appw77

I went through this earlier this year and can definitely rate. I had known pretty much since nursing school that I wanted to work psych. However, there wasn't a good opportunity to start in psych as a new grad for me, and so I spent my first 2 years in tele/med surg. I spent about 2 months sending my applications for psych everywhere. I finally got a back call from a hospital that was willing to hire someone with medical, but not psych, experience. Emphasize that you are willing to learn and that you are excited about a new specialty. Also, I would talk about how you are used to communicating with and managing the families, which is a big part of working psych and I assume you are doing in the NICU. Strong communication skills are essential in psych, in my opinion. From what I've seen, there do not seem to be any transition residencies (for experienced RNs who are entering a new specialty) for psych. I received 3 weeks of orientation and then was on my own. I definitely think I could have benefitted from more orientation time, but since that was not an option, I spent time outside of work reading about the diagnoses, the drugs, etc. to fill in the gaps. I enjoy the supplemental learning because I love psych/mental health. Also, having those few good colleagues to always be able to go to for help when you need it is critical. When interviewing, I suggest asking how you will continue to be supported once they decide that you are ready to be off of orientation. Some things to keep in mind: you will have a much higher ratio of patients, especially compared to the critical care environment. I currently work at 2 hospitals in psych (both crisis stabilization) and at one of them, we have up to 10 pt's per RN. It took me some time to get used to that. It can get overwhelming at times as you are constantly 'putting out fires' and deescalating situations. At the end of the day though I love it and definitely encourage you to make the switch if that's what you're passionate about. Lastly, many of the positions I applied for required having CPI certification. I looked into getting it on my own in order to make myself more 'marketable' but it was expensive. Ultimately, I was able to get it through the first hospital that hired me. Most hospitals require their psych employees to renew it annually so chances are, there will be an opportunity for your to get it through the employer once you're hired. Best of luck!

Congratulations everyone! And if you're on the waitlist, don't lost hope! I agree with the above comment that your essays and letters of rec are an opportunity to make yourself stand out from the rest. My BSN GPA was OK (3.5) and I had 2.5 years RN experience when I was applying. I will be doing Frontier Bound in two weeks. If you have any questions about the process thus far, feel free to reach out!

No problem! My application was actually submitted only a few days before the deadline because I was waiting for my last letter of rec to be completed. I recall reading in previous year's threads that the typical turnaround time for decisions is 6-8 weeks, so I don't know that you would hear any sooner than that. It seems like they release the decisions all at once and not on a rolling basis. I will be attending Bound in June. So far, the process for completing all of the paperwork for Bound has been easy and, again, the staff responds quickly if clarification is needed. Feel free to reach out if you have other questions!

I've been accepted into the cohort starting Summer 2021 and was hoping some of you who have already started the program this year could share some feedback on how it's going so far, and any advice you may have. Thank you!

I was accepted into the cohort starting Summer 2021. The decision came via email exactly 6 weeks from the application deadline. When questions came up as I was compiling my application, I would reach out to my advisor by email and she was very helpful. Good luck!

Just wanted to add my two cents as someone who graduated from the program a couple of years ago (Jax cohort.) Back then, we were only the second cohort in Jax and there were many kinks that hadn't been ironed out, leading to a number of frustrations. Keep in mind that you will find such issues everywhere, as no program is perfect. However, I feel that having attended UF has absolutely put me on the track for a successful career. Firstly, your clinical experiences will be very strong. You will never feel fully prepared fresh out of school but the clinicals through UF taught me so much. Secondly, myself and many other students in the class had jobs lined up at UF Health upon graduation. (I am not sure if they are still doing that, but regardless, having done your clinicals at that hospital I think helps you get your foot in the door and make connections.) Meanwhile, I hear of students from other programs either struggling to find that first RN job after graduation due to lack of experience or not being able to get their foot in the door at a hospital if that's the type of facility they want to start out at. After being with UF for a year, I was easily able to get a job at another academic health center in a different part of the state. So, whether you attend UF or another program, I encourage you to also think about how your program will help you to get to the next step after graduation. Good luck to you all and know that you are about to embark on an amazing career!