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I am a psych nurse with 5 years of experience. I am looking at getting a PMHNP or an MSW. I have to do an online program because there are no in-person programs close enough to where I live. I have children and cannot move or quit my job. 1. I am currently looking at Drexel or Wilkes for a PMHNP. Any feedback on either of these programs? 2. I'm concerned about being able to get a job after graduation. It seems there are many more jobs listed for MSW's (although they generally pay less.) What are current job prospects like for PMHNPs? Everything I read is contradictory: on one hand mental health practitioners are in demand, on the other there are too many PMHNP's. Am I better off pursuing an MSW? Thanks for any feedback or insight.

I have been working for an asthma/allergy/immunology practice for just over a year. I needed something with fairly regular hours and without too much stress. I have young children and could not do the day/night rotation and weekend thing anymore!! This is what I do at work: give allergy shots, allergy testing (scratch tests and intradermal tests), oral challenges (patient eats increasing amounts of whatever you are testing for while being monitored), room patients (take vitals, review meds, document symptoms/problems), spirometry, immunizations (flu shot challenges, immunizations for immunology patients), nebulizer treatments, lots of teaching on things such as inhalers, epi-pen, allergy avoidance, etc. We also do a lot of phone triage and things like school forms, prior auths, prescription refills, etc. Like the poster above said, it is not as good pay as the hospital but it works for me. Good luck!

I do not miss working in the hospital. I work in a clinic and love the hours, my co-workers and the fact that we are rarely understaffed! I feel like I do a lot for my patients in keeping them healthy and "nipping in the bud" problems which have the potential to land them in the hospital. I do a lot of teaching and triaging. I feel I get to know my patients. The only reason I would need many of my hospital clinical skills would be if I was planning to work in a hospital again, which I am not!! I feel like I am a better nurse where I am now than I was in the always understaffed, crazy-busy unit in the hospital.

I think most nurses who have worked in a hospital have felt this way at one time or another. I remember almost losing it when a patient's family (who were sitting around on their butts all day) asked me to get them a pitcher of water. It wasn't even for the patient. I felt very disrespected and angry. I think some family members and patients forget just how hard nurses work and think we are their personal servants. I left the hospital setting and never looked back, although I didn't always hate it. I worked for several years as a medical review nurse at an insurance company, then a school nurse and now at a clinic. I just did not enjoy bedside nursing that much. It was too stressful and often made me miserable. Oh, and I took several years off to take care of my kids and be a SAHM. I know not everyone can afford to do that, but you said you were planning to. I am so glad I did. You will not regret it. Just don't stay out too long if you want to go back to nursing. Good luck!!!

My first job after nursing school was on a BMT unit. Even though it is a highly specialized area, I had a great experience and learned a lot about both oncology and ICU nursing. We kept all our critical patients and were required to complete our hospital's critical care orientation. Therefore, I would have been qualified to apply to any critical care unit in the hospital. I easily transitioned to a general Hem/Onc unit at another hospital where I worked until I left bedside nursing. I loved BMT and would recommend it to anyone who is interested. Good luck!!!

I am also relatively new working in an office setting and triage is the thing I am most anxious about as well. I have no problem telling the patient that I am not sure of the answer, that I will discuss it with the doctor, and call them back. Most patients are fine with that. I would rather keep them waiting a little for a call back then give out incorrect information. It is the fear of the unknown (ie: what is at the other end of the line) that is anxiety-producing. And my biggest fear is I will tell someone something incorrect that will affect their health.

I must agree. I used to work on a BMT unit. I much preferred the autologous transplants because the patients getting allogeneic transplants would get SO SICK and when they got GVHD it was an awful way to die. On a side note, we were told that a "little GVHD" was good because it had an anti-tumor effect. Unfortunately, many patients had more than a little.

Have you tried Craigs List, Careerbuilder, Washington Post Jobs? I am an RN returning to work after 12 years. I was having a very difficult time finding a job, even after taking a refresher course. I finally found one on Craigs List. (I live in NOVA). Good Luck. It is tough out there.

I recently started subbing for the school nurses. The first day I worked I had a girl with a SA. She had no temp and really didn't seem all that sick. After about 20 min I sent her back to class and she threw up all over the place. The science teacher was not happy with me. OOps. Didn't do much for my confidence as a brand new substitute school nurse.

HI, I am new to this forum. I am an RN who has not worked in nursing in 13 years. I was lucky enough to stay home with my kids and now just do substitute school nursing. I am ready to go back to work and took an RN refresher course. However, I am finding that getting a job is very hard and in fact I may just have been out too long. I am not getting any callbacks for jobs. I have applied to MANY jobs, in hospitals, managed care, nursing homes, rehab hospitals, psych hospitals. I am not picky. Alas, I am not marketable after being away for so long, even with the refresher course. I am especially interested in psych nursing. I know many of you have worked as mental health/psych techs while in nursing school, but do you think this is a viable option for someone like me? I am having trouble "getting my foot in the door" and I did oncology nursing before, not psych. I would love for someone to give me a chance but I'm not sure that is going to happen with an RN position. I am feeling very discouraged and have started looking at other jobs like assistant teacher, etc. Before I completely give up on nursing, would a mental health tech job help me land an RN position in the future or would I be wasting my time? Thanks for any input!