Bryanna | NP School Professor (@yournpprofessor)

I don’t expect you to walk in knowing exactly what to diagnose or prescribe yet. But there are a few things I do want you to have a handle on. Know your normal vs. abnormal. If you don’t know what normal looks like, it’s really hard to recognize when something deserves your attention. Know the common stuff well. I’d rather you have a solid understanding of hypertension, diabetes, UTIs, URI symptoms, headaches, abdominal pain, etc. than have 100 rare diagnoses floating around in your head. Know your red flags. You may not know exactly what’s going on yet, but you should be developing that little internal alarm that says, “This patient needs more than routine outpatient management.” Know the why behind your questions. Don’t ask 47 ROS questions because you memorized a template. Start learning which answers would actually change your differential. Have an opinion before you present to me. It can be wrong. Tell me what you think is going on and why. That gives us something to work through together. And know where you’re going to look when you don’t know something. Because I promise you, practicing NPs are looking things up too. Those are the things I care about way more than whether you can rattle off every drug dose from memory. You’re not in clinical to show me how much you’ve memorized. You’re there to learn how to think with what you know. Save this before your next clinical day.#NPStudent #NPSchool #futurenp #NursePractitionerStudent #NPClinical

Save this for those days you feel like you’re failing at everything & send to an NP Student who needs to hear this 🫶 You guys are truly rockstars - give yourself the credit and grace you deserve!! #npschool #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #npclinical

Replying to @Chelsea If advanced patho feels like WAY too much information, this might be the study shift you need. There’s a better way to organize what you’re learning and actually understand it instead of just memorizing it. What disease process should I break down using this Patho framework? 👇🏻 #npstudent #NPSchool #NPClinical #FutureNP #nursepractitionerstudent

Save this for your next Advanced Patho exam, and follow for more NP school content that helps you understand instead of just memorize. 🫀#npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #npschool #pathophysiology

I can manage graduate nursing courses, raise three kids, and somehow find time to create content… but I cannot, for the life of me, keep track of my phone. And I can’t call it because its on silent… and prob out of battery. A little reminder that just because someone looks like they have it all together doesn’t mean they do. Please tell me I’m not the only one functioning like this. 😂 And if I haven’t responded to your text, there’s a 99% chance I responded in my head and forgot to actually send it. P.S. don’t worry, I DO answer student emails quickly 🤪 #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #reallife

As an NP professor (and someone who’s been through NP school), I know there’s often a LOT more behind “It’s going good!” than people realize. If this sounds familiar, I hope you know you’re not the only NP student feeling this way. ❤️ this season is temporary, there’s an end date in sight. Hang in there! #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #npschool #motivation

Save this for your next Advanced Patho exam, and follow for more NP school content that helps you understand instead of just memorize. 🫀#npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #npschool #pathophysiology

Sometimes a little perspective helps you remember why you started. 📌 Save this for one of those weeks when NP school feels like a lot. And follow @YourNPProfessor for realistic NP school study strategies, clinical tips, and encouragement from someone who’s been on both sides of NP school. #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #motivation

If you can recognize a diagnosis when you see it in your notes but struggle to come up with differentials in clinical, try changing how you practice. 📌 Save this and try it with one chief complaint before your next clinical day! Follow @YourNPProfessor for practical NP school study strategies and clinical tips! #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #npclinical #npschool

NP students, consider this your official mid-semester check-in. ✅ I want to know how NP school is REALLY going right now. Between exams, clinicals, assignments, and everything else you have going on, I have a feeling these GIFs are going to be good. 👇 Drop a GIF that sums up your semester so far. And if you’re new here, I’m an NP professor sharing realistic study strategies, clinical tips, and a little encouragement to help you get through NP school. Follow along! 🤍 #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #npclinical

