Direct Entry Psychiatric NP

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Dec 10, 2014

Hi...you may get more of a response in Student Nurse Practitioner or Nurse Practitioners (NP) forums.

PeacockMaiden · Dec 10, 2014

I'm assuming that you know you must go to school first to be a RN before you can be an advanced practice RN.

I recommend that once you are a RN, you get psych RN experience. You can work as a psych RN while working on your PMHNP certificate.

elkpark · Dec 11, 2014

I'm assuming that you know you must go to school first to be a RN before you can be an advanced practice RN.

It's simply not true that people "must go to school first to be an RN," and I'm surprised that people keep posting this here. There are kazillions of the "direct entry" MSN programs, which is what the OP is specifically asking about, in which people with no nursing background or experience, with a BA/BS degree in some other discipline, complete a 2-3 year program which is a combination of an accelerated BSN program and an MSN program, and come out the other end prepared for advanced practice licensure and employment. These programs have been around for decades and are v. popular. I'm not saying I'm a fan of them, but they are there, and the OP does not have to become an RN and get basic nursing experience in order to get into an advanced practice nursing program.

allnurses Guide · Dec 11, 2014

Technically, even DE programs are pre-licensure RN programs that transition directly into graduate programs.

Sent from my iPhone.

PeacockMaiden · Dec 12, 2014

Yeah, I know there are direct entry MSN programs...I did one. But the program was broken up into phases, the first 2 years were simply to get the RN, and the last 1.5 years to get the MSN. But in any case, a person must be a RN before they can enter into the MSN portion of a direct entry program. That is what I was meaning to say, sorry if it wasn't clear.

elkpark · Dec 12, 2014

Yeah, I know there are direct entry MSN programs...I did one. But the program was broken up into phases, the first 2 years were simply to get the RN, and the last 1.5 years to get the MSN. But in any case, a person must be a RN before they can enter into the MSN portion of a direct entry program. That is what I was meaning to say, sorry if it wasn't clear.

Thanks for clarifying what you meant. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but that doesn't apply to all direct-entry programs. There are different models (although, yes, technically, they are all prelicensure programs). I attended grad school (as a traditional, experienced RN student) in a program that also had a direct-entry track, and, there, the DE students completed their first year of basic nursing, went directly into the MSN portion of the program (two years) and, the way the program was constructed, weren't even eligible for boards until they had completed their second year (first year of the specialty track). The program was a single, cohesive process. None of the DE students that I knew of worked a single day as a generalist RN (and, indeed, had no intention of doing so; they were quite vocal about that) when they graduated and started looking for advanced practice jobs.

I agree strongly with you, though, that working as a generalist RN in psych for some significant amount of time before committing to a PMHNP program is a good idea.

Jules A, MSN · Dec 24, 2014

and come out the other end prepared for advanced practice licensure and employment. .

I'd venture to say come out the other end prepared for licensure but possibly not so prepared for employment, based on my anecdotal experience with a few peers.

elkpark · Dec 24, 2014

I'd venture to say come out the other end prepared for licensure but possibly not so prepared for employment, based on my anecdotal experience with a few peers.

Everyone here who is not a fan of the direct-entry programs, including me, seems to know some DE grads who had trouble finding a job straight out of school. That may well be the case for some people, but I would venture to say that, if employment were really that big a problem for the direct-entry grads as a group, those programs would not be as popular as they are. Word would get out, over time, that you can't find a job if you graduate from one of those programs, and people would stop signing up for them in droves. Since that isn't happening, I can only guess that it's not a widespread problem.

(Or are you talking about something other than getting hired?)

Jules A, MSN · Dec 25, 2014

(Or are you talking about something other than getting hired?)

No problem getting hired but that doesn't necessarily mean prepared to practice, imo.

elkpark · Dec 25, 2014

No problem getting hired but that doesn't necessarily mean prepared to practice, imo.

Thanks for clarifying. I don't disagree with you about that. :)

sarahdukie · Dec 27, 2014

Best direct entry programs for psych are ucsf, University of Washington, Yale and Penn. I am currently finishing a direct entry program at Vandy, which is also highly ranked. I chose direct entry because I am in my 30s and wanted to start a family sooner. If time allows, I would strongly suggest considering getting your Rn first at a community college, then going for the MSN while working part time as a nurse. Often your employer will then pay for your masters. Most in my program will have 150,000-200,000 in loans (I am right at 150,000). That's a 2,000 loan payment per month for 10 years or 1,000 for 30 years. Yes, salaries are high, but once you consider a higher tax bracket and cost of living (high in high salary areas for the most part) it's pretty overwhelming. If I was 10 years younger that is the route I would take. Good luck!