Applehead

I'm definitely NOT looking to be independent as a new grad. I want to go to NP school, so I plan to work as an RN in a hospital setting until I get my NP, by then I'll have about 4 years experience. I'm not sure if that is an appropriate amount of experience to let myself venture out onto my own. That's why I'm searching for advice. I definitely want to be independent as an NP and want to try not to work for a hospital. My concern is that I won't have job security. I don't know how being an independent nurse works but I don't want to not be without a job for months. I really want to learn more about this and everything it entails to make sure that this is something I definitely want to get myself into. I guess I moreso like the "idea" of being an independent nurse but I don't actually know the ins and outs of it. I also like the idea of being able to decide my own pay since I believe NPs and nurses in general are severely underpaid. But again, I don't know much about that deal either. I would also like to know if this is something that other nurses would highly recommend or not? Right now, my big interest is in becoming a PMHNP (mental health NP), however, this may change depending on what the job market looks like and depending on my interests, of course. The goal is NP but I'm not set on a specific specialty yet. Would the area I specialize in impact my career as an independet? I don't want to be the kind of new nurse who enters the field thinking they know it all, because I won't know it all. So I'm open to any advice, ideas, or recommendations.

Being an independent Nurse/NP is an opportunity I definitely want to pursue. My question is, what is the difference between being self-employed and being an independent nurse contractor? Which would you recommend. Would you recommend being independent at all? I know it's not easy having your own business but is selling your services just like trying to find a job? Is it easier or harder? Also, do companies like "hiring" independent nurses? What kind of settings would I be better off in? What is some advice you have for someone looking to pursue this avenue with their career? Should I wait until I'm an NP with RN experience or should I try to start building this up right after I receive my BSN and RN? I'd love to know more about this so any information at all that you can give me would be amazing! Anything at all that I need to know about being independent, thank you!

Read, read, read! Do assignments on time and don't fall behind. Manage your time the best you can.

haha. Time management is important. As long as you know how to manage your time, it all falls into place!

Interesting thought. Frankly, this is something I haven't thought about and I don't think it is even worth worrying about. Psych Nps/psychiatrists and psychologists are many moons apart from each other. I think PMHNPs have a much more promising future than psychologists do in this current day. It is also a fairly new specialty and still has a lot of room to grow. The psychologist market is so overly saturated it's unbelievable, there are just simply no jobs. As far as prescribing goes, I think it will be a significant amount of time before psychologists can win over these rights (I'm talking years: not 10, not 20, but more. It took them 30 years to get it passed in just 2 states). Even if they do gain rights, they mostly work in their own independent practices at much more expensive rates than the PsychNP. Also, their primary form of treating is and always will be psychotherapy. If they need complete medication management of a client, they'll refer to the healthcare professional. Overall, the psychNP is a healthcare provider with physical assessment skills and the ability to prescribe other medications outside of psychotropics. Nursing care services in general are in very high demand and they always will be. They can monitor physical problems as well as mental problems. In short, PMHNPs offer more services for a smaller price than the psychologist. Both psychologists' and psychiatrists' services are very expensive. Also, to my knowledge, PMHNP is one of the highest paying NP specialties with salaries starting between 85-90k. Definitely stick with the NP route. Clinical psychology is a long, expensive road and in my opinion it doesn't pay off in the end. If a psychologist decides to go through all of that schooling just to gain prescription rights, then they were better off going to the MD or NP route to begin with.

I don't think that will have any impact on what kind of nurse you will be. Just hang in there and keep your head up! It's a tough road but every nurse gets through it!

I don't think that's young at all. I started nursing school at 18. I still live with my parents because I literally am completely broke. All of my money goes towards tuition, textbooks, and gas. Back in our parents day, not very many people went to college to begin with. That's why a lot of older adults are just going to nursing school now. Not many people understood the value of post-secondary education. Times are different now and kids are making the decision to go to college and expand on their education. You're not too young, you're smart.

I have no personal experience on this, but I would assume that correctional nursing would be a positive notch on your resume. Correctional nursing isn't for everybody. In my opinion, it takes a very motivated, headstrong, and emotionally strong person to work in such a challenging setting. If it is looked down upon (and some hospitals may, some may not), it really would itch in my mind why that is so.

I have a very close friend who is interested in this very same type of NP role (I may be posting some of her questions here). Definitely keep us informed and good luck!

Hi, could you describe what a typical med management session is like? I'm strongly considering PMHNP and my primary interest is medication management (with a little bit of therapy). Also, as a psych NP, are you trained to do medication therapy management for other medications as well? For example, can you give med therapy management to a dialysis patient? Not diagnose or treat them, but just to help them manage their meds?

How does billing and reimbursements work for psych NPs? What's the break down for what you can charge for services: med management vs therapy vs evals. Also, how independent are you in your practice? Does it require you to collaborate with a psychiatrist?

What duties does your job entail? What area and setting do you work in? What's the best area for a new psych NP grad to work in?

Hi everyone, I'm new to allnurses. I posted this in a different section, but I think it was the wrong one. Once I receive my BSN, I want to go on to get a DNP as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I'm mostly interested in doing medication management. What is the typical salary like for a PMHNP doing mainly medication management and psych evals as their main job? Money isn't my reason for choosing psych. I've wanted to go into psych since I entered nursing school and that hasn't changed. However, it's always nice to know what salary I should expect, especially as a new grad. I know that Pain management is actually a sub-specialty of psych. I'm considering sub-specializing in PM and I would like to manage pain meds as well. Is this possible for a PMHNP given the scope of practice? I would be sure to add Pain clinicals into my rotations. Is this something I'll be able to do? Forensic psychiatry is becoming a small interest of mine. I'm not seriously considering it but I'd love to learn more about it. Does anybody know if PMHNPs are allowed to do forensic psych? What would their typical duties be? Thank you!

Hi everyone, I'm new to allnurses. Once I receive my BSN, I want to go on to get a DNP as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I'm mostly interested in doing medication management. What is the typical salary like for a PMHNP doing mainly medication management and psych evals as their main job? Money isn't my reason for choosing psych. I've wanted to go into psych since I entered nursing school and that hasn't changed. However, it's always nice to know what salary I should expect, especially as a new grad. I know that Pain management is actually a sub-specialty of psych. I'm considering sub-specializing in PM and I would like to manage pain meds as well. Is this possible for a PMHNP given the scope of practice? I would be sure to add Pain clinicals into my rotations. Is this something I'll be able to do? Forensic psychiatry is becoming a small interest of mine. I'm not seriously considering it but I'd love to learn more about it. Does anybody know if PMHNPs are allowed to do forensic psych? What would their typical duties be? Thank you!