SydneyJo1

Not all nurses are like that. In fact, I think that segment of the profession is the minority.

I've only had one person say something like this to me, thankfully. She asked why she was seeing me rather than a psychiatrist, and I said "I guess you got lucky today." I was joking, obviously, but it did defuse the situation at the time and she actually laughed. People are strange. :)

When I was a floor nurse I cringed when co-workers would be stuffing their faces in the nurses station in full view of guests and patients. Just rude, gross, and unprofessional. As if the whole unit wants to smell your Doritos. Ew. Also, in the same vein as the "cutesy" issue, I hate to see nurses wearing scrubs with bunnies, fairies, duckies, cartoon characters, etc., unless they work on a peds unit. Do you ever see docs walking around in pink scrubs with Tinker Bell on them? Come on. This makes nurses look like morons, IMO.

I had an instructor a lot like this one. I agree--report her immediately, as a group. Unfortunately there seem to be quite a few sadistic, crazy clinical instructors out there. And yes, the nurses who tallied up the bathroom visits are idiots.

If they are taking the time to interview you, I think you have a good shot of getting in. Good luck!

I sent you a PM...

I honestly don't think you would have trouble finding a good job as a PMHNP if you do a DE program. About half my class was DE (the other half, like me, were already RNs), and I know most people had accepted job offers by the time we graduated. Right now PMHNPs are in demand (this may change in a few years as more people go into this specialty, but who knows). So if your question is whether you will likely have trouble finding decent employment as a PMHNP if you go DE, my opinion is no, not at all.

I'm a new PMHNP. I was a RN for a few years before becoming a NP, but I never worked in psych. I can see the point Jules is making about the value of previous psych nursing experience, but so far I've done very well in this role (I work outpatient and may have struggled more in an inpatient psych NP role). In my experience, this specialty is very much in demand and jobs are plentiful. Some of this is probably dependent upon where you live, but in my area there is a huge need for psych prescribers. I had several job offers when I graduated last summer. Additionally, all the psychiatrists I've met, including the ones I work with, have been very open to me as a NP and treat me as a respected colleague. I'm sure there are some psychiatrists who look down on PMHNPs, but that is true of other specialties as well. So far I'm very happy with this career path and have no regrets.

Of your list the one I've heard the best things about is University of ND. Quick and cheap is good, but also make sure they offer both a general pharm course AND a psychopharm course. You want to be really well versed in this area. But, yes, most learning occurs in clinical so nail that part down early and choose preceptors who are really good.

I strongly advise you not to use whatever is easiest to get into as a deciding factor here. I get where you're coming from, but being a NP will (hopefully) be a long term career for you. You don't want to put all that effort, time, and money into something you may end up regretting. I think you need to really think about your strengths as a nurse, the patient population you are most interested in and enjoy working with most, what kind of environment you'd prefer (inpatient, outpatient, etc.). That way you will increase the odds of not just becoming a NP, but actually enjoying your work and being successful and happy.

It isn't a cake walk, but in my experience it is far less taxing than being a floor nurse. I guess I would say it can be stressful, but in a different way. The buck stops with you as a NP, so that level of autonomy and responsibility can cause its own type of stress. As far as work hours go, I have it pretty good--60 minute evals and 30 minute med follow ups (I work OP psych). I usually see about 9-13 patients per day, depending on the mix of new patients vs. follow ups. It may not turn out to be quite as idyllic as you are picturing, but I have no regrets at all. I love it.

Here is how it works: If you are Pre-Specialty (not an RN yet) you attend for three semesters straight (Fall, Spring, Summer) and must be a local student living in or very near Nashville. They have class and clinicals most days of the week. After that year, you take your boards and become a RN. Then, the following Fall, you start your specialty year and will be mixed in with students who already are RNs. During the specialty year classes are held in the block format, meaning there is a block of 4-5 days three times a semester when all students in the cohort attend class, labs, etc. together. In addition, there are classes each week that are streamed online. For those classes, distance students watch at their convenience and local students usually attend in person. Those classes are usually two days a week or so. Because they are streamed online, there is usually the option of having local students watch them online as well if needed, but they prefer local students to attend those classes live. Does that make sense?

I got Psychiatric NP. And that's what I actually am. Pretty accurate quiz, I guess. :)

Therapy is definitely incorporated into my med follow up appts, and as a PMHNP (at least in my state) I can bill for a psychotherapy add-on. I imagine that the amount of therapy you get to do and how well you "know" your patients depends a great deal on the setting in which you work. I work in OP private practice and I have plenty of time with each patient.

When I was in nursing school, I knew I never, ever wanted to work in psych. As a nurse, I worked in OB/NICU. Now, I'm a PMHNP. Go figure. I guess you really can never say never in nursing. Sometimes what you think you'd hate becomes something you love.