psychiatry MD vs psychiatric NP

[historymajor88]

I'm 26 years old and currently working on science prereqs for grad programs. Three years ago I majored in political science and history thinking I'd go to law school, but decided I do not want to be an attorney. I currently work at a hospital and extremely interested in psychiatry. Which route would be better getting an MD and doing a psychiatry residency or doing a direct entry psychiatric nurse practitioner program? My understanding is NP can work independently of a physician in some states. My goal would ultimately be to open a private practice/clinic. My concerns about the MD route is that is will be a long process and I won't be able to make any real money until I'm 35. Thank you in advance for guidance.

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[AlteredScale]

I'm 26 years old and currently working on science prereqs for grad programs. Three years ago I majored in political science and history thinking I'd go to law school, but decided I do not want to be an attorney. I currently work at a hospital and extremely interested in psychiatry. Which route would be better getting an MD and doing a psychiatry residency or doing a direct entry psychiatric nurse practitioner program? My understanding is NP can work independently of a physician in some states. My goal would ultimately be to open a private practice/clinic. My concerns about the MD route is that is will be a long process and I won't be able to make any real money until I'm 35. Thank you in advance for guidance.

That is true. When you enter residency you actually earn tokens instead of cash. Whereas you actually earn real green cash if you go the NP route.

On a serious note, if you want to practice medicine then go MD. You will make money during residency. Albeit not a lot, but you will survive.

Don't consider NP as an equal route to your career goals as a psychiatric physician. The NP curriculum is still extremely variable with many being offered online. That will not prepare you to open a psychiatric clinic. @Mad Jack can you give you the skinny on the course load in the NP world...and yet they still consider themselves to be MD/DO equals.

If you want to practice medicine, go MD. The road is long but you will survive. You are still young, there was a 61 year old graduate of medical school some time back: http://www.amednews.com/article/20040621/profession/306219962/6/

 

[NYCdude]

If you want to be the best psychiatric practitioner possible, go M.D.

If you want to save time and money, go N.P.

 

[WillburCobb]

As a psych NP you'll pretty much be limited to med management of "easier"/"less complicated" patients. Also, most states require physician oversight.

 

[st2205]

The psychiatric NP is a very fast way to make a lot of money and have excellent job security and flexibility. Diversity of experiences, clinical knowledge, whole-spectrum mental health and general training, however, it isn't even close. The amount of general medicine exposure as a PMHNP is absolute minimal to non-existent. I've posted about this within the past couple months in the psychiatry forum. You could see a more detailed discussion there.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

That is true. When you enter residency you actually earn tokens instead of cash. Whereas you actually earn real green cash if you go the NP route.

On a serious note, if you want to practice medicine then go MD. You will make money during residency. Albeit not a lot, but you will survive.

Don't consider NP as an equal route to your career goals as a psychiatric physician. The NP curriculum is still extremely variable with many being offered online. That will not prepare you to open a psychiatric clinic. @Mad Jack can you give you the skinny on the course load in the NP world...and yet they still consider themselves to be MD/DO equals.

If you want to practice medicine, go MD. The road is long but you will survive. You are still young, there was a 61 year old graduate of medical school some time back: http://www.amednews.com/article/20040621/profession/306219962/6/

Online programs can be rigorous. These programs are perfect for people who are RNs and need to work will getting there NP. Nonetheless they are also programs that aren't online. There are plenty of very good NP programs. Whether it be NP or PA both are very good options.

 

[Psai]

Online programs can be rigorous. These programs are perfect for people who are RNs and need to work will getting there NP. Nonetheless they are also programs that aren't online. There are plenty of very good NP programs. Whether it be NP or PA both are very good options.

There is no such thing as a rigorous online course

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

There is no such thing as a rigorous online course

UNE biochem online is difficult. Some online courses give tests in testing center. Plus they have clinical training they need to pass.

 

[Frazier]

What kind of career do you want:

What do you want to treat?
What patient population?

We were about the same age starting out. Funny enough I, too, was all set for law school prior to the med school aspirations. Went nontrad for the prerequisites and here I am.

