PMHNP question

[Psychislife]

I am wondering if a PMHNP in TX has to be supervised by a psychiatrist or if it could be a family medicine MD/DO? Also, for the practicing PMHNPs out there, what all do you treat? 

[MentalKlarity, BSN, NP]

Did you not learn in school what your scope would be? 

[Psychislife]

I'm still in school…… just starting clinical but I'm with an FNP this clinical so he can't answer a lot of my questions. Thanks for your input ??

[MentalKlarity, BSN, NP]

Psychislife said:

I'm still in school…… just starting clinical but I'm with an FNP this clinical so he can't answer a lot of my questions. Thanks for your input ??

Oh okay, so I assume you're still in the general medicine rotations?

 

A PMHNP sees everything a psychiatrist sees.

[Psychislife]

I am in clinical decision making. In a perfect world I would be following a PMHNP but there were none available within a 3 hour commute all directions (I live in central TX). I'm just wondering if a PMHNP has to be supervised by a psychiatrist, or is it just any MD? 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

I don't live in Texas, so I can't help you.  In my state, you have to collaborate with an MD for three years... but the MD can be from any specialty!!  Some PMHNPs can and do collaborate with cardiologists, nephrologists, etc.  Because it is hard to find a collaborating physician, and some will take it on if you pay them enough.  It's so silly because we can't collaborate with an experienced PMHNP, but obviously a pulmonologist isn't going to have much clinical insight to share!

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

Psychislife said:

I'm still in school…… just starting clinical but I'm with an FNP this clinical so he can't answer a lot of my questions. Thanks for your input ??

This isn't great... In my program we had to have clinicals with either a PMHNP or a psychiatrist.  How is an FNP clinical going to help you at all?  Did the school assign you to this FNP, or is it something you set up yourself?

I'll graduate in about four weeks.  To answer your question about what we treat-- Well, anxiety and depression are the most common, because that's what's most common in the population!  And for kids, ADHD, ADHD, ADHD. But many PMHNPs work inpatient where you'd see much more schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. I work outpatient, so when I see patients with those major illnesses, they have usually already been stabilized in a hospital and I am helping them maintain that stability.