JavelinO

Penn is NOT the same as Penn State. Ivy League vs. not. Sorry, but it is true.

I really appreciated my in-class experiences. It felt like school because, well, it was school. Personally, I could not have grasped the material and had the dialog with professionals 'in the trenches' online.

I know Drexel has a pretty good program. From what I heard, Wash U has a great program without the need for GREs.

Just as an FYI, Penn's program is 13 months full time and you do not have to go and find your own preceptors.

I attended Penn's program and we had a heavy emphasis on psychotherapy, particularly CBT. When speaking with some other fellow psych NPs, it sounds like we had a lot more than other schools out in the Northwest.

So is it an easy process for changing drill units? I mean do I have to have clearance from another unit to start drilling with them if I decide to move to another state? I would a part of APMC (amedd) but if I moved to a area with a drilling unit very close to where I live, would I then be attached to them? Thanks.

I am interested in working as a psych NP within the AR and wondered if anyone could speak a bit about what a typical drill weekend involves. Direct psych patient care, educating others, training? Do all providers, techs, and so forth meet initially during drill and then go off to their own specialties? Furthermore, could I 'freely' switch duty stations if I moved to another state while attached to the APMC?

I hope someone on this board can provide some additional first-hand information on either psych nursing or as an nurse practitioner in the armed forces.....

I have completed my BSN and worked in the emergency department for roughly 1 year after deciding to return to school to obtain a master's degree (psychiatric nurse practitioner). The program starts this fall and goes for about 2 years. I recently heard about how many different military branches have opportunities for NPs and wondered if I could get any first-hand information relating to this. I spoke with an Army healthcare recruiter and he eluded that applications for this year are not accepted until June for the HPSP program; is this true? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I completely understand that you go where the Army needs you. However, I thought that once you went to a specialty school (ob, mental, critical, or), you would be bound to that type of nursing for your time within the military. So you can switch to a new specialty after a few years?

Thanks for the response lifeafter40. For example, if I decided on the critical care course, is there a good chance I could go through the ER program after that first year? Is it highly desired by others, difficult to get into, etc.? Thank you.

I just spoke with a recruiter who explained that ER is a 5th specialty area one could go into as a new BSN grad. Could this have been recenty added? Ps, I mean no disrespect just cause.

I was under the assumption that you sign up for one of 5 specialties. If selected, you complete one year in med-surg, for example, before going to your specialty school. Is this true?

I will receive my ABSN in June 2010 (already have a BS in Biology) and wondered what the difficulty was of getting an ER specialty slot. Do those tend to "fill up"? Also, when is the earliest my packet could get boarded? Thank you.

Can new grads accepted to the Army Nursing Corps go right into the ED without any civilian experience?