M.Ed to Psych NP ??

[insatiable]

First background info:

-BS in Psychology (3.1 GPA)

-M.Ed in Community and Rehabilitation Counseling (3.7 GPA)

-Worked in residential facilty while in grad school for girls age 12-17 with emotional and behavioral problems.

-Currently doing homebased family/individual counseling.

-Decent amount of experience over the years through internships and such working with a wide variety of people with mental illness.

Im looking into MSN programs for psych nursing. Ive always had an interest medicine and think that psych nursing would compliment my counseling degree and would also give me some room move in and out of different jobs. Although I love counseling I dont see myself doing it for 30 years straight...nor do I see myself doing nursing 30 years either. But between the 2 I think Id be happy. So I was wondering if any psych NP's or RN's in general have any advice about how to approach getting into psych nursing? What is the best way to avoid high costs for school but yet achieve the degree in a timely mannor? Ive been looking at direct-entry programs, what do people think about those? Or would it be best to get an ADN, work, then apply to an ADN-MSN program and have an employer pay? Any tips on these questions or anything else would be helpful. Im looking to go back to school in 2-3 years so trying to get it sorted out so I can take prereqs and such if need be. Also, would it be worth it to do the MSN to be a psych NP or an ADN RN on psych floor be just as good? Is there much of a pay difference between psych NP and reg RN on psych? How competitive are MSN psych programs?

I apologize for being so lengthy haha

Thanks so much

[medsurgrnco, BSN, RN]

I suggest getting a nursing degree and working as a psych nurse before considering getting a master's degree. Pay is much higher for a psych nurse than in your current career, and you probably would find it very easy to get a psych nursing job with your background. Then if you wanted to pursue further education, you could likely cut down to PT nursing work while going to school.

[lucianne]

You could do an accelerated RN program and work in psych for a couple of years either before or while working on a master's degree. In many areas if you agree to work in an underserved area for a certain number of years, your student loans can be forgiven.