Nurse Practitioner Resource Hub
Helpful Tools, Resources, and Advice for NPs
Nurse Practitioner Resource Hub
Helpful Tools, Resources, and Advice for NPs
Whether you're a looking to pursue a permanent career as a nurse practitioner or are interested in locum tenens as a full-time career, you probably have some questions. And we expect you to. For that reason, we assembled some of the most useful articles, infographics, and videos in one easy-to-navigate location to help answer any questions you may have. Educational resources, navigating the job-search process, useful career tips — it's all here.
Click one of the links below to jump right to the section you're looking for. Can't find the information you need? Fill out the form to the right and a Barton Associates representative will be in touch with you shortly.
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Education Resources for NPs
Tools and articles for people interested in becoming nurse practitioners.
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Getting a Job As an NP
Helpful tips and insight for NPs looking to find jobs at hospitals, private practices, and other healthcare facilities.
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Career Resources for NPs
Tools and articles for navigating your career as a modern NP.
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Life As an NP
Articles and insights for living life as an NP, both inside and outside of the job.
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Education Resources for NPs
TOOLS AND ARTICLES FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN BECOMING NPs
Why I Became an NP - Barton Associates
Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. My mother was a nurse, so when I was real little I knew I looked up to her and that she made others happy. Her relatives and friends would call her and look to her for medical advice, and she always seemed available to lend an ear and bring them comfort.
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3 Things NP Programs Look for in Applicants - Barton Associates
Admission to a nurse practitioner (NP) program is competitive. NP program class sizes are generally small and typically only admit between 10 to 15 students each year. However, interest in the programs are high. It is not unusual for an NP program to receive one hundred or more applications for those few slots.
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Grants and Scholarship Programs for Nurse Practitioners - AANP
AANP supports NPs and the advancement of the NP profession by offering grant and scholarship opportunities. Many external sources for funding are also available.
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Nurse Practitioner Programs in the U.S., Ranked - U.S. News & World Report
A breakdown of the top nursing programs for family nurse practitioner training at the master's and/or doctor of nursing practice level based on cost of tuition, enrollment, peer assessment scores, and acceptance rate.
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Nurse Practitioner Student Resource Center - AANP
Whether you're just starting to consider a career as a nurse practitioner (NP), planning your education or about to begin your career, AANP provides its members a wealth of resources.
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Planning Your NP Education - AANP
Plan for your NP education. Search for the right NP program for you. Learn more about DNP programs.
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Search for Nurse Practitioner Programs - AANP
Thinking about training to become an NP? Search for quality NP programs courtesy of the AANP.
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3 Tips for Success in Your Third Year of Medical School - Barton Associates
Congratulations! You have completed your first two years of medical school and you are now entering into your third year. Instead of simply spending hours studying for your next written exam, you will soon be using that knowledge outside of the classroom through real-world experiences interacting with patients and delving into different clinical rotations.
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Getting a Job As an NP
HELPFUL TIPS AND INSIGHT FOR NPS LOOKING FOR JOBS IN THE UNITED STATES
Nurse Practitioner Job Search Tips - CVTips
The search for a nurse practitioner job really depends on what sort of specialty you work in. The difficulty is the quality of job ads, many of which refer to nurse practitioners as generalists, even when they’re actually looking for specialists.
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How to Build a Resume That Will Land You a Job Interview - Barton Associates
Your resume has less than 30 seconds to make an impression on a potential employer. That’s only about the length of a typical TV commercial. Your resume must quickly convey critical information that hooks the hiring manager’s attention.
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Tips for Finding Work As a New NP Graduate - Barton Associates
So you’ve survived school, passed your national board-certification exam, and — with your head barely above water — you’ve struck out into the job-hunting jungle. But where to begin? They don’t really prepare you for this in school.
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Career Resources for NPs
TOOLS AND ARTICLES FOR NAVIGATING YOUR CAREER AS A MODERN NP
How Networking Can Improve Your Career in Healthcare - Barton Associates
It’s easy to get caught up in your daily routine, but networking can bring you outside of it and give you a larger perspective on the healthcare industry. Whether you’re happy in your existing job or searching for new opportunities, networking can help you better understand your industry, come up with new ideas, and align yourself with what’s happening in your field.
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5 Questions to Ask During Your NP Job Interview - Barton Associates
The last thing you want is to find yourself perusing job ads because of disillusionment or the realization that the job you took wasn’t all it was promised to be.
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Top 5 Post-Interview Tips for Nurse Practitioners - Health eCareers
Congratulations — you’re one step closer to landing that nurse practitioner job. Despite tricky networking websites, tough questions, and sloughs of paperwork, you came, saw, and conquered. Remember that achievement as you go into the post-interview phase.
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Nurse Practitioner Career Resources - The Clinical Advisor
Find all the nurse practitioner career resources you need from the print issue archived for easy online access.
