Applying to MSN-NP during senior year of BSN

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Hello everyone. I want to be a PMHNP (psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner). I am in the home stretch of my junior year in one of the best BSN programs in the country. I'm 20 years old. By the time I graduate, I'll have extensive experience with psychiatric nursing research, a psychiatric capstone clinical, and a few months of experience working in a psychiatric unit.

I spoke with my advisor and she told me that it's not uncommon for senior BSN students to apply to NP school, and that the stigma of starting NP school with no RN experience is now a thing of the past. I'm only willing to attend an in-person graduate program that provides preceptors. Whether I will get into a program that guarantees clinical preceptors to students is another question, but she said that applying as a senior is quite common at my school.

I'm still deciding whether I want to pursue psychiatric RN work experience before applying to graduate school. I've always wanted to do psychotherapy and medication management -- tasks outside the scope of practice for an RN.

Looking for any opinions on the topic of going to NP school (particularly PMHNP) without ever working as an RN. Thanks!!

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Specializes in Oncology/StemCell Transplant; Psychiatry.

I'm in a situation similar to yours. I am finishing my junior year of nursing school, and I am interested in becoming a PMHNP. I recently met with the PMHNP specialty coordinator from the school that I would like to attend after graduation (the only one in my state with the PMHNP specialty). I have been given tentative admission to the program, meaning I am in as long as I graduate my BSN program and pass the NCLEX. I asked her about the feasibility of completing the program while working as an RN, and she said it was very common. However, my program is not completely in-person. Some of the coursework is completed online and there are several in-class meetings each month. I am going to try to work in psych as an RN while completing my NP program. I think that would be your best bet, if it is feasible with your school schedule. Then, you won't be going into the NP field with zero psych experience.

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Specializes in NICU.

I will be graduating with my BSN in August from an accelerated second degree program and going straight into an FNP program. I am very excited to be able to start my education as a nurse practitioner as well as start gaining experience as an RN. I think one great aspect is that you will be able to get RN experience while in your masters program. The program might be harder at first but it will all be worth it in the end.

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Specializes in Outpatient Psychiatry.

I don't think the lack of experience will hold you back at all. I worked one year so far as a RN, and another year in an RN-like capacity, but I don't see patients. I've finished 2/3 of my PMHNP program, and no one I've spoken with has rebuked my lack of psych experience which, for that matter, I have none of.

Experience is something I would like to get, yet I'm not positive that I want to be a psych RN. I've lamented about this in another post so it presents quite the conundrum. I want to work individually with patients, with mental health problems, rather than a mass of them in a day room minding each of their safety needs, etc. I'm ok with rolling my sleeves up and grabbing a tiger by the tail...but 20 tigers?! Yikes.

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Which programs are these that offer a PMHNP program without work experience? Thanks

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Lakshma - I also applied for PMHNP schools during senior yr of undergrad. I applied to the following:

UT-Austin

OHSU

Yale

Boston College

I was admitted to all four. I'm not sure how uncommon that is. Best of luck!

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Thanks hun :)

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