Is RN experience important to have before becoming a Nurse Practitioner? I would say undoubtedly, yes! Your time as an RN will give you the background, context, and skills you need to be a successful Nurse Practitioner student and NP. There’s no doubt that the role and job of an RN and NP are vastly different. While that is true, there’s so much to be gained from having RN experience – so stay tuned for the 7 benefits of having RN experience before NP school.
How much RN experience do you need before NP school?
How much experience you should have is a hotly debated topic. Most of my classmates, myself included, had between 2 and 5 years of experience and felt it was enough to prepare us for becoming NPs. On one end of the spectrum, there were some students who had worked as RNs for 10+ years and were making a career switch later in life. On the other end of the spectrum, there were others who just finished their BSNs and were starting their first RN jobs at the same time as starting NP school.
In a future post, we’ll explore how RN experience helps you as a Nurse Practitioner. Today we’re focusing on how RN experience helps you in school and in clinical rotations. Let’s jump in!
7 benefits of having RN experience before NP school:
- It helps you learn more because you have real-world context.
- You know how to talk to patients and their families
- You understand what you’re getting into
- You understand what it means to work in healthcare
- You’ll be a better team member
- You already have medical knowledge and will now expand on what you know
- It means you know why you want to be an NP
#1 You learn more because you already have real-world context
Having patient care experience will enrich your learning as an NP student. When you learn something new in pharmacology or pathophysiology you’ll be able to think back to an experience you had as an RN and think “oh, so this is why ______ happened” or “now it makes sense the provider chose this medication in this situation.” Basically, you’ll better understand new material because you already have some real-world experience using similar concepts.
#2 You know how to talk to patients and their families
Having interpersonal communication skills is HUGE! As an RN, you’ve mastered the art of working with many different personalities and communication styles. We can all agree there’s a learning curve as a new RN when learning how to communicate with all the different patient and family types. As RNs, we’re also great educators and patient advocates which is what sets up apart. Not needing to figure these skills out as an NP student or new NP allows you to focus on learning how to be a provider and master the new skills and knowledge.
#3 You understand what you’re getting into
Nurse Practitioner school is a huge investment of your time and money. Before you invest in the next couple of years, you want to be sure it’s the right choice for you. Working as an RN gives you experience in healthcare and hopefully experience working with providers. Seeing what providers (NPs, MDs, and PAs) do on a daily basis will give you insight into whether or not you’ll be happy in this new role. You understand the demands of graduate school and the huge increase in responsibility and autonomy that comes with being a provider.
#4 You understand what it means to work in healthcare
Healthcare is a complex and exciting field! Working as an RN or NP is so much more than about the direct care you provide to patients. It’s also understanding how the bigger system works. As an RN you understand how to be a team player, how to advocate for your patients, how to work with patients from diverse backgrounds, and how to provide high-quality, evidence-based care. You’ve also unfortunately seen the inequality of who gets access to what care and at what cost based on socioeconomic status, language spoken, gender identity, etc.
#5 You’ll be a better team member
As NPs, we work as one part of a larger interdisciplinary healthcare team. Having been an RN, you know what it’s like to work as part of a team. It also gives you greater compassion and empathy for the role of other team members. You understand each person has their own perspective, role, and challenges.
#6 You already have medical knowledge and will now expand on what you know
Having RN experience means you’ve already learned so much about pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment. This means you’ll have a nice foundation to build on when you start NP school. You won’t be starting from scratch.
#7 You know why you want to be an NP
Being an NP is an intense, challenging, and rewarding career. It’s not for the faint of heart. Having RN experience ensures you understand the realities of working in healthcare. In addition, hopefully, you’ve had the chance to work with NPs and have some insight into your future role. Read more – Why do you want to be an NP?
7 benefits of having RN experience before NP school summary
As you can see, RN experience equips you well for becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Your time as an RN will give you the background, context, and skills you need to be a successful Nurse Practitioner student and NP. At the end of the day, getting some RN experience under your belt before going back to NP school may add some time to reaching your ultimate goal, but it’s worthwhile!
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