Help! Non-nursing best path to Psychiatric NP

[future student]

Hello all!!! I already created a similar thread about this in the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner portion of the site but received limited useful feedback.Maybe this is the more appropriate location for such a post?

I am looking to become a PMHNP and currently only have a BA in Psych. I am looking for the most efficient and least expensive path to get me there. Will I need to get a BSN separately then pursue the MSN? Or is there any way to combine the two in a direct-entry type program. I know these programs do exist but they seem far and few between and I am not free to relocate so would need to find a distance learning option with limited on site components. My location is near Wichita, KS, so I have limited options as far as brick & mortar locations... Any thoughts on doing online programs? People with regrets or good things to say about them???Just looking to talk with anyone in a similar position on what they have found about this or hear from others who may be more successful than me in their research of various programs. Any feedback is welcome!!!

[LisalaRN99, BSN, RN]

While I applaud your enthusiasm to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I have my reservations about the way in which you wish to go about it. Frankly I feel we have enough nurses who want to learn how to prescribe medications without having to (God forbid!) touch a patient as a nurse! I realize you have a BA in psychology, but honestly that is not a whole lot of anything compared to a BSN in terms of preparing you for your "advanced practice". Also, earning "advanced practice" presupposes that you have "practiced".

[MidwifeAPRN219, MSN, RN, APRN, CNM]

I am in an accelerated MSN program (pre-licensure) for Clinical Nurse Leader (it's NOT an advanced practice degree). Like you, I have a non-nursing Bachelors degree and wanted to go for advanced practice. Once I finish, I am going for an advanced practice degree in Midwifery (I know not the field you want to go into, but going for an advanced practice degree is generally the same across the field--just different specialties). Once I complete my MSN, I will be applying for ANOTHER MSN (not a Post-masters certificate ((PMC)) ) because most programs that I have seen require you to have an advanced practice degree to do a PMC. There are a few schools out there that will let a CNL go for a PMC for advanced practice because they have that program at that particular school and a Advanced practice degree options. HOWEVER, I know someone that has gone through my program, gone onto advanced practice and had to do a second Master's degree. Their credit hours from the MSN-CNL program transferred to the AP degree and so they had less classes to take.

I know you really want to do it online, but you won't be able to do anything online until you're an RN and even then you still have clinical hours that you have to complete in person. Hands on learning is important and there are no RN programs that I know of for BSN that allow you to do it completely online and clinicals in your home location (unless you are already an ADN prepared RN). It's just not feasible in nursing. There is a lot of hands on learning you have to do before you hit even the clinical portion.

So getting your BSN or a MSN (pre-licensure) is not a waste. Even if you do the direct-entry MSN for advanced practice you STILL have to go through the motions of learning what a pre-licensed nurse learns and then once you hit a certain point, you take the NCLEX and then you can continue on with the advanced practice courses. Either way, you have to actually be a nurse before advanced practice courses can continue.

Like you, I wasn't able to relocate. If I was able to, I would have done the direct-entry program for Advanced practice. However, I was lucky enough to have a direct-entry Masters program locally that allows me to advance my degree, get credit hours towards the advance practice degree, and let me work while working on the advanced practice degree. Either way, the skills I am learning now PRIOR to advanced practice is important.

So if you have an accelerated BSN or a direct-entry program MSN (not saying advanced practice), I would look into those and then go for it. Unfortunately, getting to where you want to be isn't always a fast path. I've been working towards becoming a midwife for 5 years (knew during my Bachelors that I wanted to become a midwife and then life got in the way a little).