Advice for RN wanting to be Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

I'm not a pych NP, but I have worked in the nursing industry (attracting nurses for nurse employers) and am a bit familiar with industry needs as a result.

As you already know, nursing employment usually isn't a problem for RNs (especially after a year of experience, they are in high demand) but in this recession there has been a bit of a hiring freeze. But even in this climate, NPs are in high demand.

So bottom line is that after you have a year of experience, you shouldn't have any difficulty getting employment in either, but NP is at even greater demand than RN and it is likely to continue this way for some time. I can't tell you much about the process of getting there, but it should improve your career prospects by making you an even more highly sought commodity.

Look at options....including Advanced Practice Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialists....NP's are and will continue to flood the market and when that happens become less valuable from a business standpoint....Look at what NP's where NP's are generally being placed economically in TODAYS world, check out their salary range verses what RN's generally make and compare it to the money you will dish out to get this ed verses longterm pay back for yourself.....look at how you can get the most bang for your buck...I recommend looking into APN and specialize...it creates many options....in and out of hospital settings, pharmaceutical to consulting....you name it...investigate.....investigate...NP's are master prep nurses and then if specialize have more schooling...do the math....how many years and how much will you have paid out verses what you get in return????? And what really will you be reduced to doing...a nurse who can write prescriptions.....for amount of yrs of ed yo have and amount of time and work you'll have spent you might as well get a Doctorate in Nursing or go to med school. Look at a salary of say a seasoned RN working in ICU/ER/ verses NP...there's a reality check. You'll find what you want and know what the need is out there...this can be quite different from your dream..but do please investigate and insert YOUR VALUE as a good nurse where it can be most used, where the trade off for you makes sense and will be long lasting....investigate....create options you will need it...because as nurses we all know geriatrics and mental health are at the forefront.....at least for now......so who do you think will flood the market for those areas? And how will that impact YOU...and you must look at this because....HEALTHCARE FIRST AND FOREMOST. ....IS A BUSINESS. It is all about making money....so figure out how to best make YOURSELF the most valuable for an employer. It is not how it used to be for nursing...ex: Oh I really like this particular area of nursing....say yr "calling", today corps don't care about you....you are the only one in charge of your destiny....I say try to find that balance in doing what you like in nursing and keeping eye of need....it is a different world and healthcare system out there today and might I say not headed in the right direction either...create options for yourself......Good luck.

Hello Robert, I agree with you that nurses from the past was in high demand but when the year 2009 the employment slowly freezes.

I know, I've written about the "hiring freeze" in nursing elsewhere (my company operates one of the larger nursing boards) but even in this economy demand for NPs has been strong.