I'm now pretty full-steam-ahead psychiatry. Never even considered NP. I want to be part of the pinnacle profession in mental health...plus C&A interests me.

 

[Psai]

UNE biochem online is difficult. Some online courses give tests in testing center. Plus they have clinical training they need to pass.

How did you determine the difficulty? And what do you mean by clinical training

 

[pageantry]

I thought about it a lot because I'm a woman in my early thirties and I feel some pressure to veer towards having a family. For that reason, I briefly began courses to go direct-NP. I changed my mind because:

1. The pre-nursing classes were a joke next to my pre-med courses. I was bored. I missed having to try.

2. I don't know how to say this. Pre-nursing students are lovely, lovely people. I did not fit in.

3. In my area, only one school lets you go STRAIGHT THROUGH to NP and they cost around $200,000. Further, everyone I know who graduated from them (they're Ivy) said they wished they'd gone with a cheaper option because the school name didn't help them as much as a gap year of clinical grunt nursing work would have. (Required elsewhere.) This to me meant that my education was going to be:

*1 year pre-reqs (since I'd already completed most for pre-med)
*1.5 (INTENSE) years nursing school
*(plus a few months for the NCLEX licensing exam)
*1 gap year working, assuming I could quickly find a job in my over-saturated urban center
*2-3 years psych NP classes, (usually done while working...this doesn't make family life easier than MD, in other words.)

If everything worked out to the bare minimum, still a likely 6 years to private practice. And even then, according to the NPs I interviewed, you're going to want to work for a doc for a few years as a kind of makeshift residency.

4) According to allnurses.com, many urban-based direct entry nurses struggle to get work because--essentially--they're lacking the residency to justify their degrees and higher pay. I do think, though, that if you can network, this probably isn't an issue.

So, yeah, NP sounds great initially, but you're looking at--if you're lucky--shaving four years off your education to end up with a hard-won and expensive, but less well-respected entry into practice. And you get paid less for the work, can't work independently (yet) in every state, and you can't lead research. You're also less likely to teach, $peak, or be able to serve as an expert witne$$. Sorry, that's spelled witness.

For me, it seems like NP is a great degree to do as it was intended: because you're already a career RN and you know you want to go farther with your skills. But direct entry is for the birds. If you have the option, I say go MD.

Regardless, best of luck!

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

How did you determine the difficulty? And what do you mean by clinical training

I know NPs who have graduated from online programs and have spoke to them about it. Online programs are valid they wouldn't be accredited if they weren't

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

I thought about it a lot because I'm a woman in my early thirties and I feel some pressure to veer towards having a family. For that reason, I briefly began courses to go direct-NP. I changed my mind because:

1. The pre-nursing classes were a joke next to my pre-med courses. I was bored. I missed having to try.

2. I don't know how to say this. Pre-nursing students are lovely, lovely people. I did not fit in.

3. In my area, only one school lets you go STRAIGHT THROUGH to NP and they cost around $200,000. Further, everyone I know who graduated from them (they're Ivy) said they wished they'd gone with a cheaper option because the school name didn't help them as much as a gap year of clinical grunt nursing work would have. (Required elsewhere.) This to me meant that my education was going to be:

*1 year pre-reqs (since I'd already completed most for pre-med)
*1.5 (INTENSE) years nursing school
*(plus a few months for the NCLEX licensing exam)
*1 gap year working, assuming I could quickly find a job in my over-saturated urban center
*2-3 years psych NP classes, (usually done while working...this doesn't make family life easier than MD, in other words.)

If everything worked out to the bare minimum, still a likely 6 years to private practice. And even then, according to the NPs I interviewed, you're going to want to work for a doc for a few years as a kind of makeshift residency.

4) According to allnurses.com, many urban-based direct entry nurses struggle to get work because--essentially--they're lacking the residency to justify their degrees and higher pay. I do think, though, that if you can network, this probably isn't an issue.

