I thought those were 2 different groups? that napnap is a professional association, not a certification board?
anywho.........you don't have to have any clinical hours in the field?? I have to do 1000 hours, over the 5 year certification period, its not too bad. then i have to have a boatload of ceu's to boot!
You will be a brave one to jump into a pedi NP job after being out of school so long and never working in the field! brave brave brave!!
You are correct. I thought that the PNBC was the certifying arm of NAPNAP, but maybe not.
I have to recertify every year. However, if I did jump into a PNP job, I would expect a decent orientation, and despite never working as an NP, I have 21 years of pediatric experience so surely that counts for something
I'd be at least as qualified as someone just out of grad school at any rate. I have a fair amount of direct patient contact in my current position, and so it's not like I'd be going in totally cold.
imabrat - thanks for clarifying about ports. There's a big difference in not being competent to access one and not knowing what one is. Our ED is one of the top ten busiest pediatric EDs in the country, yet our ED nurses are not used to seeing ports. Most patients with chronic illness don't get admitted through the ED, although some do, of course. Most ED nurses here do not know how to access ports, although they certainly know what they are.
A PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) is more like an IV (by which I mean, it can *look* like an IV - it has an external access), although it can do the same function as a traditional central line, which is inserted in the chest, while a Port is implanted under the skin and only accessed if it needs to be used. It's usually a surgical procedure to implant a port or a central line (although lines CAN be put in on the floor, and are commonly done at the bedside in ICUs) a PICC is easily done at the bedside. There are pros and cons for both types of lines, and it depends on why the patient needs access as to which is better for them.
One of the cool things about nursing is the amazing differences in different areas. Even within in-patient pediatrics, the difference between areas like one day surgery, ICU, burns, pulmonology, oncology, orthopedics, rehab, etc, are striking, and when you throw in outpatient situations like dialysis, school nursing, pediatricians' offices, etc, there is no limit to what your job might be like, and those are all jobs with direct patient care. There's still the teaching, administrative, and "desk" jobs, like chart review for insurance companies, or being an expert witness for a legal firm.
As a student, I thought I wanted to work in ICU for the fast-paced nature of the job. However, once I began to work I discovered two things about myself. One is that I preferred to interact more with the patients. In ICU, the patients are often unconscious or heavily sedated (not always, of course!), and second was that "floor nursing" is not the boring thing that TV medical dramas make it out to be. My life as a floor nurse was plenty exciting and challenging, I assure you!
Pea-n-Me is correct - nursing is the hardest job you'll ever love!
) I was helping her get cleaned up, and while I was brushing her partial, she told me she was embarrassed, and never thought she'd see the day she couldn't brush her own teeth & hair.
I wanted to die. But, if it weren't for my nurse I would've been up a creek. She did it, and did it with a smile on her face, and told me she'd seen worse. 
But I've found that once the docs get to know you, they know who they can count on. We actually have more problems with lower level residents than attendings. The residents come out of med school flush with their success, which is absolutely normal. They've put a lot into that degree. But it's not very long before they realize their education has just begun to begin.
