Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (MSN)

This foundational course introduces students to the roles and responsibilities of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) to meet the needs of clients across the lifespan, with focus on vulnerable populations. Legal and ethical guidelines for advanced practice are reviewed. The course also introduces basic competencies in therapeutic communication and conducting comprehensive psychiatric assessments on clients from diverse cultures and across age groups. Students will draw upon diagnostic criteria outlined in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5).

This course focuses on treatment models for prevention, intervention, and psychoeducation for selected acute and chronic psychiatric conditions of clients across the lifespan. Students review legal and ethical guidelines for advanced practice, with special attention to vulnerable populations. The needs of clients with co-occurring psychiatric and physical disorders and neurocognitive disorders are also addressed.

This course focuses on clinical practice with clients with mental health conditions in accordance with the role expectations and scope of practice of the advanced practice psychiatric nurse. Students apply principles of legal and ethical guidelines for advanced practice by conducting comprehensive psychiatric assessments on clients from diverse cultures and across age groups. Students utilize appropriate assessment tools and protocols to develop primary and differential diagnoses according to the diagnostic criteria outlined in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5).