Psychiatric NP

[coffee and toast]

Hi,

I'm looking for advice from people enroute to becoming a Pscyh. NP or are already in the career.

I had a plan....

1)Do an accelerated BSN, grad Feb 2012

2)Get a RN job in that area (hopefully psych, but w/ some flexibility for the first job in a tough market)

3)Part time NP program, looking at UMd, possibly UPenn were on my "love to attend" list.

However --- The BSN program I was accepted to is more expense (change in fin. aid package) than I had planned for. My loans will be substantial, and its given me pause to rethink more economical options - e.g. my local instate school.

The local instate school doesn't give opportunity for a preceptorship in a pscyh unit - which the out of state school does.

The "expensive" school also has specific courses in mental health nursing, community mental health, and advertises faculty that all have a masters in the specialty area they teach in. The local school does not advertise this - but I've looked less into the particulars, as it wasn't the school I had chosen. Because of these curricular differences (on paper), I'm worried that the quality of my education (in terms of my goals for Psych NP) will suffer if I do the local school. I have no reason to be so critical of this local school - rankings/NCLEX pass rate is on par with out of state - I'm worried that the interest I have in Psych won't be fulfilled (and also won't be fully vetted out) in this school, because of the lack of specialized courses/preceptorship. BUT, the BSN is for the basics - should I not be worried about this at all now? Even if I do have the hope to pursue Psych - should I be putting such specific interests on hold through the BSN schooling?

Some additional factors --- The out of state school is in the area we are planning to relocate to long term. Doing the local school would mean extending our time in a state we are planning to leave. Which means, I'd be looking for a first job outside my area (no connections), getting a license in a different state, AND hoping to find a job in a psych unit specifically. I do worry about this first job/internship - specifically in how it sets me up for a transition through grad school, and into a long term career path.

The instate school will delay my actual entry to RN work. It starts 9 months later - I still have risk of not being accepted.

Obviously, this out of state school was what I initially thought fit better with my career hopes/dreams.

The motive to stay is purely financial, and thats a big deal - when we are talking loans etc, thats a significant stress reduction and therefore more opportunity to enjoy/focus on a career 100%. On the flipside, I'm willing to take risks to do what is best educationally and career wise. There are too many pros and cons for me to figure out!

All this said -- what do you think the "big factors" are in an undergraduate BSN when looking at a goal of Psychiatric NP specialization. Is it worth the financial risk to attend a program that I believe will give me more clinical opportunities and coursework opportunities in Psychiatric to begin with? Is it worth being in the area where we'll be long term to establish early on networks for internships/jobs and graduate school?