At some point, almost every experienced healthcare clinician has had the same thought. "I think I'm burned out." Maybe it comes after a string of twelve-hour shifts, a particularly difficult patient encounter, or weeks of feeling as though your to-do list grows faster than you can complete it. Maybe it's the feeling of dragging yourself home at the end of...
When an offer arrives, it's natural to focus on the numbers first. What's the salary? Is there a sign-on bonus? How much PTO is included? Are the health insurance premiums reasonable? Those questions matter, and they should. Compensation plays an important role in every career decision. But experienced advanced practice providers often evaluate an offer differently than they did early...
For many advanced practice providers, career growth is often described in familiar terms. Earn more responsibility. Step into leadership. Negotiate a higher salary. Become a lead APP or move into management.
Starting your first position as an advanced practice provider means stepping into a role you've worked years to achieve. It also means adjusting to a new workplace, new coworkers, new systems, and new expectations—all at the same time.
Every advanced practice provider remembers a moment early in their career when they wished someone had simply told them what to expect. Not another lecture on clinical guidelines or documentation. Not another orientation checklist. Just honest advice from someone who had already been there.
Starting your first position as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant can feel like stepping into an entirely new world. The pace is faster than clinical rotations, the responsibilities are greater, and every practice has its own culture, workflows, and expectations.
Few moments in your career are as exciting—or as intimidating—as your first day practicing as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. You've spent years working toward this goal. You completed demanding coursework, survived clinical rotations, passed certification exams, and finally accepted your first position as a licensed provider.
Spend a day in almost any healthcare setting today, and one thing quickly becomes clear: advanced practice providers are no longer supporting players in the delivery of care.
Ask a group of experienced nurse practitioners and physician assistants what they wish they had known earlier in their careers, and many will give a surprisingly similar answer: choosing a specialty is about much more than finding the highest-paying job.
