Well I hope someone can help me out with this question and hope it hasn't been asked too many times on this board. I'm new to allnurses.com so forgive me if this has come up before.
I'm thinking of making a career change to nursing from teaching. I already have a master's degree in teaching and don't want to get another bachelor's degree so I was looking into MEPN programming. Here in WA state, the University of Washington offers a MEPN that promises a challenging first year of clincal experience and then another year developing a focus area as a nurse practitioner or other nurse specialist.
Ultimately, I have four questions:
1. As an NP from a MEPN program, will anyone hire me as an RN so I can get experience?
2. Will I be met with negatives attitudes from my peers if I do get a job as an RN from a MEPN program?
3. Would a BSN be better for my career?
4. I have a background as a social worker/teacher so I'm interested in the Psychiatric NP program. Is this area in high demand and possibly lucrative?
I've done quite a bit of interviewing and cannot seem to come to a solid conclusion, this issue has been boggling my mind!
