Psych NP vs Adult/Gero NP

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Looking for some guidance !! I am an LICSW and an RN, I have spent the bulk of my social work and nursing careers in mental health. I have worked as an INPT RN on a medical psych floor at a prominent Boston hospital, I work crisis in a local ER as a social worker. I have gotten into a psych NP program that will set me back 88K and a State school Adult Gero NP program for a fraction of the cost. I am hedging on which direction to go, being in psych for so long I worry about burn out, and I do not want to sit in an office writing scripts all day. I always have enjoyed the medical side of things which has me considering going for the ADult /gero NP but I lack confidence as I have not worked a true med surg job in my nursing career. The bulk of my knowledge is all mental health. Mind you , I fell into psych nursing, enjoyed it enough to stay for 7 years but not sure I want to take on the debt and stay in psych for the rest of my life, mind you I am 45 yo and not getting any younger!! Any words of advice/guidance would be appreciated!! thanks!!

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Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.

Go for psych. So few people really like it and you have such a good background. 88k is too much money. Have you looked into online options. There are inpatient and outpatient psych np jobs. You might want to shadow an adult/gero np to see if you would like it. I find psych so much more interesting than medical. There are jobs which offer loan repayment. Best wishes!

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HI! Thanks for you input, I have thought about this as well, I know Nursecorps will do some loan forgiveness, and funny enough I have looked at the Army's psych np scholarhip, but hahaha I am too old!! CUt off is 42, not sure I would survive bootcamp. I go back and forth, I know this field so well and am well connected, so it seems to make the most sense, I just don't want to limit myself. I am curious what kind of nursing you do currently and do you enjoy what you are doing??

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Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.

I do locum tenens - 8 to 12 week assignments. Inpatient and outpatient. Prior to becoming an APRN I worked as a nurse manager, staff nurse, substance abuse counselor, psychotherapist. My original training was as a therapist with psychopharmacology. Now training is mostly psychopharmacology. There are a lot of jobs right now, it seems like everywhere. My approach is to establish rapport with the patient like a therapist. I am very good with meds too. PM me if you have more questions. I started in Boston and i received a great education/foundation in psychiatry and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Boston is an intellectually rich environment for psychiatry.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Oncology.

Does your state school have a Post Master Certificate in Psych? Or are there affordable online PMCs in Psych? If so, is the cost of doing Adult/Gero + PMC in Psych still better than $88k? In that case maybe that is an option for you.

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Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.

Also consider that if you have 2 certifications you have to keep them both up. 500 practice hours every 5 years in each certificate. (though it might depend ont your certifying agency). Might make you more employable for things like taking call. People do it.

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HI

I am not sure that they do, I do know I can do that at Northeastern, the cost of their program is crazy vs going to a state school.

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This is true! Weighing my options at the moment, it might make sense to do Adult/gero and get a CAGS in psych if I wanted too. Appreciate the comments!!

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You can find a school much cheaper than that. Try Husson University, University of South Alabama, Indiana State University, University of Southern Indiana, Northern Kentucky University, and Eastern Kentucky a university.

I have an MSN already so I was looking for the most affordable program available, and was torn between a post-masters in FNP and PMHNP. I decided to go with FNP. I found these school and a few others by doing research on this site then researching the schools individually. All were at least $600 or less/unit. They are great state schools with online format and excellent pass rates.

I went with Husson University...so far so good! You should look into them. $88k is way too much, in my opinion.

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