psych rn to fnp

[manny409]

Hi all! I'm currently working as a psych rn at a hospital and have been there for about a year and half now. I started there as a new grad so that is all the RN experience I have had so far (along with the seasonal flu clinic jobs!) I am interested in becoming a FNP and am wondering if it would be advisable for me to switch over to the medical floor to get some experience in that area or if it would be okay for me to stay on the psych unit. I have read a few threads of people saying that they started FNP school with little to no RN experience and am wondering what people recommend. I am becoming quite comfortable on the psych unit but am just tired and don't want to do bedside nursing for the rest of my life. I would even be interested in psych np but the job market seems to be scarce right now so i dont want to limit my options. (maybe i can do fnp and also get psych certified or something?) But anyway!.. even if I were to transfer over to the medical floors, I'm not so sure that that experience would be relevant to FNP school. I'm also afraid that the stress and starting a new job and starting school all at the same time might really make me go crazy! Any words of wisdom are greatly appreciated!!

[WyndDrivenRain, BSN, RN]

Most of my experience has been in psych/detox but even in psych we handled HTN, diabetes, CHF, wounds, seizure disorders and so on. Patients rarely just had a psych/addiction diagnosis. I have found my experience in psych/detox incredibly helpful. I breezed through advanced patho and advanced pharm has been pretty easy too. I believe it is my psych/detox experience that has been the most helpful. I did some time in skilled rehab/LTC, dialysis, and occupational health but when it comes to stuff for school, I draw mostly from my experiences in psych/detox. I think you will be fine and will find the psych experience is extremely valuable. Good luck!

[manny409]

Thank you for your reply! I agree with you in that we rarely get patients with just psych/addictions diagnoses. Thanks for the little boost of confidence! Are you still working full time in psych/detox while in school? Or are you doing school full time? Or both?!? In which case I would say I am located in the Chicagoland area as well. Which school are you attending currently attending? Feel free to PM me. Thanks!