Trouble finding PA programs in psychiatry?

[Wolvereenie]

Hi there. I'm a rising college sophomore studying biopsychology who has been planning on applying to medical school to be a psychiatrist. I figured that I should do some research on PA programs in the same area, as I have heard about psychiatric PA's in certain states having the power to prescribe. For the better part of the evening, I have been using the google to try to find PA residencies in psychiatry... but I have found very little information about these sorts of programs. The only ones I've found are one through the University of Iowa's medical school, and one offered through a nonprofit in Minnesota called HealthPartners.

Am I missing something, or is this really all there is? Is being a psychiatric PA really a thing? I'm wondering if you guys can provide some insight as to whether being a psych PA is a viable career option, or some niche job. Thanks!

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[deleted6669]

CHECK HERE: WWW.APPAP.ORG

you can be a psych pa without a residency although a residency is ceratinly a good idea. also consider direct entry psych NP programs.
PAs can rescribe in all 50 states, however the # of pa jobs in psych is lower than the # of psych np jobs.

 

[Wolvereenie]

Heh, that is actually the site that I was using that only yielded two results for psych PA programs. Maybe that is all there is then. So, how would someone be a psych PA without residency- would they just be a regular PA that only applies to psych jobs? I'm hesitant to go the NP route, as I'm not in nursing school. But thanks for the reply!

 

[deleted6669]

Those are the only 2 I know of.
you can work in psych if you find a doc who is willing to train you on the job without a residency. many jobs like that are working for the govt at the VA, prisons, indian reservations, etc

 

[Wolvereenie]

Hmm, okay. I am more interested in working in an outpatient setting. I guess I will give more thought to being a psychiatrist.

 

[AnnoyedByFreud]

Eh. If you want to practice in psychiatry, I really recommend either medical school or NP school. It's one of the few scenarios in which I think PA school is not an ideal choice. I'm not that impressed by the psych training even in the psych PA residencies (way overly focused on inpatient medication management, absolutely no training in therapy or psychological theories, as far as I can tell).

 

[Wolvereenie]

Ah, okay, thanks. I'm kind of in that whole "having second thoughts on med school because it sounds really stressful" phase. I shall give it some thought.

 

[pamac]

The psych NP's that I know make more than any other nonphysician providers I know of with the exception of CRNA's. The psychiatrists make a tremendous amount. Starting from scratch, medical school would probably pan out for you to a greater degree. It does take some time to arrive at the status of a full fledged NP with broad demand, making the big bucks. I don't know of any PAs in the psyche field. In my state , NPs have a lot of independence, and that helps them a lot with marketability, and that can help a lot, especially in psyche.