Direct Entry Psychiatric NP

[historymajor]

Hi all,

I have a bachelor degree in History with a 3.9 GPA. I decided I want to be a psychiatric NP. I currently work at a hospital and I am in the process of completing prerequisite coursework (A&P, microbiology, chemistry, etc).

I am wondering if you anyone can recommend programs I should applying to. The program has to be direct entry and psychiatric NP.

If someone who's been through the process can give me pointers that will be great. I still have a lot to learn, but any help would be appreciated.

So far I've researched the DE NP program at University of Texas and Yale.

Thank you so much

[FinallyMine]

I have only one semester left in my direct entry psych NP program and will graduate in May. I chose the DE program here in Maine (USM)and am happy with the strong academic and clinical base I have received.

I did earn my RN about 18 months into the program, I needed that license in order to sit through my graduate clinicals. I did not earn a BSN as the program culminates in an MSN. Each states BON negotiates the exact process with the university.

For all of the graduate part of the program we have been mixed in with traditional track graduate students (BSN-RN's). As far as the skills needed and scope of an NP, the practicing RN's have no advantage over the DE students. We are all on par with each other in class and share a peer support/supervision group so we know how we are all doing in the clinical setting.

Additionally, each year nearly all graduates of my program have job offers before they graduate (most years it's at 100% hired). Much like a previous poster mentioned that there wouldn't be a demand for the program if there weren't jobs for the graduates, there also wouldn't be a demand for the programs if the graduates were somehow less prepared or not as competent as traditional students.

I'm not sure why, other than a misunderstanding of the role and scope of NP's, the issue would still be up for debate.

[Jules A, MSN]

As far as the skills needed and scope of an NP, the practicing RN's have no advantage over the DE students. We are all on par with each other in class and share a peer support/supervision group so we know how we are all doing in the clinical setting.

Although I know students are individuals and there will be some with experience who are not good and some without experience who are good I believe the years of having administered and observed the outcomes of the different psychiatric medication was invaluable for my practice especially initially. In my class everyone was already a nurse and the few with no psych experience were lacking when it came to diagnosing and prescribing. No clue how they grew as the years went on but I have had several repeat admissions of patients who are cared for by two of my fellow classmates with the classic signs of irresponsible benzodiazepine prescribing and the ever lovely stimulants for "adult onset ADHD" with a co-occurring active SUD.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

All the above discussion doesn't address that the graduate, hired, NP in whatever field, will be thrown into situations she might not have any experience handling, if she doesn't have more experience than school clinicals under her belt. It's a tremendously stressful experience for the new NP!

[BostonFNP, APRN]

All the above discussion doesn't address that the graduate, hired, NP in whatever field, will be thrown into situations she might not have any experience handling, if she doesn't have more experience than school clinicals under her belt. It's a tremendously stressful experience for the new NP!

I don't know what your experience was in transitioning from RN to NP, but for most novice NPs (at least in med) they will encounter situations they have never experienced before. Same is true for physician colleagues, even after lengthy residency and fellowships.

Sent from my iPhone.

[Jules A, MSN]

I don't know what your experience was in transitioning from RN to NP, but for most novice NPs (at least in med) they will encounter situations they have never experienced before. Same is true for physician colleagues, even after lengthy residency and fellowships.

Sent from my iPhone.

Speaking only for myself there were almost no situations I encountered as a new grad NP that I wasn't familiar with as a RN. That said being a new grad NP with next to no orientation was extremely stressful based on the fact that all the sudden I was single handedly responsible for diagnosing and medicating. This definitely resulted in more than a few gray hairs but I can't say I didn't know what I was seeing which was especially valuable when it came to the different adverse medication reactions, ekg changes, overdose and withdrawal symptoms that if missed or incorrectly diagnosed can result in patient harm.

[verene, MSN]

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!

University of Washington is NOT a direct entry program, you MUST have either BSN or BA/BS + RN status in order to apply. UW does offer an accelerated bachelor's program, but there is no guarantee that completion will lead to acceptance into the DNP program. It's not linked RN/NP education like direct entry programs are. (Example OHSU allows application to both accelerated BSN and MSN programs simultaneously so that for qualified students transition from the accelerated BSN is into the MSN is guaranteed and coursework streamlined for the transition, or Seattle U where you complete the requirements to sit for NECLEX during first year along side the start of graduate coursework.)

I do agree that the UW has a very good psych program, but I don't want people reading this thread looking for direct entry programs to be confused.

Also do you have any good links for information on the Yale program? I'm interested in it and would like to learn more beyond what their website says. I've found a few posts here that say their psych program has some pretty serious issues, but those post are several years out of date, so I'd love more current information if you have any.