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Nurse Practitioner Career Resources - Nurse.org
Being a nurse means you have a versatile career that offers many avenues for advancement. One such path is becoming a nurse practitioner.
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How to Achieve Work-Life Balance in Healthcare - Barton Associates
It is a remarkable thing to devote your life to the care of others. As difficult as it is, it's crucial to make sure you are taking care of yourself, too. Failing to turn off the healthcare provider “switch” can be detrimental to your personal health and manifest in burnout, an alarming trend that is sweeping across the healthcare field.
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Tools to Make Your Healthcare Job Easier - Barton Associates
The tools don’t always make the professional, but they can certainly make a medical professional’s job easier. If work-provided implements just aren’t cutting it, here’s some hardware that’ll make you wonder how you ever did without.
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Can a Nurse Practitioner Do That? [Infographic] - Barton Associates
With physician burnout on the rise, NPs' scope of practice is constantly evolving. Take a look at all the responsibilities modern NPs take on.
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NP Scope of Practice vs. Independent Practice: What's the Difference? - Barton Associates
Discussions involving nurse practitioners (NPs) and their role in healthcare often include terms such as “scope of practice,” “independent practice,” and “prescriptive authority.” It’s clear these concepts encompass what an NP can and cannot do, but what do they really mean, and how does this affect the profession as a whole?
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NP Scope of Practice Laws - Barton Associates
NP scope of practice laws vary from state to state. Barton Associates understands these laws may have an effect on the locum tenens we place throughout the United States, and so we put together this handy interactive guide that offers a snapshot of each state’s scope of practice laws.
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The Rural Health Clinic Program Provides Opportunities for PAs and NPs - Barton Associates
Shortages in rural health have long been a challenge for the healthcare profession — and one that has seen many proposed solutions over the years. Increasingly, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are answering the call.
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Looking for a Switch? 3 Healthcare Jobs to Consider - Barton Associates
When nearly half of all physicians in one Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) survey “report at least [one] symptom of burnout” — and when those stats take a hard slant toward those working on the “front line of care access,” like family and internal medicine — it becomes obvious that taking care of patients has a number of rigors the average person might not understand.
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6 Ways to Earn CME on Your Mobile Phone - Barton Associates
Medical professionals spend most of their time interacting with patients and working to provide the best possible care. To stay up to date on the latest trends in the medical space, many professionals are required by their state to pursue continuing medical education (CME).
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31 Top Mobile Apps for NPs - Nursepractitionerschools.com
Access to evidence-based information enhances the NP’s ability to deliver high-quality, safe, and effective care. With the breadth of information available on the Internet, clinicians can often wonder where to find the best reference tools. This blog post outlines 16 high-quality smartphone and tablet apps that will serve as excellent resources.
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Life As an NP
ARTICLES AND INSIGHTS FOR LIVING LIFE AS A NURSE PRACTITIONER, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE JOB
Video: What Is Locum Tenens? - Barton Associates
Never heard of locum tenens? What to learn more about what locum work entails? We answer those questions and more in a short introductory video.
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5 Ways to Know You're Ready to Try Locum Tenens - Barton Associates
Maybe you've heard about the independence and flexibility that come with locum tenens, but haven’t explored further because you weren’t sure you were ready to make the change. After all, the locum tenens lifestyle is different from the traditional understanding of a medical career.
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Living La Vida Locum: What Clinicians Love About Locum Tenens Roles - Barton Associates
We talk a lot about what we think locum tenens can do for you. Empowerment. Career growth. Flexibility. Travel. New opportunities. But we’re not as in the know as you are. In order to truly understand your pain points and what about them pushes you to take on — and excel in — locums roles, we decided to ask you.
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Video: 5 Myths About Locum Tenens - Barton Associates
Maybe you have heard about locum tenens, but haven’t explored further because you have some concerns. This is understandable! Because the locum lifestyle is different from a traditional medical career, there are many myths surrounding it. As a result, it can be easy to mix up fact and fiction.
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Starting Your Locum Career - Barton Associates
Locum tenens is an attractive and fulfilling career path that some physicians and advanced-practice clinicians aren't even aware of. As we enter the new year, many of your colleagues and peers are starting to explore the job market and look for ways to gain more freedom and flexibility in their careers.
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How to Land Your Perfect Locum Tenens Job - Barton Associates
By now you probably know that a locum tenens career allows you the freedom and flexibility to experience a variety of practice locations and facility types. If you have a particular location or facility type in mind, there are some steps you can take to ensure you are in the best position to land the perfect locum tenens job when it becomes available.
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My Experience As a Locum With Barton Associates - Barton Associates
After a recent transition out of a private practice, I started doing locum tenens work. I was referred to Barton Associates and started working with my physician recruiter, John. John took the time to really explore what it was I was looking to create by going into locum tenens work. John reviewed with me what I was specifically looking for and took the time to match me with those prospective clients that fit the profile.
