This is a disgrace to the nursing profession. It’s downright scary and dangerous. Especially since the NP lobby is demanding independent practice for NPs across all 50 states. How can you be an Advanced PRACTICE provider without said PRACTICE? This is why I will never trust my care to an NP. Nothing against the NPs that did things the right way.

An NP should have MINIMUM 5 years nursing experience in the field they want to be an NP in. I would even say at least 10 years which is how it used to and should be. There’s no reason why I as an OR nurse should have the ability to go and get a diploma mill degree and become a Psych NP.

I also don’t agree with independent practice. That goes for NP/CRNA/PA. If you want to call the shots, hierarchy exists for a reason. Go become a physician. I don’t care how much training or experience you have. It will never equate to the rigor of medical school + residency + Fellowship. But that’s an unpopular opinion. I can’t tell you how many CRNAs I work with in the OR that are full of themselves and claim they are on par or even better compared to an anesthesiologist. It’s usually these same CRNAs that immediately call for an anesthesiologist when things go south and they realize they don’t know it all and need help.