flpsych

Currently finishing up my 3rd semester at University of Alabama at Birmingham and have been impressed. The course work is intense but manageable working FT so far. The faculty is top notch. I start clinicals in the Fall so may be more pressure and less ability to manage FT employment. You have to go to Birmingham for intensives a few times during the program. The program is ranked best value by US News and have a decent ranking for quality as well (if that matters to you).

You should be finding out any moment now. One of my Facebook memories yesterday was about finding out I got into the program a year ago. Believe me I understand how anxious you all are. I was trying out Blazernet every hour or even half hour for days and finally was able to login and saw the beautiful status of MSN in Nursing Psychiatric/Mental Health Practitioner concentration. Good luck to all of you!

A FB group would be a nice way to get to know each other better prior to orientation. Please post details once you create it please.

Thank you. I'm so psyched now. Look forward to meeting folks during orientation.

My blazernet is up. Shows me in PMHNP program!!! Good luck all.

I've been perusing older forums on the program and it appears last year many people did not get decisions until mid-December. The previous e-mail we received said perhaps even January. Despite mailbox stalking and multiple daily attempts to login to Blazernet I am not quite at the point of freaking out. Hopefully it will be a nice Xmas present.

I applied for the PMHNP program. The pushed back deadline gave me more anxiety. I was hoping to have a decision by mid-November. But alas will wait for early December. Good luck to all!

I applied to the program but got my RN license about 9 days too late to meet the deadline. Decided to do BSN instead (was going to do the Bachelor's in another discipline bridge) but may consider applying for Spring start. Please update and let us know how you like the program!

When I first started in psych 14 years ago we could wear street clothes or scrubs. A few years back when bought out by a large corporation we were asked to go to color coded scrubs (one for techs, one for LPNs, and another for RNs). I was afraid the uniforms would make us less available to the pts but they did not seem to mind. They do however confuse the color codes. I get called a tech all the time and techs gets called nurses. No big deal but let them know that nurses wear particular colors so that they can come to us regarding med issues.

Congrats carolina_mom! I got my license number posted on the BON website this morning!

Congrats everyone. I took the test yesterday, too, and felt that I completely bombed it. But I checked and had good popup! Still won't be completely at ease til I see the BON site updated with my license.

I'm not active enough on these boards to reply to your PM directly kskaggs126. but the answer is "Yes, I did have them".

I was frustrated trying to get directly into the RN program at SPC. On rec of a faculty member at SPC I did the LPN program at pTEC. I finished the LPN program at pTEC in November and will start the bridge program at SPC in May. Another of my classmates is also starting in May. It seems it is a better route because you gain the clinical skills that will help you in RN school plus you can get a higher paid job while waiting to get into school/while going to school. I met great colleagues/friends and I am glad I went that route.

I'm doing the hybrid program.

Congrats! I got accepted as well. Which program are you doing? Traditional or online?

I scored an 88% on the test, but I think anywhere in the mid-60s and above is competitive. It is a very hard test especially if you've been out of class for a while.

For those admitted to the program, did your major in myspc change from Nursing-PR to Nursing AS? I was checking the system last night and my major has changed though I haven't been notified of getting accepted to the program. Just curious if I've been selected and letter is in the mail.

The above is good advice. If the former patient approaches you then it is fine. I would say if the person is alone it is probably okay too. It is when they are with a friend/family member that things would cross the line (eg. they would have to explain where they know you from,etc).

At this time they are admitting 24 to the traditional day program and 24 to the online/hybrid program. I am waiting to hear from SPC re: the 2nd pool for the RN program, but have started the process to go to PTEC as a backup. I attended the information seminar last night. Looking to do the online program in August.

I'm pretty sure the military requires everyone to take the ASVAB in order to evaluate your aptitude for specific jobs. I am not sure what the cut-off is for nursing, but the Air Force in general requires a higher ASVAB score than other branches.

Stand alone psych facilities may (or may not) mean having no true medical resources. The facility I work at has to send people to a medical facility for some of the most basic procedures, med clearances, etc. Your ICU experience will be helpful because many nurses are rusty on their medical stuff and you'll be expert on any medical codes. You are definitely stepping into a different world from the ICU. Prepare to get cussed at, spit on, swung at--hopefully you'll have a good team to keep that to a minimum

A patient is ultimately responsible for the bills even with BA. The hospital I work at will try to get charity funding if they qualify (low income/high debt ratio/low credit score, etc). Social workers will usually get the person started on filing for disability (which is a lengthy process) if they are ill enough that they have racked up several BAs. Because of EMTALA receiving facilities must take a patient regardless of ability to pay as long as an appropriate bed is available. The lack of state funds for public agencies that offer a sliding scale is to blame in Florida. And sadly this will only get worse in the next few years. Patients will be burdened with huge hospital bills after their BA and this will most likely exacerbate their condition.

Behavioral units can be really fun, really stressful, and rewarding. I start nursing school soon, too. I have 3 years combined experience in psych. An average day on a behavioral unit is filled with groups. Some programs have reward systems in place to reward good behavior, others don't. Med passes occur several times a day. As a tech you'll be the main contact with the patient. You will be charged with monitoring the patients at all times. You will most likely be assigned checking vital signs, charting on assigned patients, orienting new patients to your unit, being a gopher to fulfill patient/unit needs, assist with ADLs, and participating in psychiatric codes. The downside to psych experience is that many hospitals will not consider it as strongly as med/surg tech experience when looking at your resume. They feel there is not enough medical knowledge gained--but that is only if you do not try to glean this information. If you're motivated learn all the meds patients receive, learn what diseases/conditions they're for, look at lab results and intervals, look at the history & physical and learn what all the medical jargon means. The nurses I work with advise me to not go into psych off the bat from getting an RN. You want to build a true medical background so that you're prepared to deal with it. I have worked with lifetime long psych nurses that are clueless on basic medical things. If you need more specifics on behavioral health tech stuff let me know.