📌 SAVE THIS if you feel like you spend more time MAKING study materials than actually studying them! I see this a lot with NP students, and I remember doing it myself in school. You start with the lecture PowerPoints, add information from the textbook, throw in a few things from YouTube, and before you know it, you’ve spent 3 hours creating a study guide for ONE lecture. And the frustrating part can be that you still don’t feel like you know the material. Here’s what I’d encourage you to try instead: 1️⃣ Give yourself a time limit for organizing notes. If you have two hours to study tonight, don’t spend 90 minutes creating your study guide. Set aside 15–20 minutes to organize what you need, then move on to actually USING it. 2️⃣ Stop copying information you already have access to. If your professor provided a PowerPoint explaining the RAAS pathway, you probably don’t need to rewrite the entire explanation. Instead, see if you can explain what happens when blood pressure drops, how the kidneys respond, and why that matters clinically. Then check what you missed. 3️⃣ Use the “close your notes” test. After reviewing a concept, close everything and explain it out loud. If you can only explain it while looking at your study guide, you’re probably more familiar with the information than you are comfortable recalling it independently. 4️⃣ Study what you DON’T know, not everything equal amounts. Let’s say you understand the difference between systolic and diastolic heart failure but keep mixing up the compensatory mechanisms. Spend your next 20 minutes working through those mechanisms instead of reviewing the entire heart failure lecture again. 5️⃣ End your study session with questions, not more notes. Before you call it a night, answer 5–10 questions about what you studied. Even if you get some wrong, you’ve identified exactly what you need to revisit tomorrow. Mark them down! And here’s something I really want NP students to understand: You can spend HOURS studying and still not be using your time effectively. That doesn’t mean you aren’t working hard. It means the way you’re spending those hours matters. I’m not against taking notes or making study guides. But I would much rather see you walk away from a study session able to explain five important concepts than have another 15 pages of notes you haven’t actually practiced recalling. The next time you sit down to study, ask yourself: Am I spending this time creating something to study later, or am I actually learning the material right now? 🤍 Follow @YourNPProfessor for practical study strategies from an NP professor who wants to help you make the most of the time you have. #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #studytips

As an NP professor, I get to see students grow in ways they don’t always recognize in themselves. So here’s your reminder to give yourself some credit for the progress you’ve made, even if you’re not where you want to be yet. And if you need someone in your corner while you navigate NP school, I’d love for you to stick around. 🤍 #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #motivation

As an NP professor, I see this with my students all the time. Ya’ll are working 12-hour shifts, trying to fit in clinical hours, studying for exams, and managing responsibilities at home (sick mids, sports, appointments, cleaning…SOS). And sometimes, no matter how much you get done, you still feel like you are falling behind somewhere. Ive been there! Both things can be true though. You can love what you’re working toward and still feel overwhelmed by what it takes to get there. That’s a big part of why I started this page. I share practical study strategies, clinical tips, and (most importantly) encouragement and hope from the professor side of NP school. If you’re currently in the thick of NP school, follow along. This page is for you. 🤍 #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #motivation

📌 SAVE THIS for the night before your next NP school exam! I’ve been on both sides of NP school exams, first as a student and now as a professor. Here’s what I would (and wouldn’t) spend my time doing the night before! ❌ 1. Try to memorize every little detail. If I had a cardiovascular exam tomorrow, I’m not spending tonight memorizing every rare complication. I’d rather make sure I can explain WHY left-sided heart failure causes crackles and shortness of breath, what findings I’d expect, and how it differs from right-sided heart failure. Use your study guide and lecture notes to prioritize what’s most important. ❌ 2. Rewrite or reorganize all my notes. If I already have 40 pages of endocrine notes, I’m not spending hours making a prettier version. Rewriting notes is passive and doesnt identify whether you actually understand the material. ❌ 3. Keep reviewing what I already know. If I can explain RAAS and consistently answer application questions about it, I’m moving on! I’d rather spend that time on the acid-base disorders I keep mixing up, even if studying those feels less comfortable. ✅ HERE’S WHAT I’D ACTUALLY DO: 1️⃣ Start with active retrieval. Pick a few major topics from your study guide and explain them WITHOUT looking at your notes. What can you remember? Where do you get stuck? 2️⃣ Identify specific gaps. Maybe you understand DKA but can’t explain why potassium can initially be elevated despite total body potassium depletion. THAT is what I’d focus on. Fill in what you missed using a different color pen so you can see where you missed. 3️⃣ Do targeted practice questions. Instead of 50 random questions, practice applying the concepts you’re struggling with! 4️⃣ Review the rationales. Don’t just check whether you got it right. Can you explain WHY the answer is correct and why the others aren’t? If you guessed correctly, review that concept too! 5️⃣ Review your weak areas one last time, then GO TO BED. Sleep is important for memory, focus, and clinical reasoning. Don’t sacrifice it trying to squeeze in everything you didn’t get to. The night before an exam should be about identifying and addressing your remaining gaps, not trying to relearn an entire chapter. 📚 I’ve also got some great active recall AI prompts in my AI Study Toolkit to help you quiz yourself, identify knowledge gaps, and practice applying what you’ve learned. They’re linked in my bio if you want to check them out! 💬 NP students, what’s ONE thing you always do the night before an exam? #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #studytips

