Mookiepsychnp

@riskmanager Thank you so much for this information! I'm sure many others will benefit from it as well.

Yes it's scenic if you enjoy viewing tons of snow! I'm trying to get away from the cold lol. My plan is to relocate down south in the next 5 years or so, but I have a feeling opportunities will not be as plentiful as they were for you. Do you see children and adults?

Yes my policy does have a consent to settle clause, however I was unaware it had no bearing on my employer. What protection do you have if you are named with a group of people and you may have had contact with the patient but did not directly contribute to their bad outcome but you are named with others and they settle?

If you truly enjoy and love psych I would go for that first. You could always return back for your FNP. Based on some of the postings here, some parts of Florida appear to be very saturated with FNPs, however being bilingual is definitely an asset. Georgia may be a better option as a psych NP and as PsychGuy pointed out nationally the need is greater for psych NPs at this time. Something to consider if you decide to expand your focus beyond those two states.

I definitely have my own no matter what the company provides. They may decide to settle a case, which would have my name attached even if innocent. I always feel better safe than sorry.

@dumplins I see this as well. Even when recruiter's send me things for NYC it's usually no more than $135k. I did receive an email for Upstate NY for $150k! No thanks! lol

Everybody in their cousin wants psych now too! lol Every NP student I know (NorthEast) is going back to school for psych NP. Don't know how much longer we will be considered hot. Pay is definitely geographic. Everyone is not going to earn $150K or even close. I'm not that far from NYC and they are not being offered that. You were very fortunate.

I'm salaried and most NPs in my area are salaried unless they work per diem or contract work. However any on-call or other duties would require additional compensation. Three CEU/CME days, $1100-1500 for CME, 4-5 weeks vacation and payment for license/DEA/prescriptive is typical.

I have been seriously considering FNU for their DNP, however I am having some concerns about their national accreditation. Has anyone else heard of the reevaluation of recognition status of ACEN?

I have been considering their DNP but have concerns over their national accreditation. They are accredited by ACEN which appears to at risk for loss of recognition.

Alexb45 Correct me if wrong, but there isn't a specialty certification for cardiology or dermatology so if you as an FNP who are trained as generalist works in either, you are not out of scope of practice. Psychiatry is a specialty that requires extensive training and knowledge in the field and you are board certified for psychiatry only. I don't know what state you are from but where I live the majority of employers would never offer non psych certified a position so it's a mute issue here. If your malpractice insurance is willing to fight a lawsuit for you practicing out of your scope I'm amazed but I know I have to practice within my scope and will not put my license at risk. I'm surprised this was not covered by most NP programs that a topic like this even exists.

This issue really has absolutely nothing to do with "turf wars" but it is all about scope of practice and malpractice. If you are a FNP you are still practicing within your scope of practice if a cardiologist or dermatologist decides to give you advanced training and you decide to work in that specialty. If you however decide to take a position working with a psychiatrist and treating mental health disorders as a FNP you are practicing outside your scope of practice which leaves you vulnerable for lawsuits. I am certified as an Adult psych np and I had a private practice try to convince me to see children stating that the psychiatrist could supervise me and I could take CMEs in child psychiatry. Well I contacted my malpractice provider and they informed me that if I practice outside of my scope which is adults only, they would not represent me if I were to find myself involved in a lawsuit. Providers need to recognize that even if an organization or physician tells you it is alright for you to provide services that you may not be sure falls within your scope of practice, it is your responsibility to find out if you are really protected. I'm sure when we start seeing posts about people being caught up working outside their scope because such and such said it was alright or they prefer that specialty, this will become less of an issue. As the NP field grows so will the lawsuits!

Congratulations:up:!! Your state is fast! I passed my boards on May 28th but in New Jersey they say it takes at least 2 months to receive your license!!!

Chaoticdreams33 I also took it last night and it did give me some things to focus my studies on. My test is adult so some of the kiddie questions, I just went with gut instinct..lol. Megank5183 I haven't applied for any jobs yet but I think it really just depends on your area how the job market is. You can do searches on indeed to see what the job openings in your area look like.

Chaoticdreams33 I sent you a PM and the Barkley DRTs are finally available.

Chaoticdreams33 congrats to you as well!! I spoke with someone at Barkley a week ago and they said the DRTs would be available within a week or so. I've been checking daily, but nothing so far. Barkley review is pretty good, I feel most of the review courses cover the same information in different formats. Some of my classmates have Fitzgerald and the review book is very similar to Barkley. Have you taken the test questions ANCC offers on their website for $99?

I am also graduating in a couple of weeks and have been using the ANCC review book and Barkley's review book and CDs. I also use various psychiatry test question books to see how I'm doing. Barkley is supposed to have a test bank available any day now with 100 questions for $24.95. I also want to take my exam as soon as possible and feel that I will be ready by the end of May.

My understanding is that the new exam will include more medical components to the questions. You will need to have a more in depth understanding of the medications your patient is taking for comorbidities such as HTN, DM or something as simple as birth control and how the psychotropics you prescribe will interact with them.

Congratulations!!!

Working four days a week was doable for me, I usually took 2 or 3 classes per semester.

If you are financially able to cut your work schedule down to three days a week, I would definitely go for it. I'm about to start my final semester in January and I just went to three days a week. I was initially working four days.

Congrats to both of you!!

I graduate in May and work 32 hours a week and 17 hours a week for clinicals. I would prefer to only work 16 hours, however 32 hours is considered full-time and I need the benefits. It isn't my ideal situation, but it is doable.

I agree, in my facility the psychiatrist are responsible for some primary care such as H&Ps (mainly on weekends when medical consultant is off). If a patient is hypertensive they may start them on a antihypertensive or a sliding scale if BS are elevated and then refer them to the medical physician. The psych NPs at my facility have the same responsibility (especially if they are on call over night and a patient has a medical issue, they have to handle it).

If your really interested in Derm, getting your FNP would be the best option.