91W

Are all of you working while doing the online NP? Full time/ part time? And are any of you completing the NP online in California? Thanks for any info you can give me on this. 91W

Can Rns be self employed and operate like a self registry service? Just curious if anyone does this or knows what you need to do. Thanks.

Thanks again for the reply, I was referring earlier to finishing my twenty years for retirement yes, the retirement is pretty good. Half of your base pay + full med for the rest of your life. After treating traumatic injuries and being part of the medical team in an Infantry battalion I saw the potential to either use my experiences in the civilian sector or return to duty to train others and perform at a higher level. My wife is a LVN, and at times I am amazed at what a civilian nurse cannot do. She cannot give an IV for example, unless a Dr. orders it, she cannot even give cough syrup and so on. All of these things were second nature to us medics and in fact we usually had everything you need within our reach. Procedures are something I am fortunate to have taken part of. We were able to suture, use chest tubes, venus cut downs, and even were given several opportunities to perform emergency crichotomies. These are all way out of the scope of practice for a LVn I am guessing,I could be wrong but maybe RNs can do this too? I started to think that maybe an alternative to military nursing woul be corrections, since they seem to operate on a similarity with the aid station to clinic to hospital mentality. But the documentries with inmates smearing crap on the walls doesnt make me want to enter into mental health with the prison system. It is very good money ( around 6300+ a month which is more than a Psy.d/Ph.d or MSW) but I dont want to spend my life in that direction. I am kind of side tracking here and dont want to ramble on and on! I will take the 4 pre reqs they have for the BSN/MSN and finish my BA. If it happens great if not I think I will be quite happy with the other routes I have checked out. It was just real hard to let the 3 twelve hour shifts go and do the 5 days a week thing, but who's complaining! I am just cursed with a wide interest range. 1911, I have considered VA, it does push up the retirement age and some benifits but it is an option, I have also considered the reserve and the National Guard but their deployments run as far as 18 months, for me twelve was pretty lengthy, 18 months is a big chunk of your time. I am not sure if my family or I am ready for that, plus all the pre-deployment training. There are no medical schools close by and I really am not sure that I have the scholastic aptitude required for that. I would give it a shot, but pre med course work is almost a double major within itself. I have checked ou MSW as a route too. Just going to see what happens, thank you for the questions and your ideas! If you are seeking a under or graduate degree, then I would wait and enter the military as a MSW or PSy.d/Ph.d. That is unless you need the money, I am sure they are offering bonuses for 91X as it used to be called. I went to that school and dropped out to some heavy personal problems. It really wasnt hard though. If I could get passed the difficult part anyone can. I really thought it was a let down though, the people didnt seem to really dig the psychology aspect of the course. There was a lot of jesting toward the mental health population ( by students). I think you would be dissappointed if you went in as enlisted. Better for you finacially and it would better suit your age. You gotta remember most privates are kids and San Antonio is a party city for sure. I would love to give you any info on that subject, it is something I know a bit about. One last thing just FYI, Army CNS's can prescribe meds you dont need to be a NP. Mark Smith

Thank you again for all of the information, I served as a army medic for almost seven years, after my year deployment with 1st brigade stryker combat team in the city of Mosul Iraq, I left the military, moved to California with my wife and three, soon to be four children. From my combat experiences as a Medic I began to lean toward nursing, possibly as a method to re-enter the service and finish my time. I especially feel the compulsion to relate to those who have been in harms way and suffer from PTSD, from my own experiences, I believe that i can truly help some in this area. My true interest is in Psychology/ Anthropology. Nursing provides a longer route to end up at the counseling table it seems but possibly it has more diverse methods of treatment including primarily the ability of prescribed drugs. I have decided not to actively pursue nursing simply for the sake of it being two steps forward and one step back for me in years of college spent getting the degree i need, especially when I am beging to feel as though I may want to have some degree of autonomy when I complete my education. For that reason I am going to complete an Anthropology/Psychology BA and then go from there. I think there are just too many interesting things to study! There are entry level masters in nursing around here, that do not require a BSN, just any BA with the right pre-reqs. Thanks again for your input and for allowing me to tell someof my story. Mark Smith

1911, Thanks for the in depth reply, and yes I (was) a medical specialist. Just got out of the Army in Feb. I had taken a bit a college during my time in the Army and got out with about 80 credits ( I truly enjoy psychology), the bad thing is about nursing in my area is it is a 3 year program and would start next fall, bringing my total time invested to about 5 years to get a BSN when i already have 80 credits(school uses about 60). I know that if I were to go the Psychology route I could complete the education around the same time if not a year earlier than the PMHNP. I would have to do the MSN online unless I wanted to become a FNP which I truly do not. Maybe I do not understand the flexibility of a Psy.d and am somewhat afraid of uncertainties with residency. Finacially the nurse to PMHNP seems more secure and with a life goal to include a Psy.d it just seemed to be long but benificial. This Dilemma is my own personal curse I think lol, this semester I am going to go to school and just feel it out. I am going to go with what seems to flow for me. Thanks or the info.