I know it’s easier said than done. And I know that even when you finally sit down to rest, there’s often a running list in your head of everything you could be doing instead. But something I want you to understood is that not everything deserves the same amount of your time and energy every single week. Some weeks, studying for that big exam takes priority. Other weeks, you need to be okay with doing the minimum on an assignment that doesn’t require hours of your attention. And sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is close your laptop and get some sleep. As an NP professor, I want you to work hard. I want you to be prepared for clinical. I want you to take your education seriously. But I also want you to make it through NP school without feeling like you’ve failed at every other part of your life. You can take your education seriously without expecting perfection from yourself in every area of your life. ❤️ Save this for the weeks when everything feels equally urgent. #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #motivation

📌 Save this before your next NP clinical day so you have these questions ready when you need them! One thing I really encourage NP students to do is ask for feedback throughout clinical, not just wait until their formal evaluation. And I don’t mean simply asking your preceptor, “How am I doing?” The more specific your questions are, the more helpful their feedback can be. If you’re struggling with patient presentations, ask what information they needed to hear sooner. If they ask a patient something you hadn’t thought of, ask what prompted that question. What’s one area you’d love more feedback on from your preceptor? 👇 #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #npclinicals

Coming from an NP professor who genuinely wants to see you succeed, even if some of these are a little hard to hear. 1️⃣ Spending hours studying doesn’t mean you’re learning. If most of your time is spent rereading, highlighting, and rewriting notes, but you’re rarely testing yourself, it’s time to rethink your approach. Being busy studying and actually retaining information are two different things. 2️⃣ Your preceptor isn’t responsible for teaching you everything. You’re absolutely there to learn, but you also need to show up prepared, take initiative, and follow up on things you didn’t know. If you encounter something unfamiliar in clinical, go home and learn about it! 3️⃣ You need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. You’re going to stumble through patient presentations, forget questions you meant to ask, and get things wrong. That’s part of learning. What matters is whether you reflect on those experiences and do something differently next time. 4️⃣ Good grades don’t automatically mean you’re ready for clinical practice. Memorizing diagnostic criteria is different from recognizing a condition in a patient who doesn’t present exactly like your textbook describes. Start practicing how to APPLY what you’re learning, not just memorize it for the next exam. 5️⃣ You can’t learn everything, so stop studying like every detail is equally important. If you can explain a rare disease but struggle with the pathophysiology of hypertension or diabetes, it’s time to reprioritize. Build a strong foundation in common conditions, underlying mechanisms, and red flags before getting lost in the details. 6️⃣ Nobody is going to hand you confidence. Not your professor, your preceptor, or even your diploma. Confidence comes from repeatedly putting yourself in situations where you have to think, make decisions, ask questions, and learn from feedback. And I want to be clear: You don’t need to be a perfect student or know everything before you graduate. None of us know everything! But you DO need to take ownership of your learning and remember that the goal is so much bigger than passing your next exam. Which one did you need to hear? Or what would you add to this list? 👇 #npschool #nursepractitionerstudent #npstudent #futurenp #npclinicals

