SouthernPsy

Hi, I was wondering if someone that is in the PMHNP program could message me. I am really wanting to apply but would love more info from someone actually in the program. Thanks!

I've seen it work wonders for patients. It's often reserved for when other treatment methods have failed.

It depends on the acuity level of the patients. Also, psych nurses use a unique interpersonal skill set. This skill set cannot be learned in school and many nurses don't have the capability or patience to learn to work with these patients.

Reasons I've seen psych RNs score patients conservatively/low: fear of hypotension, bradycardia, respiratory failure. Laziness (higher score = more frequent assessment and medication). Some don't want the hassle of having to call the doctor for whatever reason. Addicts sometimes exaggerate their symptoms, and some nurses are too cynical and trust no one unless their vitals are jacked up.

95% of clinicals were on the weekend, including the nursing home ones. The few that are during the week (peds and psych) are in the evening, and they are only 3-5 weeks, once a week. I applied for a job during my last semester and got the job contingent upon passing the NCLEX, which I did. So, I graduated in May and had a job in June. The atmosphere is good, at least with my class. Everyone is tired and busy, so many people pull together to study and do assignments. Many people became very close. Everyone isn't necessarily unhappy to be in class, but everyone is chasing their dream of becoming an RN, so that's obviously a good motivator. Every cohort of students is unique and has their own traits as a whole. If if you have anymore questions, feel free to ask, and I wish you the best.

Kgreeneyes, Sorry it took so long to respond. Yes, it is possible to work during the program. It is specifically set up for this. Some worked full-time. You have to plan for it though. As soon as you get your syllabus, ask off for work on days that you need off (before tests if you need extra time to study, weekends for clinicals, etc.). Hopefully, you have a job where you can be flexible with hours. Some professors are good about moving exams to different dates to make it work for everyone.

Go to a psychiatrist or psych np. I know you said insurance doesn't cover it, but you simply must stay well to keep your job. Like others have said, some therapists and psych docs have sliding scales. I'd also consider the stressors of your job. Do you think that environment or stress level affects your mental health? If so, switching jobs may help, especially if the new employer offers better insurance that covers psych Tx.

I could be wrong, but I think it varies state to state.

Yes, through NSO.

I'm actually about to graduate this weekend! Things went well. I'm glad you're applying, let me know if you have any questions. Sorry it took so long for me to reply.

Just throwing this in... If you are interested in furthering your education, they will pay tuition for one course per semester. I think you have to be full-time and employed for at least a year or something like that. I think they will do the same for an employee's child. Also, morale is somewhat low, but rising. Vandy had/has a bit of a budget crisis, and they laid off quite a few people and eliminated positions entirely. Managers, nurses, rad techs, emts, doctors, EVS... it didn't matter how "important" you thought you were. It was a big deal because Vandy is the 2nd biggest employer in the state of Tennessee. They are massive entity. The multitude of lay-offs made the news. Here's an article about it. I did hear rumors that EVS was fired from an entire floor, and that nurses were having to take on their responsibilities (probably temporary, if true). However, that is just hearsay, so take it with a grain of salt. I'm unsure about pay, but the general, word of mouth consensus is that Vanderbilt doesn't pay its nurses as well as other hospitals. I'd check out Saint Thomas West, Saint Thomas Midtown (formerly called Baptist), and Centenniel to keep options open. A positive is that Vandy is a teaching hospital where learning and teamwork is encouraged. They are also usually on the cutting edge of medical treatment and constantly looking for ways to improve outcomes, which can be exciting.

On the other side of the coin, being one of the few males in a psych unit means that you get the "privilege" of taking down and/or restraining agitated or violent patients. I know this isn't universal, but it seems common. However, it can make you feel kind of heroic if you have an ego.