So, yeah, NP sounds great initially, but you're looking at--if you're lucky--shaving four years off your education to end up with a hard-won and expensive, but less well-respected entry into practice. And you get paid less for the work, can't work independently (yet) in every state, and you can't lead research. You're also less likely to teach, $peak, or be able to serve as an expert witne$$. Sorry, that's spelled witness.

For me, it seems like NP is a great degree to do as it was intended: because you're already a career RN and you know you want to go farther with your skills. But direct entry is for the birds. If you have the option, I say go MD.

Regardless, best of luck!

If you want direct entry go PA. The NP curriculum is predicated on you already having skills from being an RN.

 

[Sust]

I can't speak for the psych NP part, but I can comment on OP's position.
I went to med school when I was 26 and will finally be done with training when im 36. Damn that's scary.
Admittedly that is a long time to wait, but then again I dont think i'd be as good of a clinician if I had taken any shortcuts either.
Being a good mental health clinician is so much more than knowing the psychopharmacology(which is fairly easy IMO) because of the interpersonal nature of the work and it requires so much supervision in psychotherapeutic skills that it's almost impossible to describe in a single post. Complicated patients are complicated to work with not because of the complexity of their medical problems, but often because of the complexity/tragedy of their past upbringing that's lead them to an equally difficult temperament or interaction style that makes all other clinicians recoil. Recognizing how to work with colorful referrals from all walks of life is an important skill to gain and it's far harder than drug companies would have you believe. For example, it would be easy to prescribe xanax to treat your chronic pain patient's anxiety complaints, but how many clinicians would be able to hear this patient's story and have a multimodal armamentarium of treatment options that include advanced psychopharmacology(i.e. beyond benzo's) as well as psychotherapy(mindfulness based stress reduction or cognitive behavioral therapy)? Mastering the combination of the two is hard and arguably imperfect even after finishing that long course of training so it pains me to think about how scary it must be for other mental health clinicians who have less training and are thrown into the same mixture of complicated psychopathology that's out there.

OP, you're free to choose what kind of clinician you want to be. My hope is that you try to be the kind of clinician you'd want your family members to see if they ever had problems.
Regardless of what people say about money/costs, it all comes down to your own values and finding meaningful things in your life.
Trust me when I say that you'll definitely be looking back on things at some point in your life, and the most bitter complaints i've heard from patients have never been about money, but more to do with regret.

Good luck in your choice, OP.

 

[pageantry]

If you want direct entry go PA. The NP curriculum is predicated on you already having skills from being an RN.

Yes, although similarly it seems to me that the shortcut PA appears to provide can be very long as well, given how many clinical hours they look for prior to matriculation (not to mention how competitive the seats in the schools are.) I know several PA candidates in my pre-med program who are still collecting extra hours and classes, trying to be more competitive.

PA was created to make better use of former military medics, I think.

But, to speak directly to the OP, all of this is not intended to discourage you. If your heart is in nursing or you simply prioritize the many advantages of going mid-level, please don't be deterred. Everyone has a different situation. This was just my reasoning in my part of the world based on what matters to me.

 

[historymajor88]

Thank you for the comments! More about me: I want to open a private practice and see my own patients. If I went the NP route I would be willing to move to a state that lets me operate independent of a physician. Would this be feasible as a Psych NP? Would their be any limitations?

I like the NP route because I'd be able to work as a RN while I finished my masters degree. I would control costs by going to a cheaper program like University of Texas.

As for the MD route, I will still have to support while going to school. Not making money for 10 years kind of scares me. I'd love to be a MD but I just have no idea how I could achieve this being a single guy who supports himself. Any ideas on this point?

 

[historymajor88]

http://www.aanp.org/images/documents/state-leg-reg/stateregulatorymap.pdf

I would work in a full practice state if I was an Psych NP

 

[Frazier]

I don't understand "Not making money for 10 years kind of scares me. I'd love to be a MD but I just have no idea how I could achieve this being a single guy who supports himself."

Majority of people get loans for med school (4 years).
You will make between 50-100k per year in residency (4 years), which is something more unique to psych given their easy ability to moonlight a ton .

