amanda sue

Ah, I see. Thank you!

Thanks, everyone! I was always curious about how that worked...and now I know!

Under their legal scope of practice, can any nurses suture? LPNs, RNs, NPs, etc? Or is suturing only "allowed" by doctors and physician assitants. I ask because you often hear about military corpsmen and medics suturing (they are taught this during their intial training), but never nurses! Thanks to all in advance.

When reading about the differences between nurses and doctors/physician assistants, I always hear the claim made that nurses operate via a nursing model and make nursing diagnoses, whereas doctors and physician assitants operate via a medical model. What does this mean?? What are the differences between a nursing model and a medical model?? Thanks so much!

Opps...I posted this in the wrong forum. Being moved to the General Nursing Discussion forum.

Thank you for your response, kimee. That seems to be the general feeling I'm getting from talking to people about this and reading about it. I guess it's better to start out more "general" and then go into a speciality. You never know what skills you're going to need when! Thanks again

Thanks for your reply! The general consensus I seem to be getting is that a Med-Surg background, even if only 1 year, is a good thing for teaching you skills and providing more opportunities / not closing any doors down the road in one's nursing career. Anyone else have any insight?

I'm currently a Psychology major / Biological Sciences minor and plan to enter a 2nd degree BSN program after I graduate with my BA. I truly love psychology, and feel as if this is the area of nursing I want to go into. However, I've always planned on doing approx. 2 yrs of Med-Surg in a "regular" hospital before going on to Psych/Mental Health nursing (hospital, outpatient center, substance abuse clinic, etc). My question is........exactly how important is it to have (even just a year or two) or Med-Surg before going into the Psych/MH specialty? I know some people say that the general medical skills are best gained that way, and often in a Psych setting, the RN can be the medical "expert" to which others (i.e. clinical psychologists) go to. I've also heard that if Psych is what you want to do right out of school, go for it. Those of you who had a year or two of Med-Surg.....how has that helped you? Do you feel that it was an important aspect of your career before going into MH? Those of you that went straight into MH.....do you ever wish you had done bit of general Med-Surg? Feel like you're missing out on anything, or that some skills are compromised? Thanks in advance!:typing

Thank you for all that information--it was exactly what I was looking for!! I really appreciate the time you put into both replies. Thanks again!

That's exactly the kind of answer I was looking for! Thank you so much! :) I know exactly what you mean about how "nowadays" the medication is the primary concern, and the psychotherapy is considered an afterthought (or a nice, but not needed addition.) As a psychology major, I've run into many professors/clinical psychologists who believe that medication is the answer to everything and the chemical imbalance is the only problem. I'm not denying the medicaition is often necessary and undoubtably helpful, but I fear that today's mental health professionals are forgetting the power of medication combined with a skilled psychotherapist. The power of talk therapy, in my opinion, seems to be falling to the side as people focus exclusively on curing those chemical imbalances. Anyhow, I digress... I'm almost embarrassed to admit I have never heard of the title CNS! I thought all advanced practice nurses were NPs; I never knew there was another "type" of advanced practice nurse! All you hear about these days is NPs. Two more questions... 1. On the simplest level, what are the differences between NPs and CNSs? I know both are Master's prepared, advanced practice nurses who have the power to practice independently or alongside others (i.e. in a hospital). And from your post I understand that Psych CNSs are more involved in the psychotherapy side of treatment in addition to the standard medical care. What are the differences in their roles? Are they more similar than dissimilar? Also, in fields outside of Psych/MH, how do NPs and CNSs differ in their roles/duties (i.e. a Critical Care NP vs. CNS) 2. Is there much demand for Nurse Psychotherapists? I know the demand for RNs in general is great, and also there is a growing need for advanced practice nurses, but what about job availability? It seems to me that, for example, an advanced practice OR or ICU nurse could feasibly find work in most places, but what is the need in the medical field for Nurse Psychotherapists? Thanks again for your information. I truly appreciate it!

Yes, you've answered my question--thank you for your reply. Best of luck with your career and God bless!

Very interesting! (My apologies for hijacking this thread...) I would have assumed (and we all know the problem with assuming ) that ICU, OR, ER, and MED-SURG nurses would be getting deployed the most over to Iraq/Arghanistan. Would you mind sharing in what capacity Psych RNs are working when deployed? (e.g. in Combat Support Hospitals alongside OR nurses and doctors). What exactly would their responsibilities be over there (I mean their responbilities related to their field of Psych/MH nursing). Gee, I hope that makes sense...

Hi all, I am currently a Psychology major and Biological Sciences minor and plan to attend an accelerated/2nd degree BSN program after I graduate with my Psych/Bio BA. I really enjoy psychology, and would love to combine that with my interest in being a RN. This is one avenue I'm considering. I have a few questions about being a "Nurse Psychotherapist." 1. I'm assuming Nurse Psychotherapists have an advanced degree above a BSN. Are they Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioners with an MSN? Or is it a different graduate degree? Or just an additional certification tacked onto the NP MSN? What are these degrees called (specific titles)? Know of any universities offering these degrees? 2. What are the general responsibilities/duties and daily doings for a Nurse Psychotherapist? 3. Where do Nurse Psychotherapists work? (general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, outpatient mental health centers, with clinical psychologists, etc??) Any other helpful info or links to sites with info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance to all who reply!

I heard through the grapevine (not from any source of authority so take this with a grain of salt--I think I read it somewhere long ago in a magazine or something...) that hypothyroidism/underactive thryoid is NOT disqualifying because taking meds for it is considered to be some sort of dietary supplement. I think it's the only case where regularly taking medicine is not a disqualifier. On the other hand, hyperthroidism/overactive thryoid is disqualifying. I heard that this is true for enlistment standards, so I would assume that the same standards go for comissioning? Again, this is a memory of something I remeber reading, not from any military member or recruiter, so take it for what it's worth. Just thought I'd try to help and give my two cents! Best of luck with your studies!

Perhaps she means Certified Nurse Midwife?