In case no one has told you lately, I’m proud of you. Keep pushing forward - one day at a time, one hour at a time when you need to. The reward is worth it! You’re doing amazing! 🫶 #npstudent #npschool #futurenp #nursepractitionerstudent #motivation

One thing I wish more NP students understood is that struggling with something doesn’t automatically mean you’re bad at it. A disappointing exam grade, difficult clinical day, or unexpected feedback can tell you a lot about where you need to focus next. Maybe your study strategies aren’t working. Maybe you need more practice connecting patient findings to your differential. Maybe there’s a concept you haven’t fully understood yet. That’s where a growth mindset comes in. Instead of letting those moments define your abilities, use them to figure out what needs to change. Your current performance is information, not your ceiling. ❤️ 💬 What’s one thing you’ve struggled with in NP school that actually helped you grow or change your approach? I’d love to hear! #npstudent #npschool #futurenp #npclinical #nursepractitionerstudent

To the NP student in the middle of the rain right now. ❤️ I know this season can feel exhausting and overwhelming, but I promise there are some beautiful things waiting on the other side. 🌈 And don’t forget to look for the little rainbows along the way, too. 🌻 Send this to an NP student who needs the reminder today. ❤️ #npschool #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #motivation

Sharing ALL the tips, study strategies, and encouragement for you all on my page! Because I know there are NP students out there running on caffeine, very little sleep, and a to-do list that somehow keeps getting longer. 😂☕️ Between 12-hour shifts, clinical hours, exams, assignments, and trying to have some kind of life outside of school, it is A LOT. And as an NP professor, I want this page to be a place where you can find practical study strategies, clinical tips, a little encouragement, and people who understand exactly what this season looks like. So if you’re an NP student who has ever questioned your life decisions while studying at midnight, I think we’ll get along just fine. 🤍 Tell me what semester you’re in! I want to see where everyone is in their NP school journey! #npschool #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #npclinical

As an NP professor, I don’t expect you to know everything when you walk into clinical. You’re there to LEARN! But there are a few things that concern me much more than getting a question wrong. 1️⃣ Guessing instead of admitting you don’t know. There’s a big difference between saying, “I’m not sure, but here’s what I’m thinking…” and confidently giving an answer you aren’t sure about. I want to know where your knowledge gaps are so we can work through them together. 2️⃣ Not recognizing when something could be serious. You might not know the exact diagnosis yet, but I want you to recognize red flags. A patient with chest pain, hypotension, and diaphoresis should immediately get your attention, even if you haven’t figured out exactly what’s happening. 3️⃣ Making decisions without being able to explain WHY. If you tell me you want to order a CBC, prescribe a medication, or refer a patient, I’m probably going to ask you why. Not because I’m trying to put you on the spot, but because I want to understand your clinical reasoning. 4️⃣ Ignoring information that doesn’t fit your initial diagnosis. If you think a patient has a simple UTI but they’re also febrile with flank pain, I want you to recognize that those findings might change your assessment and management. Don’t get so attached to your first diagnosis that you overlook important clues. 5️⃣ Not being willing to learn from feedback. I don’t expect you to get everything right the first time. But I do want to see you take feedback, reflect on it, and apply it to the next patient encounter. 6️⃣ Being afraid to ask for help when you need it. Knowing your limits is part of becoming a safe provider. I’d much rather you ask for guidance than make a decision you’re uncomfortable with because you think you should already know. At its core, here is what I really want my NP students to understand: I can teach you what you don’t know. But I also need you to be honest about what you don’t know, willing to think critically, and committed to patient safety. 📌 Save this before your next clinical day! #npstudent #npschool #npclinical #futurenp #nursepractitionerstudent