You said you want to open your own practice. Who and what do you want to treat?

Adults?
Geriatrics?
Children?

Anxiety?
Depression?
Schizophrenia?

Some of the possible combinations of psychiatric conditions and patient populations, I don't think you [as a NP] would have business independently treating/managing for the patient's sole point of psychiatric care.

I mean here is the curriculum for Vanderbilt's Psychiatric-NP program:

Full-time Specialty Curriculum Plan
FALL - SEMESTER I
N305A Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning 3
N305B Advanced Health Assessment Applications for the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing 1
N307 Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics 3
N308 Pathophysiologic Concepts 3
N350 Models & Theories of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing 2
N351 Theoretical Foundations and Practicum in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Across the Lifespan 3

SPRING - SEMESTER II
N352 Neuroscience for Mental Health Practitioners 2
N353 Psychopharmacology 2
N354 Theoretical Foundations of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing with Groups and Families 2
N356 Practicum in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing with Individuals, Groups, and Families 4
N399A Scientific Underpinnings for Advanced Nursing Practice 3

SUMMER - SEMESTER III
N357 Population-based Mental Health Care Across the Lifespan 2
N358A Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Preceptorship 4
N395 APN Role within the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System 3
N399B Conceptualization & Integration of Evidence for Advanced Nursing Practice 3

To say that sequence would prepare one to work on the same level as a child & adolescent psychiatrist (having gone through 4 years med school, 4 years residency, and 2 years fellowship in pure C&A) -- and to be able to provide their patient with the same level (what a patient deserves, right?) of clinical knowledge/complex care/clinical competence -- is utterly preposterous, IMO.

Some states might allow it. But, given the damage that can be done, it is a real shame.

 

[pageantry]

I'd just like to offer here that I'm not a fan of the macho attitudes toward NPs that are often expressed on this site. MOST psych patients probably do just need a little Prozac and a good listener. There are *wonderful* NPs out there and, for many of their happy patients, an approachable down-to-earth attitude is cited as one of the biggest plusses...

If the 20th century should have taught us anything, it's that a world filled with ambitious science-minded overachievers is no place for polar bears.

That said, a few more points/questions:

1) Are you SURE you want to put in your time as an RN? It's a heck of a job, not for everyone.

2) While nursing is a beautiful profession filled with many wonderful people, it does "eat its young," as they say. (Nurses really do say this; it's a thing.) These days the field is a bit saturated post-Great-Recession, and not necessarily by people who love caring for others. Are you okay dealing with that? Are you okay with the increased competition for entry-level jobs that creates?

3) *critical point IMHO* Are you primarily inspired by doing therapy? GO PSYCH-NP. Being able to prescribe BEFORE you learn the in-depth principles of psychodynamic psychotherapy, for instance, will make you much more marketable. Many psychiatrists find that they do very little therapy at all. [Edit: I explain this more in comments below... you do not do more therapy than your average psychiatrist as an average Psych NP, but if you mostly want to do therapy plus be able to prescribe, then going Psych NP gives you more time to focus on an additional degree in therapeutic skills, rather than spending that time learning, say, cellular biology.]

4) Do you want to do research? What will keep this career path interesting for you in the long haul?

 

[Mad Jack]

Would you like to make 100k or 200k?

The NP program will take you 3 years, most likely. Medical school will take you four. Intern year, you get paid 55k, while your nurse counterparts might be pulling 80k to start. PGY-2 you can start moonlighting and pull 100k a year if you want, at which point your income is equal to that of the nurse, until you are an attending, at which point it doubles. Choose wisely, and don't be shortsighted. You'll also have far more options as a psychiatrist than an NP for a bit of income on the side, plus you'll have other training avenues available if you change your mind during medical school. Don't let that year of lost income and year of slightly less income detract you from the big picture.

 

[WillburCobb]

6) *critical point IMHO* Are you primarily inspired by doing therapy? GO PSYCH-NP. Being able to prescribe BEFORE you learn the in-depth principles of psychodynamic psychotherapy, for instance, will make you much more marketable. Many psychiatrists find that they do very little therapy at all.

