What do you do as a Psych NP?

t2krookie · May 14, 2010

im an rn in psych. i work with teenaged boys (teen sex offenders). we have no nps, just our md.
i know what a family np does, but what does a family psych np do exactly? do you work in a clinic, hospital, etc??
i live in oklahoma and have no idea about the job outlook for family psych np (especially working with children) is like. all the nps i know are medical (fnp, pnp, etc).
any input on this topic would be nice :)

good friend of mine is an adult mental health np and he works at a community clinic 4 days a week doing mostly med adjustment and mini-mentals, spot evals for referrals 2" exacerbations (think 15 to 20 min visits) and does intake exams on pts in a private practice 1 day a week (45 minutes- hour) physicals and ordering of relevant screening labs, more extensive psych testing ect..). now remember this is "adult" not family, but it obviously would represent the majority as most psych is adult anyways.

williamd · May 20, 2010

I am in an adult psych NP progam, and also am working at a community mental health center. What a psych NP does varies quite a bit, depending on the work setting. You are credentialed to practice in the mental health area (not medical), and are responsible to assess, diagnose, and treat mental illness. This may vary according to state law, but many states are loosening their Nurse Practice Act laws to accomodate todays changing health care field. Psych NP's are in high demand, at school there are postings from all over the state for jobs.

As far as what one's practice would actually be like, it depends on the type of practice. In the public sector, you would function as a "physician extender," which is a term that is not well liked by the NP groups, but realistically is what you do. In private parctice, you would do a lot of therapy, while also doing medications for your patients. If you end up working at a CMH like I do, you won't be doing therapy, they can hire therapists cheaper and better than you. You will be doing med checks, and be helping the doctors, and saving the agency a ton of money.

Bonosgrrl · May 22, 2010

I work for a company that provides Psych services to nursing home residents. I mostly do medication management, address acute issues, mini mental, capacity evals. We also have CNS's that do therapy.

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jun 5, 2010

Thanks for all the replies.

I know I am mainly interested in med management, acute issues, assessment, labs, etc. I am not so much interested in doing any psychotherapy at all (Im more than happy to leave that to our psychologist and therapists lol).

I am finding it very hard to network with or meet other Psych NP's. I finally found one at my hospital (have not met her but someone is getting me her number). I know they are out there, but there doesn't seem to be too many psych NPs....not sure if they is a good thing or a bad thing. I certainly dont have to worry about the market being oversaturated with psychNP right now like they seem to be with FNP (everyone and their dog seems to be doing that! lol! More power to them).

I plan to apply to USA distance Family Psych NP program.

Also, am I correct that Family psych is more marketable than adult? I want to be able to see both children and adults if I need to. I think in my state (Oklahoma) adult is able to see 13 yrs and up, family is across the lifespan.

BrayaRN · Jun 5, 2010

I am not a psych NP but did consider that route and did some research. From what I understand, psych NPs only account for 1% of APNs. They are also at or near the top for pay (around $90K). The job outlook is supposed to be great since there are so few trained psych NPs. I would agree that family PMHNP would probably make you the most marketable.