Master's Specialty vs. DNP specialty

[JerseyGir1]

I plan to start my Master's degree this summer, with the intention of becoming a Family NP. I've recently become interested in Psychiatric NP, but my school does not offer that specialty. Also, I really want the versatility of the FNP - being able to treat all ages in different settings.

Is it possible to have my Maters in FNP, and then attend a post-master's DNP program and specialize in psych/mental health?

Would I be both an FNP and Pysch NP?

[UVA Grad Nursing]

JerseyGirl:

According to my read of the DNP Essentials, a DNP graduate will have at least 1000 precepted hours in a single specialty. For the students in our program, the DNP focus is building on the MSN specialty preparation. In most cases, NP preparation involves approximately 500 hours of precepted experiences. A post-Masters DNP degree will require another 500 hours to take an individual to an even higher level of practice in their specialty area.

We have one student who is a Master's prepared Oncology CNS who is also seeking an Acute Care NP. She is completing the ACNP as a post-master's student first (500 hours) , and then building on this for her DNP (500 more hours).

Primary care preparation as a FNP and psychiatric-mental health NP preparation are different. According to my read of the DNP Essentials document, you could do one for a MSN (500 hours and about 2 years of fulltime study, the other as a Post-Masters (500 more hours and 1 more year of fulltime study), and then focus your DNP in one of these specialty areas (500 hours and 2 more years of fulltime study).

[JerseyGir1]

Thank you for your thorough answer!