This is highly contingent on the individual and their training for psychiatrists, however psych NPs are pretty much just doing med management of easy/less complicated patients 99.9% of the time - no therapy.

 

[pageantry]

This is highly contingent on the individual and their training for psychiatrists, however psych NPs are pretty much just doing med management of easy/less complicated patients 99.9% of the time - no therapy.

Yes, I'm just speaking from what I've heard/read from people who really just wanted to be therapists. More and more therapists go back to school so they can prescribe, because they can make so much more money that way. If this were OP's interest, he'd have to independently seek additional training as a therapist... But he'd at least be working as an NP while doing that training. More money.

YMMV.

 

[WillburCobb]

Yes, I'm just speaking from what I've heard/read from people who really just wanted to be therapists. More and more therapists go back to school so they can prescribe, because they can make so much more money that way. If this were OP's interest, he'd have to independently seek additional training as a therapist... But he'd at least be working as an NP while doing that training. More money.

YMMV.

Your initial comment was interested in therapy? Go psych NP. Which is more so what my comment was directed at.

 

[pageantry]

Your initial comment was interested in therapy? Go psych NP. Which is more so what my comment was directed at.

I'm alluding to OP's stated interest in working while still in training. If you're primarily interested in psychology AND you want to be able to prescribe/be more marketable, I've heard from several therapists who wish they'd begun with a psych-NP and then done their training in therapy. It seems like a reasonable plan to me (although it is not necessarily as clear-cut as I made it sound.) If therapy's what you really care about, you might as well cut out those extra years of MD training and spend them on psychology, right? I think there are also some new programs for psychologists that train in basic pharmacology but I know even less about that.

You're right, tho. From what I've seen, most psych-NPs ARE just doing med checks.

 

[historymajor88]

Wow, thanks people amazing insight has been gleaned from your comments. A few other questions that have popped into my mind:

Would Psych NP be only doing med checks if their practicing in a "full practice" state, e.g., Nevada? My goal is start a private practice or clinic as it would be desirable to me to be an entrepreneur.

Considering the med school option: Any recommendations for completing the med school prereqs as quick as possible? It seems like most schools want chemistry, organic chem, biochem, biology, physics.

So far I completed 2 semesters of anatomy and physiology, developmental psych, intro to psych. Currently I'm taking chemistry and microbiology. To complete the nurse prereqs it would take me another semester (stats, pharmacology, nutrition). It seems like the med school prereqs would take me another 1 yr and half at this point.

 

[giantswing]

If you're in medschool going for psych you totally have tome to date, get married, and have a family. Residency is cush as hell too.

 

[Psai]

I know NPs who have graduated from online programs and have spoke to them about it. Online programs are valid they wouldn't be accredited if they weren't

Accredited by who? Is it a legit accrediting body or Chad from his mom's basement?

I'd just like to offer here that I'm not a fan of the macho attitudes toward NPs that are often expressed on this site. MOST psych patients probably do just need a little Prozac and a good listener. There are *wonderful* NPs out there and, for many of their happy patients, an approachable down-to-earth attitude is cited as one of the biggest plusses...?

I've met a lot of amazing nurses who are incredibly smart and helpful even for us lowly medical students. But there are a ton of straight up mean people who don't seem to give a damn about their patients, just want to do their 3 12s and go home. I don't blame them but man does nursing have some great pr.

You would have a macho attitude too if you were working your butt off just to have some people who don't have half your work ethic or knowledge trying to tell people that they know just as much and can do your job "just as good or even better" than you

 

[deleted307836]

@Psai for DNP programs, it's very common for the didactic/lecture portion to be mostly online. Of course, clinical experiences are still arranged. I'm guessing this is a common setup due to the fact most nurses continue to work while they are in NP school. One of the nurses at my last job was in a DNP program at a public University in another state; she needed to be present on campus only a few times a semester and her clinical experiences could be arranged in her state of residence.