Your GPA matters in NP school. But it will never tell the whole story. 🤍 As an NP professor, I see how much pressure students put on themselves to get the grades, know the answers, and do everything right. And I understand why. I was the same way. You’ve worked SO hard to get here. But I also wish you could see all the ways you’re growing that will never show up in a gradebook. The way you listen to a patient. The questions you’re learning to ask. Your willingness to admit when you don’t know something. The compassion you bring into a room. Those things matter way more than you probably realize right now. Because one day, your patients won’t know what you got on that pathophysiology exam. But they WILL remember how you made them feel. 🤍 #npschool #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #npclinical

Finding NP preceptors is practically a full-time job on top of your ACTUAL full-time job and NP school. 😅 And sending email after email only to hear absolutely nothing back? SO frustrating. I remember this struggle, so I wanted to share a few things that actually worked for me (and a few things I’d recommend now!). 🩺 1. Join your local NP organization! This was honestly one of the BEST things I did, and I was surprised by how helpful it was. Many local NP chapters offer discounted student memberships and host networking dinners or events. I started attending these as a student, and it gave me opportunities to meet practicing NPs face-to-face. It’s much easier to make a connection over dinner than through a cold email! 🩺 2. Reach out to recent graduates from YOUR area. I contacted friends who had recently graduated and asked if they’d be willing to share their preceptors’ contact information or introduce me. I had the most success when someone made a direct introduction! Instead of just asking for a name, try asking, “Would you feel comfortable sending a quick group email introducing us?” 🩺 3. Ask potential preceptors if they know someone else who takes students! This is one I wish more NP students would try. If a provider tells you they aren’t accepting students, don’t let the conversation end there! Thank them and ask, “Do you happen to know any other NPs in the area who enjoy precepting students?” Even better, ask if they’d feel comfortable making an introduction. One connection can lead to several others, and sometimes the person who can’t take you ends up being the reason you find someone who can! 🩺 4. Make your request REALLY specific. Don’t just ask if someone takes students. Tell them you’re an FNP student looking for an adult primary care rotation, need 120 hours between January and April, and can be flexible with their clinic schedule. The fewer questions they have to ask you, the easier it is to consider your request! 🩺 5. Think beyond the obvious clinical sites. Depending on your program’s requirements, consider smaller independent practices, community health centers, rural clinics, and specialty offices. Some of these may receive fewer student requests than large healthcare systems. 🩺 6. Don’t overlook the people you already work with. Even if you work in a hospital and need outpatient clinical hours, the providers you work alongside may have connections in primary care. Instead of just asking if THEY can precept you, ask if they know someone who enjoys teaching students. One more thing: Before you spend weeks pursuing a potential preceptor, make sure your program will approve the site and provider! Ask about specialty requirements, credentials, affiliation agreements, and any restrictions on who can precept. And if you’re still searching, please don’t assume every unanswered email means someone doesn’t want to help. Sometimes it really does come down to finding the right person at the right time. 💬 NP students and recent grads: What actually WORKED when you were searching for preceptors? Let’s make these comments a resource for students who are still looking! 🤍 #npschool #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #preceptor

To the moms trying to make it through NP school while also being present for their families, I see you. 🤍 I remember feeling guilty when I was studying because I wasn’t spending time with my kids. But then I’d finally close my laptop, and all I could think about was everything I still needed to get done for school. Looking back, I truly wish I hadn’t spent so much time feeling like I was falling short in both places. If there’s one thing I hope you take from this, it’s that you don’t have to finish every last thing on your to-do list before you’re allowed to enjoy time with your family and to do so WITHOUT feeling guilty. There will ALWAYS be more you could be doing for school. Set a stopping point. Close the laptop. Be present when you can. And please give yourself a little grace in the process. Any NP school moms struggling with this right now? #npstudent #npschool #futurenp #nursepractitionerstudent #motivation

Choosing an NP program is a BIG decision, and the things that matter most aren’t always obvious on the program website. Look beyond cost and how quickly you can graduate. Ask how you’ll practice clinical reasoning, who will be teaching you, how the program prepares you for clinical, and what will actually be expected of you along the way. Current NP students: what does your program do really well, or what do you wish you had known to look for before choosing? 👇 And if you’re comparing programs right now, make sure you watch Part 1 too. I talk about the one thing I think students underestimate the most: program culture. #npschool #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #nurselife

