CheezheadFLRN

ALHRN11- I am not sure I have anything more to offer you that hasnt already been said. I am a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason". I have a Bachelors in Community Health and a minor in Health Education. It wasnt enough for me, as I had wanted to be a nurse for several years. I went back to nursing school, accelerated, almost quit halfway through the program. My father (a veteran) convinced me that I had it in me to complete the program, so I did. I graduated, probably lowest in the program. Then I told everyone I wanted to go back to being a nanny or daycare worker where I was happy making $8/hr. Then I realized "be careful what you wish for". The economy crashed at the same time. The hospitals were not offering graduate nurse programs, they wanted experience to hire me, but no one would give me the experience, catch 22. I worked for Early Head Start with two Bachelors making $12/hr because that was the only place that would hire me as I was "over qualified" for any position outside of nursing. Then, a stand along psych unit offered me a full time night position. I jumped on it thinking if I do one year I am no longer considered a graduate nurse and I can switch to something I want to do. I started the job, at first I was extremely nervous, I would go home at night thinking about things I had forgotten to do, worrying about if my patients were ok, stressing about my license being in jeopardy, and again I wanted out. I want to quit in the worst way because my anxiety was getting the best of me. I had a manager from hell that cornered me and screamed orders at me one night, I had physicians that I couldnt understand what they were saying, and we were still using paper charts. Everything was so foreign to me, and it didnt seem like it would get any better. I never, in a million years, wanted to be a psych nurse. I thought for sure I was going maternal health or PEDS. I will say, that 4 years later, I am still a psych nurse. Eventually you build that comfort zone. Dont get me wrong, I still have days where my anxiety is through the roof. In four years I have worked for 5 places. I attempted med-surg nursing, they gave me 6 days of training having never been a med-surg nurse, and threw me to the wolves. I am proud that I lasted 5 months! LOL Then I went to Tricare because I was convinced I wanted OUT of bedside nursing. I did telephonic case management for 7 months, super boring, and I missed my interaction with my patients. So..back to inpatient psych I went. Now, I work PEDS psych and I have to say that its really not all that bad. Most of my patients are medically stable, no tele, nothing in our rooms or on our walls, they walk and talk, and they do for themselves. The parents tend to be worse than some of the kids at times. Many nights I sit here, on Allnurses. haha I do have some rough nights still, a psychotic kid, or a child with oppositional/defiant behaviors that wants to turn the unit upside down, but those are far and few. Again, I believe everything happens for a reason. I still doubt myself and my abilities at times, despite the fact that staff and management continuously tell me I am a fantastic nurse, I was meant to do psych, I'm such a great team player, etc. We are our own worst enemies. My dad taught me as a teenager that no matter where you work, there is going to be someone you dont get along with. You can't let that affect you. My first preceptor told me (in reference to my horrid manager) that people like that hang themselves, and he couldnt have been more right. She walked out one night, never gave a two weeks, and never came back. :) Have you considered branching into psych? Being a veteran and marrying a military man, you may do very well working with other veterans who have mental health issues. PTSD is huge now. I have been told one of the easiest places to work (for psych) is the VA. Tricare wasnt all that horrible either, it just wasnt my cup of tea. If you loved oncology, you may enjoy the psych aspect as well because oncology has a huge mental health component to it. Anyways, I hope this helped it some form or fashion. Keep your head up! You are not alone! I still come to work some nights thinking if I could make a nurses salary working as a nanny, I'd be a nanny! lol Everything does happen for a reason. :)

I can not thank you enough! I was able to open the forms, and on the list there are several local hospitals, including the one I currently work for. :) You rock!

RN 543- You have been fantastic with all the information you have provided! I am actually getting a little exciting to start school again, as before I was kind of dreading going back to school. I have already started a rough draft of the CAS (from transcripts I printed offline) and will just compare what I have with the actual transcripts. It was definitely time consuming! I have 6 years of schooling, two degrees, and went to three colleges. LOL Do you know if Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, FL is on the list of preceptor sites? I currently work there. I was on the adult psych unit for a year and now I am on the peds psych unit, so I have a lot of connections as far as precepting goes. Many of our docs do inpatient and outpatient as well. :) Please keep me posted!

