information that will probably show up on a test, etc. Then when I study for tests, although I still study mostly from my powerpoints and textbooks, I am able to look at these pages to really drive home any key information, or anything the teacher said that would DEFINITELY be on a test or is a need to know. I find it very helpful and it’s also really fun to organize (any of you Type A personalities like me will also probably enjoy that aspect).

That’s how I use OneNote, feel free to share how do you use it?!

~love always~

Jen

I work part-time as a dog walker while I finish up grad school. I have worked as a dog walker for 5 1/2 years now and I have to say that at times I think it’s the best job and at other times it is the worst job (I feel like you can say this about many jobs, but I don’t think I could go from hot to cold as quickly as I do about dog walking). I have compiled a Pro/Con list to describe what I love and hate about it.

Pros:

• Dogs are your biggest fans…always.
• They’re sooooo cute!!!
• Dogs never complain.
• Forced exercise.
• I get color during the warm months.
• Good pay.
• Did I mention that dogs are your biggest fans and they never complain?!

Cons:

• I have to be out in ALL types of weather.
• Being treated liked “hired help” by the owners.
• Finding owners home (this does not apply to owners who work from home or who are permanently or temporarily disabled and unable to walk their dogs. This ONLY applies to those who sit on the couch watching tv while I walk their dog).
• Having to buy the appropriate gear for both weather and walking dogs (this adds up).
• Naughty dogs (I always forgive them because they’re so darn cute, but it definitely ruins my day when I have a dog who is mean to another dog or doesn’t come when called).
• Picking up poop.
• Loneliness (I’m a people person, hence the nursing career, so being alone with my thoughts and dogs all day is sometimes depressing for me).

Although I complain about it a lot, I do recognize that it’s been good to me during college and grad school. It’s been very flexible to my schedule (partially because my mom runs the business) and it was very nice to have the extra $$. It’s been nicer weather lately so I’m in a more appreciative mood at the moment (I may be more grumbly starting with the wintery mix I’m supposed to be walking in on Thursday, but in reflection I understand and appreciate the job overall).

~love always~

Jen

Next Tuesday (the 17th) starts my FINAL semester of nursing school. I can’t believe it! It’s been 3 long years and it’s finally coming to an end. This semester I will be taking Primary Care of the Child II, Roles and Issues of the Advanced Practice Nurse, and Management Concepts, along with 360 hours of preceptorship to make 600 hours total for the NP portion of my program. I’m actually enjoying the NP/MSN portion of my program better than the RN portion. I feel like we’re treated more like adults and I like taking the responsibility to do the work into my own hands vs. having professors give us busy work along with the important intense studying that is always required. In turn, although my grades have always been decent, they have improved the past semester and I am healthier and happier. I will also be applying very soon to be part of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honors Society. Which I am very proud to even apply let alone if I get accepted

But back to my thoughts about this upcoming semester….I can’t believe it’s going to be all over!! I am finished at the end of April/early May and then I graduate mid-May with a MSN. I then will take a few months to study for my boards and hopefully at the end of June/early July I will take the PNCB to become a licensed Pediatric Nurse Practitioner followed by applying for jobs!! I went straight from my first undergraduate degree into this program (which also goes through the summers) so I literally have not been a student since I was about 4 or 5 years old (haha okay okay so the first few years of grade school aren’t that difficult, but still it’s the principle of the idea!). I can’t wait for the freedom and to start the rest of my life, but I am also nervous because I’ve known nothing else. Regardless, I know I’m ready and I know this is my passion and that feels great After this many years in school it definitely feels amazing to finally be completing what I set out for and doing what I want to be doing. I thought I would have more to say about the upcoming semester, but I am actually surprisingly emotional about it and left a little tongue-tied because of it. I’m sure I’ll reflect more as the semester goes on!

~love always~

Jen

Great to see my old roomie this weekend and spend some quality time together! We caught up (although we’ve been in touch through email quite a bit over the years), did some fun relaxing stuff like went out for food, movies, shopping–low key. But it was nice to see that although we haven’t seen each other since we graduated that things haven’t changed. We can still joke like we used to. We still give each other great advice. And we can still confide in each other like old girl pals should! It’s just really nice to know that there are friends of mine out there like that in the world I am *all smiles* closing out the weekend.

Short post tonight, but tomorrow I plan to reflect on my upcoming LAST semester of NP school.

~love always~

Jen