Stress Free Psych NP on LinkedIn: Roses are red, violets are blue, Learn to diagnose and treat, stress-free… (2024)

It’s funny looking back to myself as a brand new NP. There was so much I would learn over the next several years by trial and error and trial by fire. At the time, I wish I had been able to ask a group of experienced nurse practitioners what they wish they knew as new grads that they know now as experienced NPs. Questions on topics like contract negotiation, educational resources, and confidence in prescribing.While I can’t return to my new grad self, I can share sage advice from the 40 experienced NPs that I surveyed in an online forum. I posed the following question to the group:What do you wish you knew then, as a new NP grad, that you know now as a more experienced NP?”What do you think? Any advice you would give yourself when you were a brand new NP? ✨

1

I share my personal experience with anxiety because it’s ironic as a mental health prescriber that I still very much struggled with being on medications despite prescribing them EVERY DAY to other people. The stigma surrounding mental health is strong. Mental health and physical health are not the same in US culture or most cultures in the world. My anxiety is a very different experience than if I had unmanaged hypertension and was started on a medication for that. The implications for being on medication for mental health are generally not seen as positive. Being on the other side, finally taking medications, has been very humbling for me. I think it makes me a better provider. Helps me understand initial medication side effects (although presentations vary obviously). It normalizes being on medication and it highlights that medications aren’t the only intervention. It sets expectations for medications and shows me the benefits of anxiety too (for me, anxiety keeps me on top of my game, making sure I'm well researched, prepared and planning ahead - all helpful qualities as a provider). I'm still adjusting to being comfortable with going to the pharmacy and picking up my prescription without feeling discomfort. Acknowledging this separates my anxiety from me as a person. It’s not who I am but something outside of me that’s being managed. As one of the most prevalent chief complaints of patients and also people in general, normalizing anxiety is incredibly helpful.Maybe you don't have the same experience as me but I wonder as a provider, what ways are you more like the individuals you treat in practice and how can you find ways to normalize their experiences?

1

I haven't personally used all of these resources but one that I’ll be delving into is the online learning platform, PsychU by Otsuka. It’s a free community and online resource library for mental health and includes community members of physicians, NPs, PAs, nurses and pharmacists.Its easy to get overwhelmed by TOO much information and resources so selecting just 2 or 3 trusted, easy to navigate resources can be helpful to avoid this overwhelm.My Mental Disorders Crash Course for new and experienced psych & family NPs might be a good fit. Or if you’re wanting a free peak at what the crash course is like, feel free to check out my FREE training on how to diagnose and treat mental disorders ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ehViFuNJ

Go to https://lnkd.in/ehViFuNJ to watch this free training

1

Avoid adding insult to injury by streamlining your documentation with the Psychiatric Templates Bundle!Get your copy of the Psychiatric Template Bundle to create efficient, expert templates for you to use in practice. Great for new psych NPs and experienced psych NPs who want more clarity and efficiency in documentation.Some tips that have helped me become more efficient with charting as an NP are:✅document in real-time to reduce risk of forgetting details and avoid getting behind thru the day✅using HPI one liners (e.g., This is a ___ yo fe/male with hx of ___, PMH of ______, who presents for med management f/u or initial psychiatric evaluation).✅using my risk assessment template short hand to document risk (e.g., Patient is at ____ (low/moderate/high) acute risk for self harm/suicide as evidenced by ____. Risk is mitigated by _____).✅creating a Plan section dated in reverse chronological order that includes the previous visit’s plan section information – I just add to it each visit so I don't have to dig thru past notes to remember what we did⭐For charting templates to make your documentation more efficient, check out my Psychiatric Templates Bundle ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gk-2NHev

