It can be done! (BSN straight to PMHNP)

[hakhama]

For anyone who's been thinking about going straight to NP school after undergrad in nursing:

It can be done! I just finished the last exam of my BSN degree. I have no RN experience and have not even taken the NCLEX yet. I graduate next week. I've already been admitted to multiple prestigious PMHNP master's programs (that guarantee clinical placements) and I now officially consider myself a soon-to-be psych nurse practitioner student at one of these schools!!!

The reason I post this is because I got a lot of flack on this website for considering going straight to NP. Some people even told me not to go into nursing if I wanted to be a psych NP just because I wouldn't like the RN education portion.

If you think you want to be a psych NP (or FNP, etc) and you think the path suits you, go for it! The world needs more NPs. :) If you want any specific advice, feel free to PM me. I got a lot of good advice and would love to give back.

[Angeljho, MSN, NP]

Good for you! I get very tired of the argument that for some reason nurse practitioners desperately need RN experience, but MDs, DOs, and PAs are good to go. No one is saying it isn't beneficial, but RN experience is in no way necessary to be a safe and effective healthcare provider.

I fully agree.

[Jules A, MSN]

Good for you! I get very tired of the argument that for some reason nurse practitioners desperately need RN experience, but MDs, DOs, and PAs are good to go. No one is saying it isn't beneficial, but RN experience is in no way necessary to be a safe and effective healthcare provider.

Although what I find interesting if anecdotal is the argument seems largely supported by NP students, rarely by practicing NPs. Again just because something is able to be done doesn't mean it is necessarily the best way to do it.

[mu4ever]

Hi hakhama, I messaged you. If you could get back to me I would greatly appreciate it! 😊

[SierraBravo]

Good for you! I get very tired of the argument that for some reason nurse practitioners desperately need RN experience, but MDs, DOs, and PAs are good to go. No one is saying it isn't beneficial, but RN experience is in no way necessary to be a safe and effective healthcare provider.

That argument takes into account that the education and clinical experience you get in nursing (and NP) school is VASTLY different than what PA's, DO's, and MD's get in school. For what it's worth, it's pretty easy to tell if a NP went straight through school without obtaining any RN experience.

Becoming an advanced practice nurse (such as a nurse practitioner) inherently implies that the NP curriculum is built upon your RN education; you can't become a NP without first getting your RN license. Conversely, the medical model which PA's, DO's, and MD's follow is all inclusive, it doesn't require an intermediary step as the nurse practitioner model does. With that in mind, you are doing yourself a disservice by not gaining any RN experience prior to practicing as an APN.

[SierraBravo]

Although what I find interesting if anecdotal is the argument seems largely supported by NP students, rarely by practicing NPs. Again just because something is able to be done doesn't mean it is necessarily the best way to do it.

THIS!!!

[FLRNSTUDENT]

How did you like Chamberlain? I am about to start chamberlain this July for RN-BSN. Would like your feedback. How do you like their program? Do you get help when you need it? How are their exams/quizzes? fair? timed exams or not timed? Do they have too many papers to write thru out the program? My adviser told me only couple of papers throughout program is this true? I hate writing papers

I would appreciate your reply back.

I thanks you in advance for your help.

[hakhama]

Although what I find interesting if anecdotal is the argument seems largely supported by NP students, rarely by practicing NPs. Again just because something is able to be done doesn't mean it is necessarily the best way to do it.

And, apparently, by the admissions committees of top schools like UPenn, UCSF, etc., that admit the direct entry students.

[SamanthaRN1989]

In my opinion, going straight from a BSN program to an NP program defeats the whole idea behind advanced practice nurse...what you learn on the field is how you become an outstanding RN, nursing programs are simply foundations. I would highly suggest working a few years as an RN before you jump into a program.

[Jules A, MSN]

And, apparently, by the admissions committees of top schools like UPenn, UCSF, etc., that admit the direct entry students.

And there wouldn't be any financial incentive there, right?

[hakhama]

These top schools have more than enough applicants to fill the limited number of spots (the top schools guarantee vetted preceptor placements, meaning a relatively low cap on class sizes). They turn away experienced RNs and direct entry candidates alike. Since the class size remains the same despite more applicants, the argument that admitting students without RN experience increases revenue doesn't hold up.

Furthermore, all the programs I applied at had more direct entry students than experienced RN students, and they also all had 100% pass rates and 100% job placement rates. This means that not only do admission committees at top schools seem to rather like candidates without RN experience, but the standardized tests and employers do, too.

The only study that measured whether RN experiences increases NP competence found that it didn't.

A less myopic, more meaningful question might be: how do other countries with strong health care systems train their providers? What are their outcomes by field? What can we all learn from the various educational paths to continuously improve nurse practitioner education? Saying that RN experience is the only path and the only answer is pretty narrow if the goal is improved patient care.

[hakhama]

After that last post I did an updated search and found a new 2015 article that also found no correlation between RN experience and NP competence:

[h=1]Exploring the Factors That Influence Nurse Practitioner Role Transition[/h]

• Hilary Barnes, PhD, CRNP
  

[Jules A, MSN]

I'm still working on finding the JNP article you added. For some reason OVID won't give it up and the JNP isn't recognizing me as having access although they send me the stinking thing free each month which I rarely keep as most times there are few articles that are of benefit for my specialty and the ones that are kind of nursing research light type written about psych seem more geared to GPs.

Something I found in my hunt that was interesting is level of preparation was the highest rated component although there doesn't seem to be a cut and dry description of what that should entail. Is it experience, clinical education, orientation? Probably all of the above would be ideal. Comments on Role Preparation topic include:

Understand the educational preparation to clarify expectations Recognize that ACNPs need clinical experience in the area. Recognize the impact on time due to the initial dependence on physician mentorship”

Both physicians and ACNPs wanted improved role preparation via ACNP education programs. For ACNPs, this meant access to nursing mentors, greater understanding of their scope of practice, and improved access to continuing education. Physicians wanted to understand the ACNP program content to help clarify expectations and also thought that more clinical experience during the pro- gram would be helpful.”

From: Success Indicators and Barriers to Acute Nurse Practitioner Role Implementation in Four Ontario Hospitals Mary H. van Soeren, RN, PhD, ACNP; Vaska Micevski, RN, MScN, ACNP