Thanks a million for your post! Please do keep me updated as you progress through the program. If I start, it would be next summer and it would be part-time, so I am thinking it will take me probably 3 years to complete. I didnt realized 2 classes is considered full-time at the graduate level. I think the part time program is 2 classes a semester too. Any advice as far as applying to the program?

The following is a good blog, if you havent read it already: University of South Alabama MSN/BSN-DNP Psych NP 2012

Thanks, no bites as of yet.

Wynddrivenrain: Hello. I see its been over a year since you were going to withdraw from the program. Are you able to provide any information on your experiences with the program now? Did you end up attending another online program, and if so where? and what is your experience with the new school if you did attend another one? Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Tam

Hello. I was just reading through this thread. I find it funny that you started the thread asking for information on the program and ended the thread providing the information on the program. I have recently been looking for an online psych MSN program. I was told by a friend that I should apply for USA and after researching it, the program looks like it would fit my needs. When I first started reading threads on allnurses I became very discouraged because there was nothing but negative feedback. This thread has helped to ease some of that anxiety, but it has been several years since people started posting information about the program as well. Can you provide additional information on the program (before I apply)? It seems the biggest concern with the program has been a certain professor. Is this professor still teaching there today? Has anything in the program changed/improved for the better since you were in it? Any advice you can provide? I would be working full-time nights while in the program. Unfortunately I dont have the option of reducing my hours as I support myself and have a mortgage. Good news, I am a psych RN already and have several connections in this area for preceptors, I would just need to make sure the hospital is on board (Jacksonville, FL). I have worked both adult psych and peds psych in this hospital and we have a psych NP here, so I think that will work in my benefit. How often were you required to be on campus? I know many of the schools require you to fly in at least once for an orientation or clinical exams. Any hidden tuition costs? How much did the entire program cost you, approx? Did you receive any scholarships or award money? Did you get quick responses from professors when asking questions? Im sure I will think of more questions, but any information you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Tam

It seems as though you and I are looking for some similar information. Although, I would need my MSN first and then the DNP, I have yet to find anyone giving current information on the USA program. I too have looked into the program due to the online option, part time schedule and the fact that I chose a private university for my second bachelors. I did not qualify for assistance due to it being a second degree and have ridiculous debt from it! The debt is about the only thing that has been holding me back from jumping right into another degree. It seems the loan amounts stay the same and never decrease no matter how much I pay on them. I'll keep an eye on your post, but if you get any info please pass it along my way. Thanks!

Hello all. This is my first post but I have been reading posts on here for a very long time. I have become addicted to reading/researching posts more recently, one because I switched back to nights and its awfully quiet on my unit and two because I am considering going back to school for my MSN. A little about me.. I have a BSH in Community Health and a BSN. I have been a psych nurse for 4 years now, primarily working with adults but just switched to the peds psych world about two months ago. I LOVE the psych world. I ended up in psych by "chance" out of nursing school, as I intended to be a pediatric/maternal health nurse. I attempted med-surg for about 5 months on an awful floor and quickly ran back to the psych world! With that being said, I would like to get my MSN with an emphasis in psych/mental health. I would also like to add the education option or certificate that many of the schools offer now. So.. my question.. where do I apply for graduate school? I am looking for an online program. I work full time and would need to continue working full time as I support myself. Good news is that I am single with no children right now so I can dive into the course work. I have looked into UF and USA. Tuition is comparable for both schools. Both offer a Psychiatric-Mental Health NP track online. I know the reputation that UF has, as I live in Florida. I could use any additional information or feedback regarding the online NP program itself though. I do not know a lot about USA and many of the posts on here are out dated and negative. Can anyone in the track or that has completed the track, give me information on the program? Is it feasible to work full time and complete the MSN online part time? What is the course work like? How are the instructors? Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated! The anxiety of applying for graduate school is intense, I can only imagine what it feels like waiting for the acceptance letter! Thanks!