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Discussion

What would you do?

Greetings,

I’m 37 y/o, medically retired from the military 9 years, finished undergrad in 2017 (religion) institutional 4.0. Need to take prerequisites, and would prefer online as much as possible. Ehlers danlos syndrome [type III, benign], orthopedic injuries, well managed ptsd. Four kids at home under the age of 6.

Long term goal is to work inpatient as a psychiatric np. I worked psych many years ago in a supermax prison as a correctional officer and absolutely loved it.

Money for school isn’t an issue. Actually, the longer I go without working the better. Working reduces my VA compensation and disability by about 36k a year.

I have three options locally.

1) residential ADN, cheap, and can afford to retake a class. Followed up by WGU’s RN to BSN -(I could do that in less than 6 months). Followed by BSN to psychiatric DNP program locally. This is the longest route, but gives me flexibility while getting the RN license, lower pressure. No clue how often the clinicals are, but the schedule looks fairly intense for an ADN

2) hybrid distance (which I love) accelerated 2nd degree BSN, 12 months, followed by above psych DNP program shorter route by 6 months - 1 year, but higher stress those 12 months. Clinicals 2-3 days a week.

3) hybrid distance accelerated MSN, 18 months, followed by 12 month psych np certificate, then do DNP for personal fulfillment afterward fastest route, highest stress. Clinicals 2-3 days a week max

I previously attended a theology related graduate program that required me to start my days 4 days a week at 5:30am and not get home until 5:30pm at night, followed by 4 hours of study. Got about 4 hours of sleep a night. Only actually had Saturdays off. I withdrew for medical reasons as with my disabilities and our growing family I just couldn’t handle it.

looking to start in January of 2021 when our newest child is 6 months old. I can do any of three programs and graduate debt free. It is in my interest to not start working until I can make the wages of an np.

Which route would you pick?

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    • Author

    Fourth option, new direct entry MSN program locally that has a competency based curriculum. Perhaps the best option with the obvious advantage of disability accommodation in conjunction with competency based curriculum?

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    Since you have a bachelors, the entry MSN or an accelerated BSN. These are your entry points.

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    • Author
    5 minutes ago, kaylee. said:

    Since you have a bachelors, the entry MSN or an accelerated BSN. These are your entry points.

    Thank you for the input.

    Any opinion on Marquette vs Alverno?

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    I’m in a very similar situation (except no direct entry MSNs exist in Colorado).

    Does the DNP program for options 1 and 2 allow you to enter without any RN experience? Even if they don’t require any RN work experience, depending on the program’s competitiveness, it may be difficult to be admitted without it.

    For my situation, I have 3 nearby Psych NP programs. One “recommends“ 2 years of RN experience which (according to admissions coordinators) actually should mean “requires” 2 years of RN experience.

    The other 2 programs requires 1 year of Psych RN experience.

  • Quote
    • Author
    22 minutes ago, Abby Greene said:

    I’m in a very similar situation (except no direct entry MSNs exist in Colorado).

    Does the DNP program for options 1 and 2 allow you to enter without any RN experience? Even if they don’t require any RN work experience, depending on the program’s competitiveness, it may be difficult to be admitted without it.

    For my situation, I have 3 nearby Psych NP programs. One “recommends“ 2 years of RN experience which (according to admissions coordinators) actually should mean “requires” 2 years of RN experience.

    The other 2 programs requires 1 year of Psych RN experience.

    One program "prefers" 1 year of experience, but the others I’m looking at don’t. There are some hybrid distance programs I’m considering for that portion as well.

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    I would go BSN accelerated and do what you have to do. It’s going to be terrible, but if you go for your ADN, you’re back tracking and you’ll be wasting time. Really focus on maintaining a high GPA. Also, why would you not want to work as an RN in psych while obtaining your NP degree?

    In addition, check with NP schools to see how they help you with clinical sites. I have had friends who have had to find their own and one in particular, thought she could “rely on her connections.” She had a horrible time and ended up becoming a midwife.

    Best

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    • Author
    1 hour ago, GiosueFedele said:

    I would go BSN accelerated and do what you have to do. It’s going to be terrible, but if you go for your ADN, you’re back tracking and you’ll be wasting time. Really focus on maintaining a high GPA. Also, why would you not want to work as an RN in psych while obtaining your NP degree?

    In addition, check with NP schools to see how they help you with clinical sites. I have had friends who have had to find their own and one in particular, thought she could “rely on her connections.” She had a horrible time and ended up becoming a midwife.

    Best

    Thank you for the sound advice. Right now I’m between the accelerated BSN and two direct entry MSN programs. Hard choice, but nice to have something at the end of 12 months instead of 18. Quicker to the exit.

    I have a vested interest in putting off working until its at the np level, even though I definitely see the value of getting floor experience as an RN... by no means am I discounting that. I am quite physically disabled (ehlers danlos syndrome type iii [hypermobility], nerve damage in my right arm, and problems with lower back.) so I need to do a job that uses my mind more than my body. I get that there are cna’s to help with physical stuff, but what about when there is an emergency? I prefer to not put others at risk if I can’t catch them in a fall, etc. Hence why I need to focus on getting the terminal degree. Also, I have been on disability long enough that until I return to work for 9 months they aren’t going to cut it off, and the same with my veterans disability not decreasing for the first 12 months when I return to work. My hope was to finish the MSN->pmhnp route and then enter a residency my first year to build up my skills. The pay is lower, but since I’ll still be receiving my disability benefits that year it will be a really easy financial transition and reduce my stress significantly during residency.

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