It’s never too early to think about careers. If you’re interested in working in the medical field but not interested in putting in the 12+ years of medical school, there is no need to fear! There are alternate solutions. One of those solutions is becoming a Nurse Practitioner. What is a Nurse Practitioner, you may ask? Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare. Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners work in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals, physicians’ offices, and clinics. Most advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) work full time.”
I interviewed Bobbi Jo Mehta, a licensed Nurse Practitioner, asking her about her process to become a Nurse Practitioner and the realities of her career.
Question: What steps did you take to become a Nurse Practitioner?
Answer: “First, you have to get a bachelor’s degree in nursing and be a registered nurse. After you have worked for 1000 hours as a registered nurse, you can go back to school to get your master’s degree to be a Nurse Practitioner.”
Question: What does an average day at work look like?
Answer: “For me, an average day would be starting at 7 a.m. I would see about 10 patients and my day would end at 7 p.m. During the day I am working in the emergency room (ER) admitting patients to the hospital.”
Question: Where can a Nurse Practitioner work?
Answer: “You can work in an office, a nursing home, urgent care, or the hospital.”
Question: If you wanted to work in specific branches (i.e. Cardiology) is it the same process as if you wanted to work somewhere such as Urgent Care?
Answer: “Some specialties like psychiatry require you to have a special degree in psychiatry but in most specialties like cardiology, gastroenterology, urology, etc., you do not need anything more than a family, adult, or acute care nurse practitioner degree.”
Question: Do you have any licenses that you have to renew?
Answer: “Yes, every other year you have to renew your nursing license and your prescription license. Every 30 years you have to renew your DEA license which allows you to prescribe narcotics. Every 5 years you have to renew your nurse practitioner license. Finally, every other year you have to renew your CPR licenses.”
Question: Is there a limit to the number of patients you can see a day?
Answer: “No, there is no limit to the number of patients you can see per day.”
Question: What is the main difference between an M.D. and a Nurse Practitioner?
Answer: “The main difference between an MD and a nurse practitioner is the MD can practice on their own, but a nurse practitioner needs a physician to see 5% of their patients.”
Question: What is your favorite part of your job?
Answer: “My favorite part of the job is getting to work with different kinds of people every day and that no two days are ever the same.”
Question: What is your least favorite part of your job?
Answer: “My least favorite part of the job is working with patients who are non-compliant.”
Question: What do your working hours look like? Do you have to work holidays, weekends, etc.?
Answer: “My working hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I work 7 days in a row and then I have 7 days off. I have two weeks of allowed time off (ATO) which means I can take a week off but I don’t get paid for it. I have to work every other weekend and I work whatever holidays fall during the time I am scheduled. So, if the holiday is on my week that I am scheduled to work then I have to work that holiday.”
Once again, I would like to thank Bobbi Jo Mehta for taking her time to patiently and kindly answer all of my questions.
If you’re looking for alternative medical careers that perhaps involve direct patient interaction and/or prescribing medicine, becoming a Nurse Practitioner is meant for you!