topaz3335

Hi all, I'm graduating with my MSN in a few months and I've been thinking about getting a DNP basically since I started my masters program. Getting a DNP has always been a given in my mind, it's going to happen, it's just an issue of when I'm going to get it; whether I should wait a few years and work or go into program more or less directly from the MSN program. I've spoken with a few of my professors, one with a Ph.D, one in the process of getting her DNP, one with a DNP already and they've all given me conflicting answers! Some say they wish they had gone on and gotten the degree straight away when they were younger and had fewer outside issues going on and were in 'school mode' and some say they were happy they waited a bit because they found out where they really wanted to work, etc. So is it ridiculous to even consider going straight on to a DNP program from my MSN? I don't have a ton of experience: I've only been working as an RN for about a year at this point, but I've been working in mental health since I was 18 (i'm now 26) and it's where I want to be, I know that. I also know I want to teach at some point (hence the need for a doctorate) but I'm just not sure how to go about getting all it done! That being said, do any of you have any suggestions or advice for me? Anything you wish you wish you had known before you started a DNP? Anything you wish you could have changed? Anyone in the same boat? I'm just looking for a dialogue here, I'm interested in seeing what everyone thinks and hopefully it'll help me too! Thanks!

Hi allnurses boards, I'm an almost new RN (I went through an accelerated direct entry program masters program to get my RN, I already have a degrees in anthropology and english and I'm taking the NCLEX in a few months! yikes!) and I just started my 1st year of my specialty field, which is family psych. I'm only a few months in but I'm already starting to notice a distinct lack of psychotherapy 'courses/classes/discussions/what ever you want to call them' in my program. Now I knew going in that psych NP's focused more on the medication aspect of psych and I also understand that this is the beginning of my specialty education and things might change next year, but I'm wondering if any other psych NP programs offer more in the way of psychotherapy...do any of you other psych NP's feel like you're missing this particular aspect of psychiatry? Have you felt prepared to offer psychotherapy when you graduated? Is this something that Pysch nursing masters are usually short on or it just my program that's lacking? Am I worrying over nothing? Like I said, I'm very new to the field of psych nursing, but not new to psych or mental health itself, so maybe I'm just not familiar with the way things are done here, but I would love any information you all could give me about this. Thanks, thanks...