Geropsych NP... what to do

Specialties NP

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I'm getting antsy again... I magically found myself look at NP programs again and am swimming in a sea of questions on what to do.

I want to go and become an NP, specifically gero-psych. Are there a lot of you guys out there? I have only met one yet.

I just worry about the stress it will add to my family and littles.. and the cost of tuition! Oh My! I've been eyeing some prestigious universities, the costs of adult-geriatric primary care NP + post masters psych certificate and the price is astronomical. I'll have to rob at bank or give up Starbucks and donuts for life; I prefer to rob a bank. Anyone work in this capacity? Would it be better to get an NP degree in mental health/psych or adult/geriatric primary care and then get a post masters certificate? Do you know of any programs where both can be done at the same time? What is the entry level salary for this position? Is taking on the major debt worth it? Help! ?

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Do you want to do psych or medicine? Pick one because most jobs will probably only require you to do one. Painting too broad of strokes usually won't pay back in the end

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

If you truly want to do psych, then go directly for an MSN or DNP as a PMHNP. Also, do a general psych program so you have more flexibility and aren't stuck only treating geriatric patients in case you change your mind or have trouble getting job doing only geriatric psych.

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Specializes in psych.

There are plenty of affordable schools out there. A co-worker from a previous job works in geropsych as a pmhnp. We had both worked at an inpatient geropsych facility and that is where he got his connection. He has a decent salary too.

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Thanks for the response guys!

I am pretty much decided on the PMHNP route. I was conflicted on which cerification employers wanted for the geropsych field but it seems like a majority want PMHNP.

I’ve been doing some deep searching of schools. It appears that Walden offers a program for $40k (after a discount).. they appear legitimate so far but I’m looking through old threads here to make sure there isn’t too much negativity about their program.

What I'm still trying to figugure out...

I’ve been searching job listing to ensure that expected income doesn’t overwhelm anticipated school debt. I see a geropsych listing at 125k but general PMHNP at 150-200k. Can anyone explain the descreptancy?

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Walden is not a respectable program choose another. It is known in many areas to be a degree mill for people who dont really want to learn medicine

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On 1/18/2019 at 5:34 PM, Thanksforthedonuts said:

Thanks for the response guys!

I am pretty much decided on the PMHNP route. I was conflicted on which cerification employers wanted for the geropsych field but it seems like a majority want PMHNP.

I’ve been doing some deep searching of schools. It appears that Walden offers a program for $40k (after a discount).. they appear legitimate so far but I’m looking through old threads here to make sure there isn’t too much negativity about their program.

What I'm still trying to figugure out...

I’ve been searching job listing to ensure that expected income doesn’t overwhelm anticipated school debt. I see a geropsych listing at 125k but general PMHNP at 150-200k. Can anyone explain the descreptancy?

Gero population means predominantly medicare. Medicare does not reimburse as much as commercial insurance for the most part, which can account for the discrepency that you inquired about.

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On 1/18/2019 at 6:34 PM, Thanksforthedonuts said:

It appears that Walden offers a program for $40k (after a discount).. they appear legitimate so far but I’m looking through old threads here to make sure there isn’t too much negativity about their program.

There are many online NP programs that will offer quality education for less money. Having been in a position of making hiring decisions for NPs, I immediately discarded applications from new graduates from for-profit online programs. I know other colleagues do the same. These schools have a reputation of producing subpar clinicians. Take a look at online programs at state universities.

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So I've been reading these boards about programs I'm interested in. I love this site! A few things have popped up..

I looked into Gonzaga which is a local state university. But one poster here (on another thread) mentioned her concern with the program due to the extensive time spent on papers, research, and readings on EBP. While those all have their time and place.. her concern was how the program lacked in preparing her for actual clinical practice. I'm quite interested in Gonzaga but that comment had me looking for other programs. I found 2 that stood out to me.

Frontier.. while I know they started and pride themselves on midwifery, they also have a relatively new PMHNP program. Would anyone give insights into this program?

And the University of North Dakota seems to have a program with a strong pharm course...

I looked at the courses between the 3, and obviously there are many similarities. I find the comments from active/past students are important in speaking the truth about the quality of the program so I've been comparing a lot of what I've read on the school websites with comments on these boards.

Can anyone comment on the quality of these 3 programs?

Gonzaga has a well known CRNA program but that might not hold true for the other tracks....

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Gonzaga's BSN nursing programs are very well respected in the Northwest as is their CRNA. I'm sure that the NP programs have a similar good reputation. For the NP program, I believe that you have to live in the NW I think because they find clinicals for you.

Someone on here really liked UNorth Dakota as they had a very robust pharm sequence for PMHNP - sorry I can't remember his name but you might do a search for it under the student NP forum.

Vanderbilt has a well-respected program that you can do mainly remotely but with a few campus visits.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

Go to the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (or NP Association) and they have a list of accredited schools.

Many state universities and colleges offer the PMHNP and that is generally the most reasonably priced option.

Good luck

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