Questions: Psychiatric NP role

[rxbunny]

I'm considering going this route because of my interest in both mental health and pharmacology, as opposed to going the medical school route for psychiatry. I have several questions if any existing/former psych NP can answer:

1. How much direct patient contact do you have on a daily basis?
2. Do you also perform your regular duties as a nurse or do the other RNs take over?
3. How frequently do you have situations where a patient is out of control and a danger to yourself (i.e., I've heard of psych nps getting physically assaulted but they've become accustomed to it- is this a daily reality?) Furthermore, are patients typically hesitant to cooperate?
4. I've tried researching but I can't find the answer to this specifically: where else do psych NP work besides wards, community health centers?

Thank you so much!

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[rxbunny]

1. I work four, 10 hour days, by choice, and usually have 20-30 patients scheduled for evaluations and med checks. No Fridays, nights, holidays, weekends, or call. I'm solo in clinic aside from some therapists. 200k+ personal income.
2. No, other than the occasional letter of medical necessity, I only do #1. No phone calls or nursey stuff. No clerical work. I have a LPN run interference with pharmacies and patient needs.
3. I only work outpatient and have zero interest in inpatient so the risk is reduced. I've ejected a few patients for what I deemed "pre-assaultive" behavior. My first career frequently resulted in violent confrontations so I'm never really surprised. Most are cooperative. Some are generally jerks. Many are exhausting benzo seekers. I have a sign up now that says "no benzos."
4. inpatient, outpatient, drug rehab, residential settings, military as uniform and civilian workers, penal institutions, nursing homes, anywhere you can find a nexus with mentally ill people

Anything else? Happy to help. All questions I had going in.

I really appreciate your responses! It's helping me solidify my decision.

A few more questions I thought of while reading your responses:
1. $200k is very nice, I think the most I've seen in my state (AZ) is $130k, what area are you located in? did you negotiate your salary or was this based on previous experience? For future reference, what salary should be the bare minimum when applying for jobs as a new grad NP?
2. How many years have you worked as an RN vs. How many years have you worked as a Psych NP?
3. How do you deal with patients which treatments don't seem to be working on? If they've exhausted or tried various medications, but none seem to be helping? Where do you go from there..

Thanks again