 

[NPP1]

I accidentally stumbled upon this forum, and felt compelled to reply because I am a psychiatric RN and in the middle of my psych NP training. I would certainly urge you to seek input directly from nurses, because there is a bias of opinions on this board due to most people coming from the medical perspective. A few thoughts: 1. I absolutely love what I do, work closely with my psychiatric MD counterparts and our jobs have significant overlap and are often indistinguishable. 2. That said, look carefully into the laws in the state you would like to practice in because independent practice is not yet universal (it is quickly moving in that direction though). 3. Also, look carefully at the schools you are applying to, the entire field is very small and there is a large amount of variety between programs. 4. My program offers a truly unbeatable education, my professor is both a PHD psychologist and a psych DNP. My classmates are NPs, RNs, psychologists already by training. 5. It is exciting to be a part of a rapidly expanding field. 6. It is completely untrue to say that nurses are not taking care of the most complex clients. Frequently, we are the providers working in under-resourced settings, with chronically and persistently mentally ill that have been cut off from psychiatric care for years. 7. The path to be an NP takes you through RN training. Not only can you be well paid as an RN, there is no better way to expand your interpersonal skills of compassion and empathy that is most important to being an effective therapist. 8. Being an NP you can participate in almost all therapy training programs which you would attend as an MD. It is my understanding that MD training alone does not offer in-depth psychotherapy training. 9. In NP training you will NOT get the same depth of biomedical knowledge as in MD training. That does not feel like a problem at all for me though, much of this training - like a surgery rotation for example - is not relevant to my work.

All that said, do what feels right for you! Psychiatry (with any degree) is a highly rewarding field with unlimited need for caring and committed providers. Good luck!

 

[MHC85]

I can't speak for the psych NP part, but I can comment on OP's position.
I went to med school when I was 26 and will finally be done with training when im 36. Damn that's scary.
Admittedly that is a long time to wait, but then again I dont think i'd be as good of a clinician if I had taken any shortcuts either.
Being a good mental health clinician is so much more than knowing the psychopharmacology(which is fairly easy IMO) because of the interpersonal nature of the work and it requires so much supervision in psychotherapeutic skills that it's almost impossible to describe in a single post. Complicated patients are complicated to work with not because of the complexity of their medical problems, but often because of the complexity/tragedy of their past upbringing that's lead them to an equally difficult temperament or interaction style that makes all other clinicians recoil. Recognizing how to work with colorful referrals from all walks of life is an important skill to gain and it's far harder than drug companies would have you believe. For example, it would be easy to prescribe xanax to treat your chronic pain patient's anxiety complaints, but how many clinicians would be able to hear this patient's story and have a multimodal armamentarium of treatment options that include advanced psychopharmacology(i.e. beyond benzo's) as well as psychotherapy(mindfulness based stress reduction or cognitive behavioral therapy)? Mastering the combination of the two is hard and arguably imperfect even after finishing that long course of training so it pains me to think about how scary it must be for other mental health clinicians who have less training and are thrown into the same mixture of complicated psychopathology that's out there.

OP, you're free to choose what kind of clinician you want to be. My hope is that you try to be the kind of clinician you'd want your family members to see if they ever had problems.
Regardless of what people say about money/costs, it all comes down to your own values and finding meaningful things in your life.
Trust me when I say that you'll definitely be looking back on things at some point in your life, and the most bitter complaints i've heard from patients have never been about money, but more to do with regret.

Good luck in your choice, OP.

What is an OP? In addition I know this thread is from a couple months ago but any responses are appreciated. I stumbled on this thread while doing some research for a NP program as well. Like the member who originated the post I am in a similar dilemma. After completing my Masters in Clinical counseling, I am stuck with my next step and earning potential. I am tossing between NP and PHD. Like others in this post, I originally wanted to attend Law School, however I only took the LSAT once and decided to get my Masters in a different specialty with the hopes of returning to Law School. Needless to say, I have no interest in being a lawyer but rather provide psychotherapy. Unfortunately, pay is not all that rewarding at a Masters level. It appears there are more opportunities as a NP. Although, I never wanted to do nursing I am now considering because of income and loan repayment. What is daunting is the idea of completing an abundance of pre-requisites and obtaining another Masters to become a NP.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I say go for the NP. You're in your mid-30s and psych is so much in demand that it won't be problem working anywhere you want.

