allyroo Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Hi everyone! I start my first job since graduating a few months ago as a psychiatric PA. I start next week and honestly speaking, as you all know, psych is very sparsely covered in school. I feel like I know nothing at this point, and barely even the basic medications. One of the reasons I chose this job is because I felt like they would train me well, but will also obviously want me to become more independent as soon as I feel comfortable. I was hoping some of my more experienced colleagues have any tips for how to go about studying and getting prepared? I have no idea where to start. I have Stahl's Essential Pharmacology 4th edition and will be purchasing his prescribers guide. Even then with all of these resources, I feel very overwhelmed by all the little details in them and don't quite know how to approach it and what to really focus on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyJ Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 I just used DSM, Stahl's and uptodate. Between those 3 resources I was able to find everything I needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UVAPAC Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 I say you are lucky to have found a job in Psych. All of the Psych positions in this area want APRN's. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgriffiths Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 6 hours ago, DizzyJ said: I just used DSM, Stahl's and uptodate. Between those 3 resources I was able to find everything I needed. I work FP, but for psych stuff this is what I have used - and UpToDate much, much more - especially as it often refers to the DSM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walcz042 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 I started in psych as a new grad and have been working in it for a little under a year. The way to prepare will depend on what setting you will be in, I'm assuming you'll be in an outpatient clinic? Regardless, Stahl's prescriber guide is a must. When I first started I went though the index of the book- he has it separated by diagnosis and meds commonly used for each diagnosis. This was helpful to get a lay of the land so to speak. Stahl actually has all of his texts available online for purchase (https://stahlonline.cambridge.org) which I have found helpful since you can look things up while seeing patients easier. I also have a few other texts that were somewhat helpful- "The Psychiatric Interview" by Carlat can be a good starting point and the "Synopsis of Psychiatry" by Kaplan and Sadock is a more dense text if you are into that. There is also some interesting information on this website: https://psychopharmacologyinstitute.com that you can subscribe to. Other resources every specialty uses like uptodate and epocrates will be useful as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmikey Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 I agree with walcz042. I had undergrad degree in psychology which helped immensely, and worked as psychiatric nurse for 12 years (mostly inpatient), then outpatient psychiatric NP practice for 15 years, so academic preparation plus experience, experience, experience helps. In addition to wolcz042 recommendations, I would spend as much consultation time as possible with your doc, discussing as many encounters as he will listen to. Remember, we all feel like posers for some time until we've seen a few thousand patients. Attend as many psychopham reviews as you can afford. I've attended Nevada psychiatric association many times and always come away feeling more empowered. Be sure to maintain life balance as burnout is a risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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