advice for becoming a nurse practitioner

[Mkim680]

Hi everyone,

I had a question regarding becoming a nurse practitioner. I have been reading on these forums that it would be beneficial to obtain BSN before getting a MSN/NP. I was considering a direct program that would bypass the BSN to go into a program obtaining a MSN and NP. I definitely know that I would like to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. I heard the BSN would be a good idea because hiriing managers look favorably on them instead those that went a direct route into a masters program.

I have a masters already in counseling and have worked for the government as a psychotherapist. I've grown a recent interest in prescribing and the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner seemed the best route to go. What suggestions would people make? Would it be better to just apply to a direct MSN/NP program or get the BSN, gain some experience as a RN then apply for a NP program? I definitely know that I only want to do psychiatry and not anything else related to nursing.

thanks,

Mark

[kguill975, MSN, APRN, NP]

I'm neither a psych nurse nor a Psych NP, however, I'm thinking you wouldn't need much by way of nursing experience to become a psych NP. Before the psych nurses bite my head off, what I mean by that is you won't need experience with NGTs, tube feeds, and wet to dry dressings if you go the psych route. You will still get that experience in school, and then some, but your experience in the therapeutic milieu is what is going to be important in your particular situation. Let's see what the psych folks think.

[myelin]

I'd apply to a direct entry psych NP program (this is what I did). I agree with the previous poster, as far as I can tell, being a psych NP is pretty different from most other nursing roles.