One thing I’ve learned from being both an NP student and now an NP professor is that the people you have in your corner can make such a difference. NP school is hard enough without feeling like you have to figure everything out on your own. And sometimes, it’s the smallest things that mean the most. A classmate checking in after an exam, a preceptor taking an extra few minutes to explain something, or someone reminding you why you started when you’re having a really hard week. I hope you have people like this in your corner. And I hope you know how much it means when you’re that person for someone else. 🤍 Tag someone who has made your NP school journey a little easier. They deserve to know. #npschool #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #motivation

If you could start NP school all over again, what’s ONE thing you would do differently? 👀 Looking back, I know there are things I would do differently. And even now, as an NP professor, I still catch myself falling into some of those same habits. 😂 I think we could learn SO much from each other here, especially for those who are just starting their NP school journey. Tell me what semester you’re in and ONE thing you’d change if you could start over. I really want to hear your answers! 🤍 #npschool #npstudent #nursepractitionerstudent #futurenp #motivation

There’s a point in NP school where studying MORE isn’t necessarily the answer. You’ve learned Patho. Pharm. Assessment. Diagnosis and management. Now you have to practice connecting them. That’s where clinical reasoning starts to develop. And AI can actually be really helpful here when you use it to make yourself think instead of doing the thinking for you. Save the prompt in this video and try it with one condition you’re learning this week. And if you want more prompts like this, they’re exactly why I built my AI Study Toolkit for NP students. 🤍 #npstudent #npschool #futurenp #nursepractitionerstudent #studytips

SAVE THIS for the next time you’re staring at an abnormal lab value in NP school and trying to remember every possible condition that could cause it. 🩺 One thing I really want my NP students to understand is that an abnormal lab value is a piece of information, not a diagnosis. Let’s use an elevated creatinine as an example. I want you to work through these 5 questions: 1️⃣ What is this patient’s baseline? A creatinine of 1.8 mg/dL means something very different in a patient whose creatinine was 0.8 last week compared with someone whose creatinine has been 1.8 for the past three years. Before you decide what an abnormal result means, look at the TREND. 2️⃣ What’s happening with the patient? This is where you connect the lab value to the clinical picture. Have they been vomiting for three days? Are they taking NSAIDs? Did they recently start a new medication? Do they have heart failure? Are they having difficulty urinating? The history, medications, vital signs, and physical examination should help you narrow down what might be happening. 3️⃣ What physiological process could explain this? For an elevated creatinine, I want you to think about three broad categories: → Prerenal: Is something reducing blood flow to the kidneys? → Intrinsic renal: Is there injury or dysfunction within the kidneys themselves? → Postrenal: Is something obstructing urine flow? Now you’re organizing possible causes by mechanism rather than trying to recall a random list of diagnoses. 4️⃣ What other findings would help me narrow this down? Look at the rest of the metabolic panel, especially potassium and bicarbonate. Consider urine output, urinalysis, and other findings based on the clinical presentation. For example, a patient with several days of vomiting, orthostatic hypotension, and an acute rise in creatinine might have decreased kidney perfusion from volume depletion. But you still need to evaluate the full clinical picture rather than assuming that’s the cause. 5️⃣ What needs to happen next? This is where you’re moving from understanding the abnormality to making clinical decisions. Does this patient need urgent evaluation? Are there medications that need to be reviewed or temporarily held? Is additional testing indicated? When should kidney function be reassessed? Your next steps depend on the severity, the suspected cause, and whether the patient is clinically stable. The big picture I want you to take away: Don’t study abnormal labs in isolation. Study the physiological process, connect it to the patient, and then think about what you would do with that information. That’s how you start building the clinical reasoning skills you’ll need as an NP! 💬 What’s one lab value you always struggle to interpret? Tell me below, and I’ll try to make a post walking through it! #npstudent #npschool #futurenp #nursepractitionerstudent #npclinical