What is a Nurse Practitioner?
Mary Ellen Fleming Price, APN, PMHCNS-BC Doris Van Byssum, Psy.D., PMHNP-BC “So when do I see the doctor”? Nurse Practitioners (NPs) hear this sometimes, as our role is not always clear to the public. So what is an NP? An NP is a registered nurse (RN) who has gone on to a Master’s or Doctoral program. A Psychiatric Mental Health NP (PMHNP) specializes in Psychiatry. The laws for practice differ from state to state. In Illinois, where our practice Genesis Clinical Services is based, NPs can write prescriptions like a psychiatrist, but we have a collaborating physician. The collaborating ...