I am an aspiring Psych NP currently taking my prerequisite classes. I have been reading and searching through this board for many months now (and will continue to) in order to try and prepare myself and get a grasp of the realities of the field. I am an adult student and a career changer and have learned not to go into anything blindly. I'm quite confident that Psych and the NP role are a great fit for me...so far...
I have become aware of several trends or general concerns such as:
-The not real nursing shortage
-New grads having increased difficulty finding jobs
-Weird NP politics with doctors and regular nurses
-Differing opinions on direct entry grads (which I plan on being someday soon)
-General first job horror stories
I'm starting to get the impression that a lot of the more negative or potentially discouraging things I am reading/hearing are mainly concerns for RNs, BSNs, LPNs, and the like and revolve more around bedside nursing. I currently work in a hospital and this is also based on speaking with the NPs here.
My questions for all you Psych NPs (and other experienced NPs) are:
Is Psych, especially starting out as a Psych NP, a little different?
Is the job market for Psych and Psych NP not as bad as it for the other more popular specialties?
What's being a Psych NP really like? What should I be aware of or prepared for?
Am I correct in assuming that Psych NPs don't have to deal with as many of the trials and frustrations of bedside nursing?
Based on what Zenman and a couple other Psych NPs out there have posted, the Psych NP role sounds like a really good deal compared to other specialties and bedside nursing. I'm just trying to get a better perspective and test my naive assumptions.
Thanks so much in advance for any and all opinions and thoughts. Your wisdom and guidance are greatly appreciated.
PMHNP programs are geared towards medication management based on diagnosis and symptoms. There is little therapy involved. The psych courses focus on mental illness and diagnostics/treatment.
All posts very helpful, thank you so much. As a postmaster student in PMHNP program, I am not worried about job in the future.
I work as RN in mental health/addictions programs and periderm in Zucker Hillside North Shore-LIJ .
PMHNP is not easy program, specially if RN is not "handy" , since there is a difficulty for some psych nurses to get through Advanced Physical Assessment. The life is different if the program is online.
In our track only 4 students left in the program for PMHNP.
I am looking for shadow pediatric psychiatric NP/MD/DO in privet practice/ambulatory care/outpatient program in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk.
mtsteelhorse
1,635 Posts
PMHNP programs are geared towards medication management based on diagnosis and symptoms. There is little therapy involved. The psych courses focus on mental illness and diagnostics/treatment.