I appreciate all of the input on these questions. Here are a few more if you have any further insight on these matters. 1) Can a PMHNP be an autonomous practitioner, or must they be under MD supervision ? (specifically California), furthermore, if one were a PMHNP & Psy.d , would they then be able to prescribe on their own, without being under a MD? 2) I have seen DNP with a specialty in Psych. is this any different than practicing as a NP? There are so many directions a nurse can go. My own goal is to pursue Psychiatric nursing as far as I can go, throughout my life. Thank you for your replys.

Are you able to pursue further RN education through the correctional system. Would it be possible to do an online NP program or, would you have to quit to do graduate school. Just curious. thanks

Hi there, Just wondering if working in the prisons is similar to morning sick call in the military. I just got out of the army as a medic for 7 years. I know the morning sick call routine where you check the guys to see who is bs'ing to get out of work and who has real problems. I am going into a BSN program in fresno pretty soon and was considering working at one of the state prisons, the pay is good and looks like it might be same kind of scenario, who knows maybe I have a nack for sick call in prisons already from my army experience. I'd apprecaite any info on the matter!

Hi there, Sounds like you are in a similar situation as myself. I am going into a BSN program and plan on eventually finishing PMHNP school. A great thing that is happening that I have noticed (from the educational point) is that now you can do NP online. There are a few PMHNP degrees online, and I have seen at least one FNP/PMHNP joint program that is also offered completely online. If you are going to attend school, maybe consider checkng out programs that offer dual capacity. I love psych, I love talking with and helping people and although Psychology would be an great major, I definitely believe that the prescriptive role of the psych NP is excellent. I would love to eventually get a Ph.d/Psy.d to enrich my understanding of the different theories. I wonder if this would make you almost the same as a Psychiatrist? Whatever the role, do what you love. If you love psych, then go for it!

Thank you very very much for the info, this being true can kcock off nearly 1 1/2 year of extra college for me and allow me to have a diverse perspective in education.

Ok, I was searching around and found out from another thread that you can have a Bachelors degree in something other than nursing and enter a MSN program if you meet normal requirments. Usually it will be having your RN and the Bio/Chem pre-reqs. But you still have to do your research on the graduate program you are interested in.

Sorry for butting in but this is totally what i need to understand. You are saying that if I get a LVN to RN (thirty unit option) along with a BA in whatever, i can still do RN to MSN or in other words just do a masters like everyone else? That, as long as I hold a RN and a BA I can go into a MSN(NP) program? 91W

I have three questions about PHMNP 1) How many more classes are usually required for FNP to become eligible to take the PMHNP exam as well. (there are zero pmhnp programs around where I live) 2) If you decide to pursue a Doctorate in Psychology as a Pmhnp, are you allowed to enter with a master level or much you start from the begining? 3) Besides advancing your knowledge and being able to teach, does having a Doctorate improve your marketablility or does it create a fuzzy role in the clinical setting and does it help you if you are self employed.( It seems as though as a psy.d you may have more refered clientel than pmhnp alone,just a thought) 91W

The nursing minor I am speaking of would be used as a substitute for a regular 20-30 credit minor. I am speaking of the possibility of using the LVN to RN 30 unit option in CA. Since you can go from Rn to BSN or RN to MSN I was asking if anyone had done this. My 84 credits are geared towards a Psychology BA. I figure if I complete the 20 or so credits required for a BA in Psychology I would use the 30 unit option as a minor (so to speak). My Nursing goal is Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner anyway. I really dont want to back track and complete about 160 college credits for a BSN when I could be further along if I were to apply my credits more efficiently. I just want to know if you can do this or if anyone has done it. It seems as though you could. (91W)

thanks for the input, I have been checking out ELM programs local to me. Ill see what I can dig up.