Any Military psych NP? Needs some overview regarding military life

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Im a BSN, with 6 yrs of ICU exp, planning to transfer to the psych field then do my pmhnp and join the military. Just want to know hows your daily work, deployments, career advancements. Any input will do. Thanks

thanks for the reply, greatly appreciated. what was your credentials prior to applying to hpsp, because I am ICU background and wants to apply for hpsp for pmhnp. just wondering if nursing experience is a factor.

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I graduated in June 2014 and immediately started in an ED internship. Six months later I was on an adult psych unit. When I applied, I had been on the psych unit for about three months, so not much experience.

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do you know how they give hpsp scholarships? Is it per specialty or just 1 budget for nursing dnp. did you push thru with your pmhnp? are you enjoying your work?

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Whether they give the scholarships depends on their needs. The only NPs that I am aware of are FNPs and psych. I don't know about them giving the scholarship for FNPs, though. Here is the thing with my app. I started the process and was hoping on getting in on the end of the cycle. Had I made it to the April or maybe it was the May board, I would have had a better shot but because my application did not get completed until the start of the new cycle, I was told that they were only going to take DNPs. The way it was explained was, they had like 5 scholarship positions to fill for that year. By the time the April/May board came around 3 of the spots had been taken in previous boards so two were left. At that point, knowing that the end of the cycle was approaching and they needed to fill those other two spots, they were reportedly more open to taking a MSN student, which is what I was.

I am pushing through with the PMHNP, yes. I am in my third semester and plan to be done this December. It is rigorous but if you can get through nursing school, I believe you can get through NP school. What programs are you looking at? And what area of the country are you in?

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im in florida, and theres no nearby pmhnp school in my area the nearest would be 4 hours away UF which offers DNP. where are you doing your program?

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Gliverspace:

LPC2RN has great information, and a better memory than I regarding the entire process of getting the scholarship. I think I initially reached out to a health professions recruiter in March and didn't find out I got the scholarship until the end of August/beginning of Sept.

You are required to have your BSN to apply, and they prefer nationally accredited programs. Mine was in the process of becoming nationally accredited when I applied and I got through ok so I am not sure if it really has more to do with the supply/demand balance. I have other family in the service and when the military was hurting for bodies, they didn't require a high school diploma. Now that they can afford to be more selective, they require a HS diploma and don't accept the plain ol' GED. Does that make sense?

Like I mentioned, I work in the Emergency Dept. I have no psych experience as a licensed RN. They don't care about your prior experience per se, more that you will graduate with the specific education they need for a specific job position.

The AF has a certain number of NP scholarships they give out each year. Each speciality has a certain number under that. The caveat, though, is that if the AF doesn't fill all their (example) peds NP spots but has a few PMHNP applicants waitlisted, they will give the original peds NP scholarship to the first on the waitlist. That is how I got in - I was initially waitlisted but called one day and told someone had "dropped out" of the application process because "they didn't want to wait" and then I was next in line.

As far as recruiters to get in touch with: go to the AF website and type in your zip on their "find a recruiter" page. Make sure you are finding a healthcare recruiter, not a regular one. The website will show the recruiters in your area and their contact info. I had to email/call mine multiple times before I got a response, so don't feel discouraged if they don't call back within the first few days. Keep trying. ;)

I am in a DNP program in Washington state. It is 3 years total (well 2.5 technically) and I am 2 quarters in.

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thanks for the info guys really helpful. well i am just wondering if they dont consider your background experience. whats there criteria in choosing a candidate for hpsp. i supposed a good interview. i wonder if everybody gets a shot in an interview

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The application shows a lot about your experience and background. I also got to write a two-pager answering multiple questions about why I wanted to join the AF and why psych specifically.

I believe every applicant does get to interview. It is one of the main way they weed candidates out.

Assuming you are a male, you might have an easier time. My final interviewer asked about my comfort level making a 3 year minimum commitment even though as a female, I might "have a family and children in my future." I found that to be sexist and inappropriate...but what do I know?! Haha.

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they probably really wanted to hear about your commitment to the service. how did you defend being in the ER and going to psych specifically?

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We see boarding psych patients every day, some of them stay up to two-three weeks at a time. It is really concerning to see what we do to patients in acute psychiatric emergencies in the ED: remove all belongings, strip them of their privacy, and place them in a bare room where they get no freedom. We have no therapeutic activities for them, no groups, a psychiatrist sees them once a day while they wait to transfer to an inpatient psych unit.

I voiced my frustration for the system and expressed an interest in filling a need. If we know that there are not enough providers for mental health concerns and I know that I am capable of helping fill that void, why wouldn't I do it?

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I would be very curious to hear your experience once in the service.

I am in the reserve but not as a nurse. I thought about doing a transfer - I may still - once I finish my current commitment, but I will see how options look when I am eligible to do that (still a couple years away). I am currently an NP student, but I have been in/around the military in some capacity for 23 years.

When I deployed last summer, I met someone who was actually trained by the Navy to be a PHMNP. I was surprised to find he was not, however, working as an NP - but as a floor RN. This struck me as so odd, that the Navy would spend so much time & money training someone, yet not use them that way. But it happens all the time (ha, actually, I was trained as a linguist by the Army and many times language training goes out the window when you spend more time in motor pool).

Anyway, I also took the opportunity on deployment to talk with a couple NPs, one O6 and one O5 about their jobs (one Navy reservist and the other an active Army officer). They function as managers in the military. They do not function as practitioners. This interests me NONE. I can do my current military job and be a manager.

But then when I de-mobbed, the person who gave me my exam was an AGNP - and she sees people every day, loves it, got promoted unexpectedly early (think she was an O5 if I recall correctly), and that made me think again.

This is a lot of anecdotal stuff, and in sum I've only ever met one PMHNP in the military. For myself, I would want to know that I can see people. I am not changing careers to be a manager. But those are my goals. Just make sure you go in with expectations that you may not be seeing patients all the time, you may have more paperwork and other "stuff" you have to deal with. It seems like sometimes people in healthcare don't realize that you have to make the side of your commitment to the military - whatever branch you are in - important, too. You're not going to just go in an be an NP; you're also a soldier, sailor, airman, marine - first and foremost.

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Anichka -

I'm interested in what my personal experience in the service will be too. My understanding with NPs (at least AF-wise) is that typically they practice with patients for a few years and then get promoted to management.

It sounds like this could all go a few different ways based off of your interactions with NPs too. Did the NP on the floor say why he was on the floor and not working as an NP? I would be curious to hear that explanation!!

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