Nursing: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (M.S.)

The Master’s in Nursing degree specialty track option in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) will prepare the experienced Registered Nurse (RN) with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to assess, diagnose, and manage mental health care patients across the lifespan. Foundational core coursework to prepare the advanced practice nurse is completed prior to transitioning into specialty content.

Courses are competency based, founded on evidence-based approaches to care management and learning strategies with commitment to student success and continuous quality improvement embedded within the process. Synchronous, asynchronous, low and high-fidelity simulation, on campus intensives, and clinical immersion will reinforce didactic content and afford the student the opportunity to transition to an active member of a collaborative mental health care team. 

Upon successful program completion, graduates will be eligible to sit for the ANCC board certification exam for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Across the Lifespan (PMHNP-BC).
 

PMHNP MSN Program in Nursing Admission Requirement

1. Unencumbered, active RN license in the United States.
2. Baccalaureate degree in Nursing and/or another field. *
3. One full year of med surg/neuro/intensive care/emergency room experience minimum (Psychiatric experience not required).
4. 3 professional letters of reference–academic and/or professional. 
5. Personal statement.  Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:

   1. This is a graduate program that requires a high cognitive load, explain in detail how you are going to prepare yourself for that and manage throughout the program?

   2. Discuss the Master’s PMHNP program, what experiences have contributed to your interest and how do you visualize yourself in this role after graduation?

   3. Where do you visualize yourself in 3 years, 5 years, and 7 years?

6. Resume

*Non-BSN Admission Requirements:RNs whose baccalaureate degree is in a discipline other than nursing may apply to the Master of Science degree in nursing (M.S.) program PMHNP track option and will be considered for the track that is commensurate with their clinical experience based on faculty discretion.

The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner builds upon the skills of the baccalaureate prepared generalist nurse.  

Students entering the Master’s of Science Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program are expected to:

• Synthesize core knowledge from the liberal arts, sciences, and nursing as the foundation of professional practice.
• Integrate knowledge and skills to assess, design, implement, and evaluate nursing care in a safe, compassionate, culturally sensitive, evidence-based manner.
• Engage clients, families, and communities in collaborative decision-making incorporating evidence-based knowledge and anticipatory guidance.
• Employ team leadership and collaborative skills with other health professionals to optimize client and system outcomes.
• Recognize the influence of complex health systems on health care practice and advocate for policies that promote a socially just, patient-centered healthcare system.
• Engage in scholarly inquiry to identify, evaluate and integrate the best current practice.
• Integrates health promotion, clinical prevention strategies when providing care at the individual or population level.
• Incorporates principles of patient safety and risk mitigation when using healthcare technology and therapeutics in the provision of care.
• Uses effective written, verbal, and nonverbal communication strategies when engaged in professional practice.
• Embrace professional values embodied in the ANA code of ethics.
   

At the completion of the Master's nursing program, the graduate student is prepared to:

• Serve in a healthcare leadership and change agent role as part of a diverse, complex, and patient-centered health care system.
• Act as a practice scholar to design, direct and evaluate system changes to promote safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable and patient-centered care.
• Use data analytic methods, information systems and technology to evaluate, integrate and apply knowledge that will improve programs of care, outcomes of care and care systems.
• Use translational science and analytic methods to develop, identify, implement, and evaluate best practices to improve health care and health care systems.
• Design and implement health promotion and clinical prevention strategies across the health/illness continuum to optimize health and disease management.
• Systematically use improvement methods to monitor and evaluate care processes and outcomes and applies data for continuous improvement and safety
• Advocate for social justice through policy, professional and political engagement.
• Applies leadership principles that support inter-professional practice.

In addition to the Master's Outcomes above, the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner graduate will:

• Utilize advanced practice knowledge, skills, and competencies to assess, diagnose, and coordinate and manage mental health care patients across the lifespan
• Recommend and prescribe evidence-based developmentally appropriate treatment modalities to manage psychiatric conditions in patients across the lifespan defined by shared decision-making and patient concordance within state and federal scope of practice regulations
• Engage in professional, bias-free, quality, safe, collaborative, and ethical, evidence-based practice across all mental healthcare practice settings