future_psych

Hey there, I'll be graduating from a direct-entry PMHNP program next May and have been working inpatient psych for the last 2 years (as a tech as well as RN). I also recently began precepting and can tell you without a doubt that my inpatient experience has given me a huge leg up. While you may see psych patients anywhere, there is absolutely zero comparison to working on a locked unit. The acuity of illness on a psych unit gives you a pathology perspective unmatched anywhere else. Disease presentation is the most extreme here and this allows you to fully grasp and appreciate subtle signs of psychiatric illness. For instance, can you easily identify vocal tendencies in schizophrenia? Sure you can go listen to a youtube video but I promise it is just not the same as hearing someone with echolalia for 8-12 hours (it gets stuck in your head)! I liken this concept to a baseball player's practice swing with added weights. After seeing the most severe variations of mental illness, nuances are more easily recognized in the outpatient setting. It is correct to say that inpatient psych experience isn't NEEDED, but it definitely helps you be more prepared when you see patients as the provider.

Hey sorry I never got back to you here. I'm in the direct entry PMHNP program at Ohio State.

Hey there! I am a current direct-entry PMHNP student in my last year of school and believe I had similar feelings to yours before I began. I've always planned to work in mental health, however I was not entirely sure in what capacity. After college I worked for a few years in various areas before eventually learning of the PMHNP role and making the move to return to graduate school. I was also was not interested in being a med-surg or otherwise nurse, however the time spent in other clinical areas is crucial to understanding disease process. Additionally it will most likely open your eyes to the psychiatric care needed in all areas. For example, after my OB rotation I've become more interested in maternal mental health. Should you decide to choose this path you will have no problems finding jobs in psychiatry.

Thank you for the excellent advice Jules. Luckily for me the facility I work in also contains an adult acute inpatient unit, to which I am occasionally floated. I appreciate you taking the time to reply and will keep all of this in mind as I progress through my program. If anything else comes to mind, please let me know :) Nick, I'm not really a cat fan, but I do have a soft spot for kittens. I'll guard them with all of my power.

Hi everyone, I am currently about a third of the way through my Graduate Entry PMHNP program and am attempting to learn as much as I can, both inside and out of the classroom. Right now I work as a psychiatric care technician on an inpatient adolescent unit (perfect for me, as I plan to work in peds psych) with the hope of continuing to work there as an RN after taking the NCLEX. I'm wondering if anyone can speak to additional experiences that would be helpful to have moving forward as I work towards becoming a Psych NP. Thanks in advance for any thoughts you may have.