Any Military psych NP? Needs some overview regarding military life

PG2018 · Jan 9, 2016

I hope you find answers to this. I searched for the answers some years ago and nobody could tell me anything then. The recruiters have no idea and most other folks don't know either. I talked with some docs I knew that were reservists, and they all thought a PMHNP could get a star if they stayed in long enough. In 2012, I believe was the year, a navy reserve recruiter told me there were only a handful of PMHNPs in the navy.

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jan 10, 2016

Quite frankly, any nurse officer has the potential to get stars. The current deputy AF surgeon general (2 star) is a WHNP and the outgoing Army surgeon general (3 star) was a CNS with a focus in Emergency medicine. Certain specialties may be more likely to make O-5 or so, but beyond that it's about individual performance. I certainly wouldn't say any one APRN specialty is more likely than any other to make O-6 or higher.

gilversplace · Jan 13, 2016

thanks for the comments guys, hoping there will be somebody who can share their experience as pmhnp in the military.

Dranger · Jan 13, 2016

Can't really give specifics but the outlook for both civilian and military psych NPs in the Army is very good.

Birthday_Girl · Jan 20, 2016

I was under the impression that the Navy was only allowing NPs into the Reserves? Is that still true?

mmak · Jan 22, 2016

I'm currently in school to become a PMHNP and I am also commissioned through the AF.

To corroborate everyone else's comments, the recruits weren't able to tell me much and the only way I was able to learn ANYTHING about PHMNPs in the military was to search for them on LinkedIn. I emailed back and forth with a PMHNP to learn a bit about her experience and it was valuable for me.

Here is why I joined without knowing what I was getting into (in no particular order):

-Financial assistance (paying for school, get a monthly living stipend)

-Desire to serve

-Built-in experience of at least 3 years active duty

-Opportunity to work with unique population

-Travel/exciting and new areas to live in

You have to understand that working as a PMHNP in the military presents as a very special experience. These men and women that I will be caring for were all "vetted" before they joined and should theoretically be of sound body and mind. However, combat, military life in general, and other stuff happens so now these people are having mental health concerns. It is really quite exciting to think about working with such an interesting population (in my opinion).

gilversplace · Jan 24, 2016

can you tell me about your background. are you active duty or reserves? did you have information regarding work conditions, does every base have pmhnp?, deployments and is this field high demand in the military or its only few spots every year. thank you

mmak · Jan 25, 2016

Gilverspace:

I started the "application process" when I found out I was accepted into grad school. I have no military background prior to this. I work in the ED and am continuing to work in the ED through school. Another person in my program did 8 years as enlisted Army and then contracted with the AF before starting in our program.

During school, I'm neither active or reserves; it's like being in a holding space. I do nothing for the AF until I graduate, then I am immediately active duty and I go to COT and then start working as a PMHNP for the AF.

From what I have learned, every AF base has a mental health clinic that PMHNPs work in. The likelihood is that PMHNPs will work in an outpatient clinic vs inpatient unit solely because of the prevalence of outpatient clinics on the base. There are only a few inpatient units in military hospitals (like down in TX).

It is possible to be deployed overseas to an AF base, however they do not typically do that immediately. My understanding is that the AF wants to keep green PMHNPs stateside for at least a year before sending them anywhere else. You can request your location and if there is a position available at that base, they can/may send you there.

For the record, the chances of you being deployed to a combat zone as a PMHNP seem basically impossible to me. If someone is not mentally fit for combat, why would they stay in a combat zone? They should get flown to the hospitals in Germany, Italy, Japan, England, ect. for eval.

There is competition for the scholarship spots (HPSP) and people get weeded out through MEPS and multiple interviews with higher ups in the AF medical chain. In my cohort now, there are two of us that are doing the HPSP scholarship for AF PMHNP. One other guy is going through the Army. Although my cohort is a small group, the number of us who are contracted with the military leads me to believe the scholarships are more common that many think.

gilversplace · Jan 26, 2016

Thanks for the awesome reply. Do you have information regarding hpsp. I just want to know the specific requirements. I know bsn is a requirement but mine is not accreditted, im icu background and looking into pmhnp. Do you have a website link or a person i can email or contact. What school are u doing your pmhnp program?

gilversplace · Jan 26, 2016

Additional question how long was the hpsp application process?

LPC2RN · Jan 27, 2016

Gilversplace,

You can find a healthcare recruiter by going to the AF website. I applied for an HPSP position last year. This was my experience:

You call them and let them know you are interested. They send you a ton of documents to complete on-line and send back. You have to send them transcripts, citizenship documents, marriage licenses, copies of children's birth certificates, copies of your birth certificates, driver's license, certifications, letters of recommendation, letter of acceptance from the PMHNP program, (probably forgetting some things because there was a lot). After they get all of that paperwork, you are scheduled to interview with a nurse officer. I interviewed with a Lt. Col (not a PMHNP) at a base about 3 1/2-4 hours drive away. She was pretty cool. The interview lasted all of about 20 minutes. Then I was scheduled for a telephone interview with the head PMHNP in the AF. He was also a Lt. Col. That interview lasted about 15 minutes. I was cleared by both of them. Unfortunately, my package was nixed at the last moment before going to the board because I have a medical condition. An asymptomatic condition but one in which they feel would have been a problem.

When they told me "No", they gave me a couple of reasons why, the main thing being my disease. But they also said that they prefer DNP students. The program I was accepted into is an MSN program, so if you want to get accepted into the scholarship program, get into a DNP program. I made first contact with the recruiter in March and missed the next board, which happened in April, only because I was waiting on medical paperwork from the VA. I waited until the next board, which was August, and called the recruiter in early Sep. who told me that he meant to call me back in July to tell me that I was medically disqualified. I guess when I filled out the medical questionnaire back in March, the MEPS medical officers wanted more information (a medical note stating I was diagnosed), when they finally got that in July, they said "no". It was a lot of time, effort, and money spent for nothing. So, in theory, the process should have lasted about 4-8 weeks to create an application and about another 3-4 weeks to be accepted by the board, then schedule the MEPS visit then another couple of weeks before the check comes in (from what I was told).

I knew what I was getting into trying to get into the AF. I served over 7 years active duty in the AF. I loved parts of it (camaraderie, sense of purpose, pride in country, travel, benefits) and hated other parts of it (you are property so if they want you to work 15 12-hour days in a row you will, having to put up with incompetent leaders and not being able to quit, not liking where you get stationed). I would recommend it.

If you have any other specific questions about the AF or the application process, feel free to shoot me a PM. Good luck.