PMHNP struggles with fundamentals
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![](https://www.midlevel.wtf/content/images/2021/03/pmhnp-depression-types.png)
I might not be a psychiatrist, but I remember being extensively tested on bipolar disorder, depression, schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, etc. not only during my medical school psychiatry rotation, but also on the USMLE. What does it say about the state of their education when a PMHNP needs "good tables or graphs" to help "sort symptoms"? See, there's this handy thing called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Continuously published since its inception in 1952, it's now available in its fifth edition!
#Psychiatry #AskForAPsychiatrist #PMHNP #PhysiciansLead #AskForAPhysician #MedSchoolMatters #StopScopeCreep pic.twitter.com/91FJ79iB1Z
— Midlevel.WTF (@MidlevelWTF) March 14, 2021
Psychiatrists, unlike PMHNPs who seem to prefer reputable sources such as Facebook instead, use the DSM along with the training, experience, and clinical acumen they've honed after four years of medical school and four or more years of psychiatry residency plus fellowship to determine the appropriate diagnoses for patients. Do you think an attending psychiatrist would "struggle" to identify and differentiate between different types of depression? Given how stigmatized mental illness often is (and continues to be), it is imperative that psychiatric patients (who are often some of the most vulnerable members of society) receive a correct diagnose and be treated appropriately. They deserve a properly-trained psychiatrist capable of combining good clinical judgment with clinical guidelines, not a 600-hour PMHNP who needs to refer to a "good table or graph" as a crutch for their lack of proficiency.