This book guides the reader through the entire process of becoming an NP, from the initial decision to the selection of the right educational program to licensure. It discusses the contractual relationship with institutions and related health providers, along with legal and administrative issues. Currently practicing NPs offer words of wisdom on how to survive the first year of practice, and stories from the author and her colleagues provide an intimate look at everyday realities.

Table of Contents

• Foreword - Kathleen A. Connolly, MEd, RN, APRN-BC
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Part I: Making the Decision
• 1. Why Become a Nurse Practitioner?
• 2. How to Begin
• Part II: Selecting an Educational Program
• 3. Types of Programs
• 4. Scholarships, Resources, and More
• Part III: Finding the Right Clinical Preceptor
• 5. Important Things to Consider
• 6. Balancing It All
• Part IV: Searching for a Mentor
• 7. What to Look For
• 8. You as a Mentor
• Part V: Attaining Your Certification and Licensure
• 9. Who? What? Where?
• 10. Passing
• 11. What Comes Next?
• Part VI: Surviving and Thriving: Your First Year in Practice
• 12. First Job
• 13. Role Transition
• 14. Friends and Enemies
• Part VII: Administrative Issues
• 15. Bureaucracy
• 16. Discrimination
• 17. Institutional Violence
• Part VIII: Understanding Legal Issues
• 18. Contracts
• 19. Malpractice
• 20. Avoiding Lawsuits
• 21. Dos and the Don'ts: Electronic Health Records
• Part IX: Collaboration
• 22. The Collaborative Agreement
• 23. Selecting a Collaborating Physician
• 24. Collaborative Practice: Harmonious or Burdensome?
• Part X: You're in Charge
• 25. Prescriptive Authority
• 26. Diagnostics
• 27. Referrals
• 28. Marketing the Role to Nurses, Employers, and the Public
• Part XI: Economics, Policy, and Future Practice
• 29. Surviving Health Care Reform Today and Tomorrow
• References