Becoming a Nurse Practitioner

I never imagined myself as a Nurse Practitioner. In my previous role on the project I had actually written a Nursing Workforce paper that included the role of a NP. I considered it for about 30 seconds then dismissed it! I just didn't think it was for me.

Of course when the opportunity arose to be an NP in a Children's Emergency I didn't dismiss it and was totally amazed when I got the job. I had an initial hurdle with Uni. The first university I applied to rejected the application as I didn't have a nursing degree. I had qualified in the 'olden' days before degrees- I had a diploma.They did offer me a place on the post graduate certificate course then I could go on to do my Masters. As my Candidate position was supported I had no choice but to be accepted onto a Masters course in the first place otherwise I would have to forgo my position.

I was very relieved to find Flinders University not only recognised my original qualification,but also took into account my experience as a nurse. I was accepted onto the course and breathed a short lived sigh of relief before the hard graft of a Masters in Nursing ( Nurse Practitioner) overtook my entire life! My candidate position allowed two semesters supported( fees paid and two days per week to study). My final Semester was still in the candidate position but I was expected to study in my own time. It was hard work. I had never taken chemistry at university or even in Grade 12 + 13 so to tackle Pharmacology at Masters Level was insanely difficult for me. I had to work very hard to pass the subject but I did and even did better than I thought I would.I missed out on holidays with the kids and spent weekends studying. I made sure I put time aside to do nice things too but was very disciplined with my days off and my study time. I handed in assignments early and studied really hard.


I had an amazing clinical support team and extremely supportive family- without the them I doubt I would have remained sane. My fellow NPC and I did experience some colleagues that were less than happy to find training Nurse Practitioners in their midst and to be honest our most vocal opponents were sadly other nurses. Having another NPC to bounce ideas off and to share the experience with was great. We were also invited to be part of an already established NP team whose insight into the NP role proved to be invaluable.

I completed my course at the end of 2012 and was endorsed by AHPRA three months later. Although it involved alot of paperwork and proving my experience I didn't have any real problems with this process. I cried when they called to say I'd been endorsed. It had been such a hard 18 months  and I was aware not everyone got endorsed easily.

Even though I was in the NPC position I had to apply for the NP job. The developing of this role and the subsequent interview took another 8  months but finally I could call myself a Nurse Practitioner.

Anyone who says the path to becoming an NP is easy is lying. It was difficult but not impossible. The NP role seems still to be misunderstood and we are often asked to explain, and sometimes justify ,our role. Once again, with some colleagues, it was a matter of just doing the job and proving yourself. The role developed with us and we most definitely proved ourselves and became valuable assets to the team.

I thoroughly enjoyed my role.It was challenging and rewarding. I learnt valuable skills and almost felt I had to learn a new language when talking to my medical colleagues. They cut us no slack because we were nurses. They expected us to perform to a high standard. I was embraced by the majority of the team and developed their respect. However , I could never see longevity in ED. I loved the work but knew the pace and shift work would never be a long term option for me and my family. When the opportunity came along to work regular hours in a Specialist Allergy Clinic I applied for the job and was actually quite shocked to get it! That is were I currently am and ,once again, am facing a huge learning curve but loving the opportunity to grow as a practitioner.

And so you have it- my whole career to date. It's actually been quite cathartic to write it all down. To be honest I'm pleased its done . I feel like I can now move on to the real reason for the blog- to look at current issues in nursing, to hopeful inspire and encourage other nurses and nursing students and to discover the real 'soul' of nursing.

Abbie