 

[mosho]

I accidentally stumbled upon this forum, and felt compelled to reply because I am a psychiatric RN and in the middle of my psych NP training. I would certainly urge you to seek input directly from nurses, because there is a bias of opinions on this board due to most people coming from the medical perspective. A few thoughts: 1. I absolutely love what I do, work closely with my psychiatric MD counterparts and our jobs have significant overlap and are often indistinguishable. 2. That said, look carefully into the laws in the state you would like to practice in because independent practice is not yet universal (it is quickly moving in that direction though). 3. Also, look carefully at the schools you are applying to, the entire field is very small and there is a large amount of variety between programs. 4. My program offers a truly unbeatable education, my professor is both a PHD psychologist and a psych DNP. My classmates are NPs, RNs, psychologists already by training. 5. It is exciting to be a part of a rapidly expanding field. 6. It is completely untrue to say that nurses are not taking care of the most complex clients. Frequently, we are the providers working in under-resourced settings, with chronically and persistently mentally ill that have been cut off from psychiatric care for years. 7. The path to be an NP takes you through RN training. Not only can you be well paid as an RN, there is no better way to expand your interpersonal skills of compassion and empathy that is most important to being an effective therapist. 8. Being an NP you can participate in almost all therapy training programs which you would attend as an MD. It is my understanding that MD training alone does not offer in-depth psychotherapy training. 9. In NP training you will NOT get the same depth of biomedical knowledge as in MD training. That does not feel like a problem at all for me though, much of this training - like a surgery rotation for example - is not relevant to my work.

All that said, do what feels right for you! Psychiatry (with any degree) is a highly rewarding field with unlimited need for caring and committed providers. Good luck!

Years later and if you don’t mind me asking, where did you do your psych NP training? Thank you!

 

[NYCdude]

I accidentally stumbled upon this forum, and felt compelled to reply because I am a psychiatric RN and in the middle of my psych NP training. I would certainly urge you to seek input directly from nurses, because there is a bias of opinions on this board due to most people coming from the medical perspective. A few thoughts: 1. I absolutely love what I do, work closely with my psychiatric MD counterparts and our jobs have significant overlap and are often indistinguishable. 2. That said, look carefully into the laws in the state you would like to practice in because independent practice is not yet universal (it is quickly moving in that direction though). 3. Also, look carefully at the schools you are applying to, the entire field is very small and there is a large amount of variety between programs. 4. My program offers a truly unbeatable education, my professor is both a PHD psychologist and a psych DNP. My classmates are NPs, RNs, psychologists already by training. 5. It is exciting to be a part of a rapidly expanding field. 6. It is completely untrue to say that nurses are not taking care of the most complex clients. Frequently, we are the providers working in under-resourced settings, with chronically and persistently mentally ill that have been cut off from psychiatric care for years. 7. The path to be an NP takes you through RN training. Not only can you be well paid as an RN, there is no better way to expand your interpersonal skills of compassion and empathy that is most important to being an effective therapist. 8. Being an NP you can participate in almost all therapy training programs which you would attend as an MD. It is my understanding that MD training alone does not offer in-depth psychotherapy training. 9. In NP training you will NOT get the same depth of biomedical knowledge as in MD training. That does not feel like a problem at all for me though, much of this training - like a surgery rotation for example - is not relevant to my work.

All that said, do what feels right for you! Psychiatry (with any degree) is a highly rewarding field with unlimited need for caring and committed providers. Good luck!

Biomedical knowledge is not important for psychiatry? Wat

 

[LizzyM]

Years later and if you don’t mind me asking, where did you do your psych NP training? Thank you!

OP hasn't been on this forum, even to read a post, since February 2015 so don't expect an answer to your question.