For many healthcare professionals, COVID-19 proved to be a professional pivot point. For nurse Audrey Reeves, it was the catalyst to move from RN to FNP to better serve patients in rural northeast Louisiana.
杏吧专区淲e were getting an influx of patients into the hospital during 2020, but we also needed advanced practice providers outside of the hospital, doing telehealth, doing health promotion 杏吧专区 things that kind of got pushed to the side because everyone was just so sick,杏吧专区 says Reeves. 杏吧专区淚 could see this growing need, especially in our area, and I was ready to step up my role from being a nurse to a provider.杏吧专区
To make this critical transition, Reeves chose to pursue her M.S. in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, online through the 杏吧专区.
And while she chose the 杏吧专区 because of its outstanding reputation, Reeves was uncertain about the prospect of earning her degree online.
杏吧专区淚 knew as a nurse practitioner, you杏吧专区檙e going to be in the office with patients, and it杏吧专区檚 a huge responsibility,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淪o doing that online, there were a lot of initial concerns 杏吧专区 am I going to get the education I need, the practice I need to be able to do as a career?杏吧专区
That fear, she says, was short lived.
杏吧专区淢y professors from start to finish were amazing. Even as a class, the 20 of us that went through the program together became close,杏吧专区 says Reeves. 杏吧专区淚t was online, but it did not feel that way.杏吧专区
Finding Balance
Audrey enrolled in the online MSN degree program on the heels of a global pandemic while working full time with two children under 3 at home.
She had her hands full, to say the least.
But her husband杏吧专区檚 support and the relationships formed with her fellow graduate nursing students lightened the load.
杏吧专区淚 think the thing that really made it manageable was having friends and developing friendships with your cohorts,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檙e all adults, we all have kids, and life doesn杏吧专区檛 stop when you杏吧专区檙e in the program. At one point, I had the flu during the semester, and they stepped in and were like, 杏吧专区榃e know you can杏吧专区檛 finish the study guide, here杏吧专区檚 what we have so far.杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
Meanwhile, her husband was proactive in getting their children out of the house when Reeves needed time to focus on coursework and supportive when she had to take a step back professionally to lean into her clinicals.
杏吧专区淚f I do something, I do 100%. It's very hard for me to do 50% here, 50% there. So, I chose to stop working full time after that first semester of clinicals because I felt I was pulled in too many directions,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 did have friends who continued to work. You do what you have to do. You just have to find the fine line between family, social balance and school.杏吧专区
Becoming an Advanced Practice Provider
Reeves says from her first course, Theoretical Foundations of Advanced Nursing, professors were preparing her and her peers for the autonomy of both learning as an online student as well as practicing as a primary care provider.
But it was during NURS 507: Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning for Advanced Practice with Dr. Christy Lenahan that she began to feel a significant shift in her practice.
"We were learning to assess patients on the provider level, and not on the nursing level,杏吧专区 Reeves says. 杏吧专区淭hat was a very big eye opener for me, because that was my first semester being able to do these diagnostics. Of course, all the clinical courses are great, too, because you're actually in the clinic and working alongside your preceptor and getting hands-on. But I think those prereq courses before you get there are very pivotal, because you're learning how to be an advanced practice provider and getting out of that nursing role.杏吧专区
Reeves says the program杏吧专区檚 focus on evidence-based practice also allowed her to improve patient care.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 able to teach my patients about why we're doing what we're doing, not just because we're being told to do it, but because there's evidence-based practices,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t allows them to be more involved with their care.杏吧专区
Reeves leveraged her clinical experience with one of her preceptors into a full-time position as a primary care family nurse practitioner following her graduation in Spring 2024.
She expects to return to the 杏吧专区 soon to continue her education.
杏吧专区淚 plan to get my feet wet as far as just being in that advanced provider role for a year,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚'm hoping that once I'm feeling comfortable, I'll be able to apply for the DNP program online while still working.杏吧专区
For those considering making the nurse-to-advanced-practice-provider transition, Reeves says don杏吧专区檛 hesitate.
杏吧专区淭his is the best decision I've made, and the only time I ever get angry with myself is that I didn't do it sooner. It goes fast. I was in it for almost three years, and it feels like I just started,杏吧专区 says Reeves. 杏吧专区淛ust be patient with yourself, give yourself grace, stick with it, and don't be afraid to ask for help.杏吧专区
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