Woohoo!!!! Accepted!

My husband is awesome.  He is following a dream and he has worked very hard in the pursuit of it.  When we first met he was a college student finishing up his degree in art.  Since then, he has gotten a BA in Art, worked in the design field, decided he was unfulfilled, went back to school and obtained an Associates in Nursing, went into the work force, realized he wanted more control and input in patient care, obtained his Bachelors in Nursing - while working full time, and he has now started the next step in his dream of opening an inter mountain primary care clinic.....he has officially accepted a position in a Family Nurse Practitioner program, starting in August.

He was accepted into Maryland's Masters program, but that happened after we decided to move cross country - so that wasn't going to work.  So, where is he going? 

Photo courtesy of nhs.georgetown.edu

Chris has been accepted into the Nurse Practitioner program at Georgetown!  He officially accepted and paid the deposit last night, so it is happening!  It is an online program, so he can do it from Boise, he will just have to travel out at the end of each session for testing.  We figured that would be a nice way to tie in visits to family and friends.  Apparently it is done in seven sessions, each session being twelve weeks, so he will be traveling out a bit more often than I originally realized.  It's going to be a tough next two years for all of us - but we'll work together and get through it!  I did get a little emotional realizing I'll have two little ones (one extremely little) by myself for several days each time he has to travel out, but hey - you do what you've got to do!  I'll have to get working harder on finding child care that I trust to come help out every now and then to help maintain order in the house and my sanity.  And of course - any of you are welcome to come out and visit to see our adorable children and lend a hand!  I'll feed and house you and the Little Lady will be more than happy to entertain you!!!

I also must say Chris was VERY impressed with the application process at Georgetown and the assistance he received. He had an "advisor" that was assigned to him during the whole process that told him everything they needed and then came up with a "game plan" for getting it all done. She checked in regularly with him and gave him feedback on each item as it was submitted. He was lucky if he could get a call back from Maryland after several messages on various machines - and even when they sent their acceptance letter they got some of his information wrong - and he already had a degree from them.....


So, the plan is that in twenty four months Chris will be an FNP.  We were really crossing our fingers that he would get into this program and are so excited that he did.  The online aspect is great, the location of the school being where our family and friends are is perfect, and it is the traditional FNP program, which is being phased out.  The new health care legislation has made it so that anyone starting a program in 2014 or later will need to obtain a DOCTORATE instead of just a masters.  Yup, that is right - the demand for NP's will be much greater, but the education requirements will be increased, requiring more school and money - but not really any more pay.  During Chris' search for a program he found that many schools are already switching over to the new outline - no more masters programs for NP's, just doctorate programs.  His application advisor at Georgetown said they were waiting to see the legal status of the legislation before they made any kind of switch - but we all know how that stands now.  Chris will now also have a broader knowledge base for the more daily health issues we all face, which is something he has really wanted for a while.  

We've excited, we're nervous and we know it is going to be lots of work for the next two years - but the payoff will be worth it!  Maybe a family trip to Hawaii to celebrate when he is done......wanna join? ;-)