The stockton scholarship is actually $1,700, not $1,500. Sorry about that

In another thread, someone asked me some questions about the program. I just wanted to post my reply here, so others can see. Here it is below: Hi jeakes, First of all I wanted to mention that I started a Q&A thread here for the program, so you can check it out if you'd like. Feel free to ask me anything :) So, Cumberland is a private school, so it is more expensive than community college, but it was the only one I could find that offered the schedule I needed. I'm finishing up semester 4 now, and tuition is $9,600 for this semester. They do offer a few scholarships, but I would check into that with a CU employee. I have the Stockton scholarship, which is knocks off about $1,700. The program is 5 semesters long without a summer break. Fall, spring, summer, fall, spring for me. Pursuing a BSN vs ASN probably depends on where you want to work after graduation. Some hospitals, like Vanderbilt, are moving towards only hiring BSN nurses. The job market for new grads is becoming a little more competitive in the Nashville area, so a BSN will probably help you in getting a job. I'm not implying you can't find employment with an ASN, but just that it would be easier to find one with a BSN. Also, if you're wanting to go to grad school to become an NP, I would just go ahead and get a BSN, but that's just my opinion. During each semester, there are 3-4 classes during the week that start at 6:00 pm and typically last until 9:00. We've had one that ended at 9:55 and a few that ended at 8:00. We've also had one course that was completely online (gerontology), which was very nice. During the first semester, your labs or clinical days are on saturdays in Lebanon at the McFarland campus. This is where you learn skills and do check offs for the nursing foundations and health assessment class. I think the hours were something like 8:00-3:00 maybe or 7:00-4:00. I can't remember exactly. The way we did check offs for this program, is we would record ourselves (usually another students would do the video) performing our skills on a dummy in the lab in Lebanon or sometimes in Mt. Juliet and e-mail the video to the professor. For health assessment, check offs are done in person with the instructor there. Towards the end of that first semester you'll do 3 or 4 days of clinical in a nursing home in Lebanon, which is no fun. You will basically be doing work similar to a tech. ADL's, bathing, feeding, etc. In my opinion, the first semester is the most demanding and the most difficult because you're trying to adjust to the ways of nursing school i.e. dealing with check offs, NCLEX style questions, the scheduling of classes, finding time to study, etc. Don't get me wrong, after the first semester it is still difficult, but in my opinion, the first semester is the most challenging and time consuming. For the last 4 semesters, clinical days and time vary each semester, depending on which hospital will take students. Typically, they try to get them on Saturdays, but we've had some on Fridays (for only 5 weeks) that started in the evening and lasted until 2 am. There was one semester that we had adult health clinicals, aka med/surg, on Sundays.

Hi jeakes, First of all I wanted to mention that I started a Q&A thread here for the program, so you can check it out if you'd like. Feel free to ask me anything :) So, Cumberland is a private school, so it is more expensive than community college, but it was the only one I could find that offered the schedule I needed. I'm finishing up semester 4 now, and tuition is $9,600 for this semester. They do offer a few scholarships, but I would check into that with a CU employee. I have the Stockton scholarship, which is knocks off about $1,700. The program is 5 semesters long without a summer break. Fall, spring, summer, fall, spring for me. Pursuing a BSN vs ASN probably depends on where you want to work after graduation. Some hospitals, like Vanderbilt, are moving towards only hiring BSN nurses. The job market for new grads is becoming a little more competitive in the Nashville area, so a BSN will probably help you in getting a job. I'm not implying you can't find employment with an ASN, but just that it would be easier to find one with a BSN. Also, if you're wanting to go to grad school to become an NP, I would just go ahead and get a BSN, but that's just my opinion. During each semester, there are 3-4 classes during the week that start at 6:00 pm and typically last until 9:00. We've had one that ended at 9:55 and a few that ended at 8:00. We've also had one course that was completely online (gerontology), which was very nice. During the first semester, your labs or clinical days are on saturdays in Lebanon at the McFarland campus. This is where you learn skills and do check offs for the nursing foundations and health assessment class. I think the hours were something like 8:00-3:00 maybe or 7:00-4:00. I can't remember exactly. The way we did check offs for this program, is we would record ourselves (usually another students would do the video) performing our skills on a dummy in the lab in Lebanon or sometimes in Mt. Juliet and e-mail the video to the professor. For health assessment, check offs are done in person with the instructor there. Towards the end of that first semester you'll do 3 or 4 days of clinical in a nursing home in Lebanon, which is no fun. You will basically be doing work similar to a tech. ADL's, bathing, feeding, etc. In my opinion, the first semester is the most demanding and the most difficult because you're trying to adjust to the ways of nursing school i.e. dealing with check offs, NCLEX style questions, the scheduling of classes, finding time to study, etc. Don't get me wrong, after the first semester it is still difficult, but in my opinion, the first semester is the most challenging and time consuming. For the last 4 semesters, clinical days and time vary each semester, depending on which hospital will take students. Typically, they try to get them on Saturdays, but we've had some on Fridays (for only 5 weeks) that started in the evening and lasted until 2 am. There was one semester that we had adult health clinicals, aka med/surg, on Sundays. Hopefully this will help. I'm going to copy this and post it in my thread, so that others can see it. Please feel free to ask any more questions you might have. Thanks.

