Psych NP to psychiatrist? :/

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priorities2

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I've been coming to this forum since I was in college and trying to decide on a career path. I ended up getting a full ride for psych NP school and now I'm 24 and I've been a psych NP for 3 months.

I realize now that I don't know enough. I chose psych NP over med school because I wasn't sure I could get into med school and also I wanted to be financially independent as quickly as possible for personal reasons.

I also thought I hated school and wanted to be done. But it turns out I love learning, I just didn't have much perspective on this before since I had been a student my whole life.

To compensate for my lack of knowledge I'm attending all the courses, listening to all the psychiatry podcasts, and reading all the books I can. And I have great supervision at my place of employment.

However... part of me is like... I just want to be surrounded by really smart people, learn as much as I can, and contribute to the field in a really meaningful way. I do sort of regret not attempting to get into med school as my GPA was really high and I'm good at standardized tests. I know I made the best decision with what I knew at the time, and I can't be too mad at myself for becoming a psych NP with no debt.

My plan now, I guess, is to finish my two year work commitment for NHSC and then get a nursing PhD so I can advance the field.

I guess I'm just posting this in case someone thinks I should go to med school to become a psychiatrist. I'm guessing no one thinks that would actually be a good idea given that I'm already a psych NP and can find more efficient ways to fill in the educational gaps. But maybe you have other thoughts on resolving the issues I brought up here. Thanks! :)
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You need to take the MCAT this year so you can apply next year. Your two year obligation is about the right amount of time you need.
 
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Have you looked into a couple of the one year programs for mid levels, such as the University of Iowa?
 
At your age if you are able to get accepted I would highly recommend medical school. Since you are even considering the disparities this early in your nursing career you will likely regret not getting the best education available.
 
Do you still have compelling reasons for wanting to be financially independent as quickly as possible? If so, be happy you have a marketable degree already and get to making some money. If your circumstances have changed, and the prospect of going into serious debt when you don't need to doesn't bother you, I say go for it. You're young. Good luck with your decision.
 
Stay an NP. It's less time, work, and less responsibility than becoming a psychiatrist. If you get a DNP or PhD you can even call yourself doctor.
 
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Why would you do this? So much time wasted, and psych is getting more and more competitive. Yeah you'd have a stronger knowledge base, but what if you didn't match into psych? What would you do with your life then?
 
All USMD's can match into psych if they are flexible enough.
 
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MacDonaldTriad said:
All USMD's can match into psych if they are flexible enough.
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Ditto. I was in ob/gyn before psych. In med school, yeah, I was average, but not considered that competitive if aiming for a surgical specialty. I had no issues matching at all whatsoever. Got my second choice. Psychiatry was even easier (got my first choice actually and Mayo even ranked me to match, after the match they wrote me a letter saying it was too bad I didn't rank them likewise!--not in a snarky way but more of "it would have been great to work together" kind of way), despite my 3 month medical leave which would give many programs red flags. It is very straightforward to match into for the most part. My residency went swimmingly, even had a baby during it ;).
 
OP, the math says going to med school is a horrible idea right now if you want tk do psychiatry. Yes, the NP is a lesser trained role but it pays well comparably. Also, I’m not sure how much a nursing phd does for you if you want to stay clinical.

st2205 said:
Have you looked into a couple of the one year programs for mid levels, such as the University of Iowa?
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1yr phd? Can you link that?
 
priorities2 said:
I've been coming to this forum since I was in college and trying to decide on a career path. I ended up getting a full ride for psych NP school and now I'm 24 and I've been a psych NP for 3 months.

I realize now that I don't know enough. I chose psych NP over med school because I wasn't sure I could get into med school and also I wanted to be financially independent as quickly as possible for personal reasons.

I also thought I hated school and wanted to be done. But it turns out I love learning, I just didn't have much perspective on this before since I had been a student my whole life.

To compensate for my lack of knowledge I'm attending all the courses, listening to all the psychiatry podcasts, and reading all the books I can. And I have great supervision at my place of employment.

However... part of me is like... I just want to be surrounded by really smart people, learn as much as I can, and contribute to the field in a really meaningful way. I do sort of regret not attempting to get into med school as my GPA was really high and I'm good at standardized tests. I know I made the best decision with what I knew at the time, and I can't be too mad at myself for becoming a psych NP with no debt.

My plan now, I guess, is to finish my two year work commitment for NHSC and then get a nursing PhD so I can advance the field.

I guess I'm just posting this in case someone thinks I should go to med school to become a psychiatrist. I'm guessing no one thinks that would actually be a good idea given that I'm already a psych NP and can find more efficient ways to fill in the educational gaps. But maybe you have other thoughts on resolving the issues I brought up here. Thanks! :)
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Find a job in a setting where psych NPs are closely supervised and trained. At some places the psych NPs get intensive supervision and support from experienced attendings, in a similar way to residents and fellows - the exposure is more narrow, but also more longitudinal. Going to medical school will give you four years of additional training of which only a portion pertains to psychiatry, and then in residency you will be back in the apprenticeship model which is available to you now anyway.
 
sb247 said:
OP, the math says going to med school is a horrible idea right now if you want tk do psychiatry. Yes, the NP is a lesser trained role but it pays well comparably. Also, I’m not sure how much a nursing phd does for you if you want to stay clinical.
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In my area psych NPs average $150,000-$180,000 for 40 hours but psychiatrists are in the $275,000-$325,000 so over the long haul significant difference in not only education but income potential.
 
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Jules A said:
In my area psych NPs average $150,000-$180,000 for 40 hours but psychiatrists are in the $275,000-$325,000 so over the long haul significant difference in not only education but income potential.
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and my calculation shows a 15yr time to break even from the time you started med school....again, I'm all for doing it because you want to I just don't think the math is the most compelling
 
sb247 said:
and my calculation shows a 15yr time to break even from the time you started med school....again, I'm all for doing it because you want to I just don't think the math is the most compelling
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It really depends on your assumptions. NP = 120k, MD = 300k, MD debt = 100k, investment growth 5%, debt growth 5%, then go to MD school. NP = 180k, MD = 220k, MD debt = 200k, investments 10%, debt 7%, stay NP. Complicated in the middle zones, especially when taking into consideration other habits (actual % of income invested, repayment time of MD debt, etc.)

I think it's variable enough to actually not be a main factor in this decision.
 
Thanks everyone. The phrase that's coming to my mind is "bloom where you are planted". I have been looking up medical school tuition rates and wow you all paid a lot of money for your schooling.

I think I'll stay a psych NP and just focus on going back for a PhD so I can advance the field and research addiction psychiatry. I don't need to be the best. Maybe there's a life lesson of humility in all of this.

As always appreciate your feedback.

If anyone reading is pondering becoming a psych NP vs. a psychiatrist and wants to PM me, please feel free..
 
priorities2 said:
I also thought I hated school and wanted to be done. But it turns out I love learning, I just didn't have much perspective on this before since I had been a student my whole life.
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Keep learning - a lot of the mastery and all of the nuance come with practice after licensure.

If you decide to get a PhD somewhere down the road make sure you have clear goals and train in an environment with multiple faculty who have successful research careers. There are some great PhD nursing researchers out there, and IMO what makes them great is that they have transitioned to identifying as scientists first and foremost.
 
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