[ianguitarist]

tough stuff. I am on a forum for Schizoaffective and I have the same disorder. I've been on so many of the meds. I know people on them. It's certainly doable. I would feel okay with it, but I've had P-docs for quite some time now. Treat symptoms not diagnoses. Use the least possible dose. Trust you pt. even if you don't want to. Try to avoid drugs that make things worse or grow tolerance over time. Be realistic regarding results; stable may be the best outcome, not some kind of cure. Read, read, and read some more. There is a lot of stuff in our local library about mental illness. Take a few surveys about mental illness so you know symptoms. Realize that your job is to pick drugs you think will work and replace them until they do work. Compliance is a huge issue. Be sure if you tell someone they can't drink, have normal sex, or get out of bed because they are too drowsy at some point they'll give up on you. That and regularly weigh your pt., far too many of us are getting off for getting fat. There is a fine line between delusion and religiosity. Our forum works well to mediate that line by ensuring that medicine works with praying, but praying alone isn't going to cover all the aspects of the problem. There is a lot of fringe research that can be beneficial. You could take Lamictal for sleep if you aren't getting good quality sleep but rather sleep too much. On the other hand, if you are bored to tears from moderate depressive symptoms; sleep might be a benefit and you could go with Depakote. I take effexor, mostly to avoid sexual side effects, but it ups NE in the prefrontal cortex and therefore? dopamine so I have less negative symptoms. I also take abilify which act like a speed limit enforcer in the brain, neither too slow, nor too fast. I've also tried heavy doses of stuff to stop the voices. Never going to work and the side effects were luckily temporary. Work closely with therapists. They are going to talk to the pt. far longer than you will and get a ton done for them.

Your grades are very impressive. With any luck you'll do just fine. Clinical should guide you through the rest. Keep an open mind about drug use, street professions, and other comorbidities and your pts. will love you. Best of luck, hope this helps you in your career.

[portlandnp]

I completed a DE program at a well respected state school in Oregon. I am fully employed and had a job lined up a month before my graduation. I actually did not even have an active license, and another pmhnp had to sign off for me for two months. So, I would argue that demand for pmhnps allows for DE grads to easily find jobs. But, this does not mean you won't be at a disadvantage. Retrospectively, I wish I had more experience as an RN before being a pmhnp. I have experienced a few occasions where I felt judged by other pmhnps who had worked years (decades) as RNs prior to grad school. I also think that doing the RN program first and working a bit is a good opportunity to save $$$ for grad school. Then, apply to grad school with your tuition in the bank already, and when you get in, drop to just a couple RN shifts a week and live cheap, and when you graduate as a PMHNP, voila, no debt, high salary. Everyone wins. DE worked out for me, but I would do it differently with hind sight in mind. good luck.

[PsychBackground]

Hi there,

I am currently also looking into direct entry psych NP programs as I'm 31 and have worked in health care and mental health for 8 years after getting my non-nursing bachelor's. How long does the Vanderbilt program take from start to finish? I'm referring to both the BSN or BSN-equivalent, pre-specialty program and the psych NP portion. Can you complete the entire thing any faster than at Yale, which is currently 3 full academic years? Thanks!

[PsychBackground]

I am in a similar situation as the original commenter - the differences are that I'm in my early 30s, have worked in mental health for my whole career thus far, (although NOT as a nurse) and want to get through a direct entry psych NP program as quickly and with as little debt as possible. My experience includes 2 years of previous community-based clinical mental health work, in addition to clinical research and healthcare consulting. Is anyone aware of a direct entry, Psychiatric-Mental Health NP program that takes less than 3 full years?

I have counseling experience, substantial knowledge of psychopharmacology due to my research and clinical background, and want to start a family within the next 3-4 years! However I'd like to finish school first, spend less than 3 years away from my home and partner, and minimize the amount of debt I have to take on. I wish I'd figured out this was what I wanted earlier, but I didn't. So does anyone know of such a program which can be completed in under 3 years?

[BioNerd19]

I am in a similar situation as the original commenter - the differences are that I'm in my early 30s, have worked in mental health for my whole career thus far, (although NOT as a nurse) and want to get through a direct entry psych NP program as quickly and with as little debt as possible. My experience includes 2 years of previous community-based clinical mental health work, in addition to clinical research and healthcare consulting. Is anyone aware of a direct entry, Psychiatric-Mental Health NP program that takes less than 3 full years?

I have counseling experience, substantial knowledge of psychopharmacology due to my research and clinical background, and want to start a family within the next 3-4 years! However I'd like to finish school first, spend less than 3 years away from my home and partner, and minimize the amount of debt I have to take on. I wish I'd figured out this was what I wanted earlier, but I didn't. So does anyone know of such a program which can be completed in under 3 years?

Were you able to find a DE PMHNP program for non-nursing bachelor degree holders? I find most DE MSN programs confer a FMNP or a MSN with Clinical Leadership/Education rather than PMHNP?