Uncertain

While studying for my second (and yes, last!) nurse practitioner exam, I came across a practice question that read something like this:

A woman is positive for HPV type 56. This type has what risk of cancer potential?
A) High
B) Low
C) Uncertain

Wait.. admitting you're uncertain is an option?   Can I mark that for every question??  It's like they're offering "I don't know" as an answer choice.  Thank goodness that's not usually one of the options. I'd pick it all the time.

Luckily they didn't let me pick C. Uncertain for every answer on the exam and I passed!  I now have another set of initials to add to my name, though I'll likely never sign with any of them.  I don't even write out the whole "FNP" because I don't like the way I write capital F's.  I should have considered that when choosing a degree.

So maybe you're wondering what this whole testing thing is even about.
Didn't she already take a test and become a NP?  Yes.
Is the other one even necessary?  Um.. maybe not.
Then why all this drama? Okay fine I'll explain.

The to-do list looked something like this:

Become a nurse and get a job (check).
Decide work is entirely overrated while cleaning up poop at 3am in the hospital (double check).
Go back to school immediately.
And make it impressive - with a "double major" of both Family and Women's health (check, check).
(Explanation: the family NP and women's health NP are two different tracks that people can complete separately and become nurse practitioners.  I thought - Hey, it probably won't be that much extra work to combine the two (false), and maybe I'll be more marketable with both degrees (probably also false). So I took courses and  clinical rotations in gynecology/obstetrics in addition to pediatrics/family/adult stuff.)
Graduate from UNC again and look for a job again (sigh, check).
Take the certification test for the Family Nurse Practitioner, pay the state a whole bunch of money, sign on with a physician, send in lots o' documentation and more money, and - be able to practice as a NP! (yay!). 

So I was official sometime in August this year.  After the extra work in the women's program I decided to go ahead and become certified for that as well before I forgot everything I did in grad school (see the "uncertain" situation above).  The new difference is that now when I claim to know a lot about women's health it's backed up by some official-looking letters after my name, and it's within my scope of practice to care for more complicated women in pregnancy.  Family NPs can also deliver perinatal care but the WHNPs cover a broader spectrum of disorders, complications, and GYN care.

For those that are still iffy on what a nurse practitioner actually does (besides blog while at work), Wikipedia does a ridiculously good job of explaining.

That's All.  Happy Friday!
A.B., RN, MSN, FNP-BC, WHNP