psych cns? please explain?

Specialties Psychiatric

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Specializes in psychiatric, corrections.

]I wont lie to you fine people, I would much rather be a psych NP but the new NP standards calling for advance nurses to have a doctorates in 2015 makes me want to become a psych patient myself *sighs*. So what about CNS? Is there even a market for them in psych? I see jobs for NP but CNS seems to be phasing out? I think I would rather bite the bullet and become an NP then go through CNS school and have issues finding a job.... if I even could. From what I have read some jobs don't care if you are CNS or NP, so long as you have prescriptive authority. according to an article I read 36 states in the US allow prescription authority to CNS's but I can't find a list where CNS are allowed this.

Do any facilities even hire CNS's for psych or do the NP rule the roost? I'm sure in reality I could find a job somewhere but are the jobs so limited that it's even worth the hassle? Also, what happens if you have an advanced degree but go for a regular psych RN job because CNS wasn't available, do they pay you extra or do they tell you you're over qualified and to go away?

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Specializes in Outpatient Psychiatry.

I don't care what you're seeing or hearing. I will graduate with a MSN in May 2015 to be a psychiatric NP. I can attest that the following classes will be MSN as well. There is NO national requirement to get a doctorate. It's all spitballed wishful thinking. If RNs haven't been made to get BSNs then ARPNs aren't going to soon be made to get DNPs. I even loathe the concept of such.

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The ANCC is "retiring" (eliminating) the psych CNS credential this year. Those of us who already are psych CNSs will be able to maintain our certification, but the exam is not going to be offered any more, and no one else will be able to become a psych CNS. Going forward, the only advanced practice option in psych will be the psych NP.

Also, PsychGuy is correct; there is no DNP mandate in place. Lots of schools are choosing to change their MSN programs to DNP programs, and the DNP is clearly the trend of the future, but the only clinical group (as opposed to academia) that has really embraced the DNP requirement is the CRNAs. Their target date is 2025, though, not 2015.

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Specializes in psych/dementia.

Definitely would have liked to have been a CNS. I do not like the idea of another 4-5 years of school for a DNP. Hoping to graduate, get experience, and get in to an MSN-NP program before they all change over. That will necessitate moving, but so be it.

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