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It's Official: Locum Tenens Clinicians Are Popular and Invaluable - Barton Associates
The U.S. healthcare sector has been among the most heavily affected by skills gaps and talent shortages over the past several years. This has led to a direct increase in the amount of strain placed on physicians and other medical practitioners, which can compromise the quality and efficiency of any healthcare establishment. Technology has improved patient health management in the past decade, but overworked staff make it difficult to optimize outcomes and experiences.
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My First Year As a Locum Tenens Physician - Kevin MD
Locum tenens (literally “place holder”) is professional work done to fill in where help is needed. It is what I have primarily been doing for the last year, and has been an interesting ride.
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A Nurse Practitioner Explains How Locum Tenens Nursing Changed Her Life - Scrubs Magazine
No matter how often we’re told that nursing is on the rise, jobs are plentiful and nurses in (most) areas are paid pretty well, there are still tons of unemployed nurses throughout the country.
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Why More Nurse Practitioners Are Going Locum - Barton Associates
The practice of medicine presents several difficulties: high stress, long hours, and expensive loans are all challenges with which many doctors are unfortunately familiar. As a response to these challenges, more and more physicians are taking the opportunity to work locum tenens.
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Questions to Ask Before Accepting Your First Locum Tenens Assignment - Barton Associates
You have decided to try locum tenens work for the first time. This can be a confusing time, and it is perfectly understandable that you might have a few questions. It is important to ask these questions to determine if the assignment is a good match, and to ensure you have a positive experience. Here are the answers to some of the most common questions we receive to get you off to a running start!
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2017 Tax Guide for Locum Tenens Providers - Barton Associates
Tax season is a hectic time for everyone regardless of what field they work in. Luckily for locum tenens providers, Barton Associates' worked with healthcare tax expert Andrew D. Schwartz, CPA to develop a tax guide specially for locum tenens providers so you can maximize your tax return!
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Barton & my rep Damian have been a wonderful experience. Any problems or concerns are dealt with promptly. I highly recommend them to everyone!
S.T. Carosello, DDS
Barton is THE BEST! Everyone I have talked to has been very professional and wonderful to work with...we do plan on a long and successful association with Barton for years to come.
Dr. Richard M., Locum Tenens Physician
My Barton representative was very good at presenting the availability of various opportunities for locum tenets near the Dallas area. My initial assignment was great. Everything was handled with the utmost professionalism and expediency. I could not have asked for a better experience. I would definitely recommend Barton and Associates to any professional looking for job opportunities and placement in their chosen field.
Dr. Thomas R., Locum Tenens MD
I love the personal touch this company puts on working with physicians. My recruiter is always looking for new opportunities for me and has a real sense of what I am looking for and how certain positions would fit into my schedule and my other work. I consider her a friend now that we have worked together for almost 2 years.
Dr. Kathryn G., Physician
It was great to have Barton as my recruiting company. Hunter B. went above and beyond to accommodate my needs and find me the right place to work. She is the most efficient and caring recruiter I’ve worked with.
Dr. Cinthya D., Locum Tenens Physician
Prompt pay. Great customer service!!
Susan S., Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
Love working for Barton! My recruiter is awesome, always on top of things, pay is regular and on time, good jobs. I can’t complain. I’m able to work close to home without being owned by a company.
Lisa T., Locum Tenens APRN
I love working with Barton Associates Locum's division. All the consultant recruiters and associates are very insightful and helpful with the transition. Whether you are looking for a seasonal locums or career in locums, Barton is the way to go. Special thanks to Brien T.
Dr. Naveen R., Locum Tenens MD
Lael F., in NV is amazing. She has gone above and beyond to help me find work and to make sure I am happy and settled. When there is a problem, she follows up within 10-15 min, sometimes faster!
Jill S., Nurse Practitioner
Always prompt, sincere and on top of things.
Lee W., Locum Tenens MD
I have always enjoyed and hope to continue the working relationship I have with Barton Associates. I really especially enjoy working with Anthony G., who has always and continues to be very courteous, and professional and caring.
Dr. Cynthia O., Locum Tenens D.O.
The agent I work with is great communicator, efficient, gets me answers quickly, negotiates my contract for optimal pay and other benefits, and actively looks for future assignments.
Stacy W., Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
My experience with Barton Associates was beyond my expectations from the very beginning. The team I worked with were very professional, knowledgeable, helpful, and personable......an awesome experience!
Dr. Jeff T., Locum Tenens MD
I have had nothing but the best experiences with Barton Associates. My rep, Brien T., is really amazing. He takes care of anything I need for my assignments.
Dr. Pamela M., MD
I deal with a courteous and responsible employee Mr. Jackson H. He is easy and straightforward to deal with. I am glad to communicate with him anytime a job becomes available.
