Psych nurse practitioner

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I just got accepted into a psych nurse practitioner program....However, I now have a second thought on accepting it after talking to a couple of PA and MD. I was told that unless I have some sort of inside track, it would be very hard for me to find a job in the mental health field as a NP. I work in the state of South Dakota and wonders if there's a higher demand in the either coasts? I have not even come close to pay off my BSN student loan and really hesitate to pile more debt especially in this economy.

Any insights would be appreciated.

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Hi

I was told by a NP, that NP's in mental health do very well (six figure salaries) on the West Coast, primarily Washington and Oregon.

Hope this helps!

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

Psych NPs are in high demand in the Boston area, and are making good money. We have a psych NP osition at the clinic I work in, and we can't fill it. Bad for us, but great for the job seeker!!

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

Do you work in psych nursing right now? If not maybe get a prn RN psych nursing job to start meeting people.

I'm a psych RN and am applying to a psych NP program (hopefully start in the spring.....which program did you get accepted to?).

I do think its smart to think about job prospects though, after all its your money your investing. It may depend on the area of the country your in. I know virtually everyone I know is doing the Family NP route, Im the ONLY person I know doing psych NP so I know that alone gives me an advantage because the market is not saturated with psych NPs.

I would also believe that with a APRN degree your not just limited to NP jobs, you can always go into management, etc (until something better opens up).

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yes, I am working for a 160 bed mental health hospital....you'd think I would be able to find a NP job here, quite contrarily, no NPs are working at the hospital!

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Follow your heart. If you think it is for you, then do it no matter what the current market is. When a field is in demand, many people will follow the track and more schools will open up until the market is saturated like what are happening now in psychology (doctorate level), pharmacy, NPs in certain specialty, and even nurse anesthetist in my area. And it takes only a few years for the demand and supply curve to change. But if you follow your heart, you may still be ok (despite the competitive job market and poor pay).

Who know what will happen in the next few years with the turf wars that is going on? Psychologists or even pharmacists may successfully lobby for some sorts of prescriptive authority or collaborative agreement and the demand for psych NP may decline subsequently. Or Psych NP may be able to expand the scope of practice. If you like mental health field, then go for it. If you are concerned about piling more debt, do not go to expensive online program, go to public school with cheapest tuition.

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I interviewed a potential PMHNP preceptor, and medical director, this last week for my final quarter and they want to hire me soon as I finish. It looks like a great job with nice people to work with so I'll just slide right in. I hate it when I don't have to search for a job, lol!

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

Congrats, Zen......one less thing to worry about! I'm sure you'll be great.

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A psych NP student that I precepted last semester has had 3 job offers so far and she certainly doesn't have any inside track anywhere. She has been working with a recruiter, but even other members of her graduating class who aren't are doing well finding jobs. South Dakota may not have many opportunities, but other areas of the country certainly do and you may be able to find a position that will pay off your student loans if you are willing to relocate and to work with an underserved population. My first job working for someone else (did a few months of private practice before I had to get something more reliable) was at one of my clinical sites. They didn't even have a job posted, I just called one day after I'd been out of school for a few months and asked if they could use me. The clinical director said "How soon can you start and how much do you want?"

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

Not to highjack this thread but how do we know if our area of the country (I live in Oklahoma for instance) is an area of high demand for PsychNP---I just never see any jobs advertised for them? Did most of your who are practicing or about to graduate have job offers through your clinicals, etc rather than more tradition sources (newpaper, etc)??

I'm having a hard time networking with PsychNPs here and I work in psych as an RN. I'm applying for psychNP for the Spring.

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Whom ever you spoke with was less than honest with you. I just graduated from a PMHNP program in May. I live on the Iowa/South Dakota boarder. I posted a resume on Monster and in less than 24 hours I had over 35 requests for interviews all over the country. I had over 10 requests in Iowa, and 5 in Minnesota. I am not sure where you live in SD, but in Iowa, we are desperate. They are dying to hire midwest raised psych np's. Go for it you wont be sorry. As far as your school loans, Most of Iowa is a high need area, I am sure SD is to, which means you can apply to get upto $50k of your student loans paid off for a 2 year commitment.

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Specializes in Ortho, Psych, Med-Surg, OB/GYN.

out of 6 current federal np openings, 2 are mental health, both with the higher-end salaries. :) i think you will be fine~

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