A large and reputable healthcare organization in our community has recently added a footnote to all posted NP job openings, declaring they will no longer hire new grads from “certain programs.” The excluded programs are not named, but you will find a very short statement that refers to “proprietary online” schools this employer feels do not meet the standards of their healthcare organization.
I can’t say I am really surprised. There were signs-a couple of years ago, many local healthcare organizations began refusing to precept students from any program that did not have a bricks-and-mortar school within our state. They claimed it was a liability issue. I don’t know if that is true or not, but I do know it left a great many students scrambling to find a clinical site.
On the NP side, I am hearing from a number of NPs who have graduated and now feel that they were not adequately prepared. These NPs tell me they are having a hard time either keeping a job or finding a job. Many, to their credit, recognize the need for remediation and are searching for positions that will provide them with some on-the-job mentoring.
Complicating the poor preparation is the fact that all too many of these NPs lacked RN experience. They either went directly or worked only a year or two before going on to an NP program.
Now, before you send me hate mail, I know there are many good NPs from online programs and from what we call “direct-entry” programs. And yes, I know that many of these programs are extremely rigorous and produce some very fine graduates. But we need to be honest and admit there is also a growing number of programs that are iffy and a growing number of student NPs that are not prepared for practice.
This is a problem folks.
It’s a fact of life that bad experiences are talked about much more than good. People are quick to talk about the programs that fall short or the new grad that is struggling. Planes that land safely or rush hours without car crashes don’t make the evening news.
Our image is at stake here. Once a perception is established, it can be hard to correct. This can have dire consequences for us when we are working so hard to achieve full practice authority.
I don’t have any answers, do you?