Dr. Salim J., Locum Tenens Physician
Absolutely the best experience I've had with a locum tenens company...He was immediately responsive to any request/need I would have, even if it was late at night on a weekend.
Emmad S., DDS
My experience with Barton Associates has been excellent. I have been pleased with and have had very positive experiences with the assignments that I have received. I plan to continue to work with Barton.
Debra W., Physician
Gabby R., of Barton is excellent at follow ups, call backs and job searches. She’s a great advocate to have! I so enjoyed the Nurse Practitioner employment opportunities she has found me.
Therese R., Nurse Practitioner
Tammy L. is a fantastic recruiter who is responsive to my needs and concerns and is always available. She has presented numerous job opportunities to me and she and her team provide excellent assistance in credentialing and licensing as well. We have been working together since 2014.
Barbara C., Locum Tenens MD
My recruiter is the BOMB....Not only did she help me find the assignment I was looking for in a super timely fashion, but also worked with me throughout the process to make it the best work environment possible.
Jennifer O., Nurse Pracitioner
Mike P. at Barton was very helpful and contacted me often to keep me in the loop about job opportunities as well as any updates on my temporary dentist position. I was able to talk directly to the dentist I would be working for prior to accepting a position in the office.
Lisa A., Locum Tenens DDS
Barton Associates has been effective in finding quality practices in the locations and times I prefer. They have been able to find and negotiate housing. They are good advocates for their providers.
Dr. F., Locum Tenens Physician
My experience has been very good...the assignments that they referred me to have been terrific. My needs and questions have been met. I have referred several of my peers to BARTON
Locum Tenens DDS
Barton always tries to inform me about tenens opportunities that are close to me, and fall within my realm of expertise. I am not required to accept assignments...I always have an avenue of assistance, no matter what the problem, from licensure to contract problems.
Randell Lowrey, DDS
The personal touch at Barton. Gabbie stays in touch with me on a regular basis, often just to check in. Getting paid was easy, and doing my time card couldn't have been easier.
Gloria C., CNS
My recruiter Maria is accessible and personable. She knows my preferences and work schedule, and is extremely eager to get me the time I need working locums
Cardiology MD
Great bunch of people. They originally negotiated my first locums job and did fantastic. It was only supposed to be a 4 month stent. I am currently 1 1/2 years with same placement. Everyone at B&A have been top notch. Always looking out for my interests. I have a amazing rep who is never more than a phone call away...
Eric S., Locum Tenens Physician Assistant
It is always a pleasure to work with a recruiter that knows your preferences for locum assignments. Briana Zech is such a person. For the past six or seven years she has provided excellent support during all assignments...
Christino R., Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
My experience has been very positive and every time I work with one of the account managers I feel they have my back. The support is fabulous from interviewing, scheduling, credentialing, and travel arrangements. The receipt of compensation is seamless and convenient. I had opportunities to work in many states, but chosen to stay closer to home, which is fine with Barton they support your decisions regardless. They even work with your unique preferences.
Peter C. Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
Excellent recruiting agency. Very communicative. A pleasure to work with them.
Dr. Jeevan S., Locum Tenens Physician
I find Barton’s help with workplace issues to be an amazing service in helping me help patients.
Dan S., Locum Tenens Dentist
I am having the time of my life working as an independent physician. Barton has treated me wonderfully.
Robert R., Locum Tenens Physician
I tell other providers how fun locum tenens is — to travel, to see different things, to go to a different facility.
Dawn S., Locum Tenens Physician Assistant
I go back to locum tenens with Barton because of the passion and diversity. Most days it doesn't even feel like work!
Danielle K., Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
Working as a locum reignited my healthcare passion.
John A., Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
I think older physicians will enjoy working longer as locums than they would in busy emergency departments.
Dr. Craig S., Locum Tenens Physician
The best part of it is that you are being well paid for your adventure.
Bob B., Locum Tenens Surgeon
Barton rocks. My recruiter gets it. I recommend my clinician friends sign up to work locums with Barton. Pronto!
Patricia A., Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
I love the control locum tenens gives me over my work life. I work when I want, where I want.
Renee D., Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
Locum work gives me huge flexibility and variety, and has been amazing. I'm very happy to work with Barton Associates.
Mark V., Locum Tenens CRNA
What a perfect job!
Barbara G, Locum Tenens Physician
Working locum tenens has been great as an NP because I’ve been able to work in states that have full scope of practice.
Marti J., Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner
Barton folks have worked hard for me. Overall, I have been happy with Barton!
Barry P., Locum Tenens Hospitalist
Locum tenens means FREEDOM. I get calls from other companies many times a week, but Barton is where I stay!
David C., Locum Tenens Psychiatrist
Medicine is local. With locums, you see different ways to treat the same condition, and it does broaden your horizons.
Dr. Neil B., Locum Tenens Physician