Rule #1 of neurotransmission - The brain’s response to a drug is always to facilitate the OPPOSITE state; therefore the only way for any regularly user of a drug to feel normal is to take the drug. Getting high, if it occurs at all, is increasingly short-lived, and so the purpose of using is to stave of withdrawal.Rule #2 of neurotransmission - Any time you give a drug to increase the amount of a neurotransmitter, the synapse will remove receptors for that neurotransmitter, effectively making itself less sensitive to that drug. The opposite is true too.Rule# 3 of neurotransmission - Unfortunately, the most powerful drugs tend to have the most severe and dangerous side effects. Because of this we can't always use the “big guns” right off the bat. It's best to attempt to treat with the least powerful option that will still produce good results.I go into more depth on specific neurotransmitters and more in an update to my mental disorders crash course coming soon!!My Basics of Neurotransmitters lesson is all about understanding the essentials of the primary neurotransmitters involved in the medications we prescribe and the disorders we treat.Sign up for my mailing list to be notified when these new additions to my course are released as well as free weekly clinical pearls of practice ➡️https://lnkd.in/g2aw8d5J

There are several reasons why this debt to doubt ratio occurs for nurse practitioners entering practice.Fortunately, we have options to create more balance during or after finishing school:➡️work on the side of decreasing our debt➡️decrease that doubt by increasing knowledge in areas we feel less sureOr we can do both.I’m more knowledgeable on the decreasing doubt side of things so I’ll speak to that. (There are definitely plenty of resources out there for managing student debt if you’re wanting to address that as well).I created the Mental Disorders Crash Course (and Stress Free Psych NP) because I felt my NP program (while a top nursing program) didn’t deliver on the knowledge I needed to enter practice to confidently treat complex patients.Yes, I didn't have to find my own preceptors (something not every NP gets) and yes, I got good grades in classes but those things didn’t translate into very important applications in practice as a nurse practitioner. Like how to taper the patient I inherited off the 6 mg of alprazolam they had been on for years. Or how to really differentiate between disorders like major depressive disorder vs bipolar II disorder and what to do when you don’t really know.I created the Mental Disorders Crash Course to clearly and easily explain how to treat the most important and commonly encountered mental disorders in practice.If you’re interested in a free training on diagnosing & treating mental disorders, check it out - https://lnkd.in/ehViFuNJ

True or false? ADHD medication does not increase the risk for future substance use problems.👉🏾True. In fact, treatment with ADHD stimulant medication prior to age 9 may actually decrease a child’s likelihood of abusing drugs and alcohol later in life, according to research.True or false? Treatment with stimulants is associated with a change in how fast kids grow during the maximum growth period or in final adult height.👉🏾False. In spite of concerns that have been voiced regarding growth and stimulants, stimulant treatment has little to no impact on growth.True or false? U.S. practice guidelines for ADHD don’t exist.👉🏾True. Our understanding of adult ADHD is advancing, yet professional, authoritative guidelines for diagnosing and treating adult ADHD are currently unavailable in the U.S. To improve quality of care, APSARD, an organization for ADHD specialists, is developing the first-ever guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD.There are several misconceptions about ADHD that make diagnosis and treatment difficult.Lack of professional practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD makes treatment even MORE difficult.Fortunately, I’m adding a module to my mental disorders crash course on ADHD diagnosis and treatment (coming soon!!!). Join my mailing list to be alerted when this new addition to the course drops ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g2aw8d5J

1

Some tips that have helped me become more efficient with charting as a nurse practitioner are:✅chart prepping for the day 30 minutes before my first patient (ie review labs, read my last notes with patients to anticipate challenges)✅using HPI one liners (e.g., This is a ___ yo fe/male with hx of ___, PMH of ______, who presents for med management f/u or initial psychiatric evaluation)✅using my risk assessment template short hand to document risk (e.g., Patient is at ____ (low/moderate/high) acute risk for self harm/suicide as evidenced by ____. Risk is mitigated by _____).✅Taking 3-4 minutes between each patient to finish charting on my previous patient so I don't get too behind through my day⭐For charting templates to create more streamlined, expert templates, check out my Psychiatric Templates Bundle. Great for new psych NPs and experienced psych NPs who want more clarity and efficiency in documentation ➡️https://lnkd.in/gk-2NHev

4