Psych NP in the Military

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I have completed my BSN and worked in the emergency department for roughly 1 year after deciding to return to school to obtain a master's degree (psychiatric nurse practitioner). The program starts this fall and goes for about 2 years. I recently heard about how many different military branches have opportunities for NPs and wondered if I could get any first-hand information relating to this. I spoke with an Army healthcare recruiter and he eluded that applications for this year are not accepted until June for the HPSP program; is this true? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

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I have completed my BSN and worked in the emergency department for roughly 1 year after deciding to return to school to obtain a master's degree (psychiatric nurse practitioner). The program starts this fall and goes for about 2 years. I recently heard about how many different military branches have opportunities for NPs and wondered if I could get any first-hand information relating to this. I spoke with an Army healthcare recruiter and he eluded that applications for this year are not accepted until June for the HPSP program; is this true? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I'm interested in starting out in an emergency department and immediately starting a master's in the same field you've chosen by first taking the courses that don't require an 1800 hour work experience prereq. I'd rather go in doing that than be a clinical nurse.

Unless of course the USPHS Commission Corps/other federal agency finds me a job...then I'd rather start out that way than in the ER anywhere local.

If you find out something about mil. psych. let me know. I'm interested in that.

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Hey, I'm no expert on NPs, but I just commissioned 2LT in the Army and they're looking for psych NPs. There aren't many positions for them in fields other than family NP and psych NP, but those two areas I mentioned are areas that they're encouraging us as RN-BSNs to explore for the future.

Applications to get in are very competitive. We just saw the numbers for the Army this year and they have more nurses than they have slots for. However, they are still taking NPs and RNs, so if you are really interested in the military (any branch), I encourage you to at least give it a shot.

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Hey, I'm no expert on NPs, but I just commissioned 2LT in the Army and they're looking for psych NPs. There aren't many positions for them in fields other than family NP and psych NP, but those two areas I mentioned are areas that they're encouraging us as RN-BSNs to explore for the future.

Applications to get in are very competitive. We just saw the numbers for the Army this year and they have more nurses than they have slots for. However, they are still taking NPs and RNs, so if you are really interested in the military (any branch), I encourage you to at least give it a shot.

I hope someone on this board can provide some additional first-hand information on either psych nursing or as an nurse practitioner in the armed forces.....

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Im sure everyone is curious as to where you heard about all the many openings. It is pretty tight right now. The Recruiter you spoke with told you the truth. If he said applications are not accepted until June, that's when they are accepted. He as no reason to lie.

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I find that it is the general consensus of the civilian sector that the military is still desperate for nurses and are taking all comers...those of us in the process (or holding pattern) know this to be untrue.

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Specializes in L&D, Mother-Baby, Special Care Nursery.

It's true that the Army has been able to met their recruiting goals for new grads, but I can tell you that they are definitely looking for psych NPs. I have no idea how many they need but every year they send a number of officers to fully funded graduate school and this year the Psych NP specialty did not get filled up. They were asking nurses who did not get their first choice of graduate school if they wanted to try out for psych NP instead.

Please note that this program is different than HPSP. This program is called LTHET and it is for officers who are already on active duty. But it does demonstrate that they have a need for psych NPs if they are encouraging midwifery candidates and so on to apply for psych NP instead.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, International Health, Psych.

I was just checking in to see if anyone had any additional information on the HPSP scholarship for Pysch NP students? Are they accepting applications now? I find that the military websites are not user-friendly. How long does it take to be approved/granted a scholarship after the application? Thanks.

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