Psychiatric RN Vs. Counselor

[SugarBabe99]

I was wondering if anyone could give me advice. I am trying to decide between a career as a psychiatric RN versus a counselor.

For years, I've had an interest in psychology and working in the mental health field. I've watched loved ones of mine suffer from mental illness and I have suffered from some mental health issues myself, so I have a vested interest in helping those suffering from such problems as I have some knowledge as to what it's like. It has always disgusted me how society has a tendency to judge those suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues; I feel such people should be shown compassion and helped rather than judged or vilified.

I initially considered becoming a counselor or psychologist, specializing in either rape/trauma or substance abuse. However, the fact that becoming a psychologist requires many years of schooling has somewhat turned me off to it due to simply not having the time or money to spend that much time in school. I'm still open to the idea of becoming a counselor as that requires less schooling, generally only 6 years for a Master's degree in counseling or psychology, however I'm told that counselors often don't make very good money.

Weighing all my options, I'm wondering if becoming an RN is the better choice. With being an RN, I still have the option of working in mental health and substance abuse, plus it will open up many other job opportunities for me as well; I won't just be limited to one field. There's also the fact that RN requires a lot less schooling than a counselor; only 2 years compared to the average of 6 for counseling, plus I might be able to make better money as well. The only reason why I'm not entirely decided on psychiatric RN vs. counselor is because I'm not sure how much actual consoling and talking with a patient a psych RN does. I'd like to be able to get to know my patients, comfort them when needed, etc. Also, I don't know how likely it would be that I could get a job in mental health or addictions following graduation as an RN; granted, I would be willing to work in med-surg or the like for a few years until an opportunity came along, but I believe the mental health field is my ultimate goal.

Any advice, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[ajt575s]

I'm a new grad who started in psych, so it can be done. I would strongly suggest that you shadow a counselor/therapist and a psych RN to better understand what their roles are, because they do very different things. Depending on your facility, of course, a lot of psych RN's don't even get to lead groups, for example. My idea of what psych nursing would be like has been very different from the reality.

I have a friend who went to nursing school with me and had originally wanted to be a therapist. Once she started doing nursing school clinicals, it really hit her that the nurse's role was not what she wanted after all. (She did not enjoy the technical/hands-on stuff that nurses do). She ended up dropping out of nursing school and studying to be a therapist instead, and she has been very happy with the decision. However, she wasted two semesters of money and time on nursing school to figure this out.

Hopefully, you'll find the best fit for you! Good luck with your decision!

[Guest717236]

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I'm still open to the idea of becoming a counselor as that requires less schooling, generally only 6 years for a Master's degree in counseling or psychology, however I'm told that counselors often don't make very good money.

Any advice, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This is true in many areas, counselors and social workers do not make very good money for all the important work they do.The psychologist who is a doctoral preparation does make better money and has more options,like administrative opportunities.

That said, if its 6 years for the MS in Psych, why not consider the BSN first and take a graduate program for Psychiatric NP?

You can work as a nurse as you take many of the courses for the graduate program.

Here is a helpful site that may answer many of your questions..

http://www.apna.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3292

Best wishes with your career goals....

[EphemeralMelody]

I have a question - as a psychiatric RN, how much actual interaction do you have with the patients? As in, talking with them, getting to know them, helping with their problems, etc? Do you get to do much of that, or is it mainly just med passes?

Also, would I have much opportunity to work with rape victims as a psychiatric RN? Because that was one of my main attractions to counseling, getting to work with rape victims and help them work through their trauma/problems. I'm guessing working at a crisis intervention center or the like would give me the most opportunity to work with them -- do such places often hire RNs?

[ajt575s]

I have a question - as a psychiatric RN, how much actual interaction do you have with the patients? As in, talking with them, getting to know them, helping with their problems, etc? Do you get to do much of that, or is it mainly just med passes?

Also, would I have much opportunity to work with rape victims as a psychiatric RN? Because that was one of my main attractions to counseling, getting to work with rape victims and help them work through their trauma/problems. I'm guessing working at a crisis intervention center or the like would give me the most opportunity to work with them -- do such places often hire RNs?

I get to talk with the patients quite a bit. RNs aren't usually only doing med passes, though that can encompass much of your time. We usually have a nurse assigned to meds and a nurse assigned to charge, and we rotate these responsibilities. I was disappointed that I don't get to lead groups at my facility, but I've known nurses to do this at other facilities. Our patients have a whole plethora of problems/psychological issues. The majority of the adults I work with are psychotic, suicidal, or suffering from substance-abuse disorders. A good part of my job when I'm not passing meds is managing patients who are escalating, though I also deal with acute and chronic medical issues, since it is an acute care facility. Some of my patients have been victims of rape, but I've seen most of that on pediatric units (very sad). In my line of work, you also may work with people who have sexually victimized somebody else, so that's something to keep in mind with psychiatric nursing.

If you want to focus on rape victims, you can become a SANE nurse. Also, as I already mentioned, working in peds will give you more opportunities to work trauma/rape victims. I find working with these patients very rewarding. I'm not a SANE nurse, but it's something I would consider doing later in my career. It's an additional certification that you can get after finishing your BSN degree and becoming an RN. I'm not sure how much experience you need to have to get the certification, but it should be at least 2 years I think. You may find some good information about that on the forensic forum on AN. Here is a thread on the topic: https://allnurses.com/forensic-nursing/sexual-assault-nurse-152900.html

Most SANE nurses that I know are ER nurses who are certified. They rotate as on-call nurses and are called in if a rape victim presents in the ER. I know a nurse who works at a crisis center, so that could be another option. If you have a local crisis center, you can probably inquire about volunteering there to get some good experience and get a better idea if this is an area you want to pursue further.

[EphemeralMelody]

Thank you so much for your information, ajt. I hadn't read much about SANE nurses before, but after hearing about it I feel it's definitely something I want to look into. I think my main interest right now is in becoming a mental health or crisis RN, however, I realize that after more experience something else may come up that I'd like better. That's one of the aspects of nursing that really attracts me to the field, how you're not just limited to just one job or specialty, there are hundreds of different things you could do: ER, surgery/OR, med-surg, pediatrics, mental health, hospice, home care, LTC, forensics, school nursing, etc. etc. Whereas with counseling, you're pretty much limited to the field of mental health. Also, the fact that becoming a counselor is more years of schooling for often less money/opportunities... I really think RN is what I want to go for, as long as I still have the option of interacting with/providing comfort and counseling to patients.