I'm not quite sure about the length of time to hear back from CU. I don't remember exactly, but it seemed to be quicker than other schools I applied for. If I remember correctly, one applies to the university first by sending in all the usual admissions info plus a short essay. On one of the forms you declare your intention to major in nursing. After acceptance into CU in general, you'd apply for the nursing program which consists of another essay, some more info and forms, and the Kaplan exam. You have to schedule the Kaplan carefully because I think you have to take the exam in the same year that you're applying. Google "cumberland university Kaplan exam", and the info will pop up. CU does offer a few scholarships but not many. I did not apply for any because I was extremely busy at the time doing other things. After being accepted, I went to general orientation for CU, and they randomly told me I had been given the Stockton scholarship, which is worth $1,500. It is effective for only 2 semesters per year, so it will apply to 4 out of the 5 semesters of the program. I can't remember the requirements, but I think that scholarship is gpa-based. At the time, my gpa was somewhere between 3.25 and 3.5, I think. Again, it's been a while since I've gone over everything I've mentioned, so I encourage you to double-check what I'm telling you. Also, they host informational meetings for prospective students every so often. The schedule is usually online. Any other questions?

Not exactly inpatient, but I work a unit where psych patients stay until disposition. Yes, we call the police on a weekly basis. At the main psych hospital, it seems to happen a time or two a month.

I'm not sure of a specific time frame. However, I took my statistics class in 2008 and was accepted into the program in 2013, and they accepted the class as a prereq, so that's about 5 years. I know some classmates who got their degrees longer ago than that and some of their classes were transferred. Just to be sure, I would call or e-mail CU and ask them. Actually, I'd probably e-mail that nursing department as well (I'm a "cover all your bases" type of guy). The benchmark scores are given on the day of the kaplan entrance exam. I can't prove it, but I have a feeling the benchmark scores change every year, depending on how many students need to enroll. I've always been a B+ and A- student, and I passed the scores easily. Hopefully, that gives you an idea. I remember thinking the benchmark scores were slightly lower than I thought they'd be. Also, I know a few people who did not make the benchmark scores but still got into the program. Cumberland probably looked at their background and their GPA and decided they'd still be a good fit. Also, do NOT buy the Kaplan book. The general consensus among myself and classmates was that the edition we purchased was absolutely useless. If you decide to take the exam, tell me in advance, and I can tell you specific topics to focus on when preparing for it. That's a kind of an odd situation, so I am not sure. I can say that it is possible, but you might have to make a case for it in writing. I would definitely check into this. If they do not accept it and you have to take it again, I'm sure you'd do fine, considering your background, and this could pad your GPA a bit. The good news is that either one of these classes and probably several others from your major can replace the "nursing elective" classes that are required in the last semester of the program. Also, if you've had a research class, it can often replace the nursing research class. If you've had 2 research classes from your previous major, I think they can replace both nursing research classes, but I am not 100% certain. I hope this helped and please feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

To be fair, there are many patients that have been hospitalized a time or two during a time of legitimate crises due to external tragedies outside of their control, some of which I think could cause most of us to fold and seek help.

Ethics aside, I imagine there are probably specific hospital and/or state policies pertaining to this situation. However, because you are a tech and not a licensed professional, the rules probably aren't as stringent for you. While getting my social work degree, it seems like I remember learning that the individual had to be free from the licensed therapist's care for a specific amount of time. I think it was maybe a year or two, but again that's for a licensed individual.

And on the 8th day, God created zyprexa, ativan, and haldol...

The good - "You are the only person that has actually listened" The bad - "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, BOY!" (because I would not let him leave.... because he was committed). The ugly - It's not appropriate to explicitly state here, but it involves being called multiple curse words.

Hi, if anyone has completed or is going through the psychiatric track, I'd be interested in asking a few questions. Thanks

Hello, If anyone has any questions about this program, please feel free to ask me. I'm finishing the 4th semester out of the 5, so I have an understanding of the program. Whether its a "big" or "small" question, ask away, and I'll do my best to answer. This program is relatively new compared to other nursing programs, so there just simply isn't a lot of information online about it. When I was researching BSN schools, I was a little frustrated due to the lack of info. I just want to be a resource for anyone in a similar position. Please feel free to ask me any questions in the thread or through PM. It would probably be best to ask in the thread, so others can see. Thanks

Hello, I just want to offer answers to anyone that might have questions about Cumberland's nights/weekends program for working adults in Mt. Juliet. I have one semester left before graduation, so I have a good understanding of the program. I know when I was researching BSN programs, I was frustrated because I could find little info about this program specifically. So, if there is someone out there with questions, feel free to respond or send me a PM, even if it's an extended period of time since this message was posted. Thanks!