Curriculum: Post-Master's Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Curriculum: Post-Master's Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
11.01.2024
Dependent on educational background
01.13.2025
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curriculum icon Curriculum at a Glance

Within the PMHNP Post-Master’s Certificate Online Program, there is a requirement of 504 total clinical hours. Of these 504 clinical hours, time must be divided among pediatrics, adults and geriatrics — 100 clinical hours need to be in pediatrics, 100 clinical hours in adult and 100 clinical hours in geriatrics. The remainder of the 504 total clinical hours can be any combination you choose (as deemed appropriate by the faculty advisor).

A critical component of our online program includes a two-day virtual, synchronous program intensive. Students become acquainted with cohort members, meet faculty and personally experience the high-quality culture and competence of their future alma mater. Highlights include: general orientation and on-boarding, lectures, clinical orientation, distinguished guest speakers, lunch-and-learns and networking with like-minded mental health professionals.

To learn more about our course offerings, review a sample of our curriculum.

Course Title / Description Credit
Psychopathological Disorders Across the Lifespan
Course:
Credit:

Building on diagnostic skills learned in Health Assessment, this course focuses on the etiology or epidemiology of selected psychopathological disorders and assessment and diagnosis of common clinical variations in health patterns in adults and children with mental illness.

Prerequisite: Enrollment into the post-master’s certificate program or gaining permission from the instructor.

Neurobiology and Psychopharmacology - Life Cycle Perspectives
Course:
Credit:

This 3-credit course presents advanced concepts of neuropath physiology of mental illness, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs used in the psychopharmacologic treatment and clinical management of various psychiatric disorders across the lifespan

Prerequisite: Enrollment into the post-master’s certificate program or permission from the instructor.

Clinical Psychiatric Diagnostics and Management of Adults
Course:
Credit:

This 3-credit course builds upon assessment techniques and previous courses with an emphasis on the differential diagnosis of and interventions for complex care of adults with psychiatric symptoms or conditions.

Prerequisite: Internship I

Corequisite: Internship II

Systems Interventions for Individuals and Groups
Course:
Credit:

This 2-credit course focuses on interventions and theories for individuals and groups that are utilized by the advanced practice psychiatric nurse in planning, implementing and evaluating care for adults and children with psychiatric disorders.

Prerequisite: Enrollment into the certificate or permission of the instructor

Corequisite: Internship I: Supervised Clinical Practice Across the Lifespan

Role of the PMHNP in Promoting Health
Course:
Credit:

This 2-credit course focuses on the standards and regulations that define scope of practice and prescriptive authority for practitioners.

Prerequisite or Corequisite: Internship II: Supervised Clinical Practice Across the Lifespan

Clinical Psychiatric Diagnostics and Management of Children
Course:
Credit:

This 3-credit course builds upon assessment techniques and other completed courses. The course has an emphasis on the differential diagnosis of and interventions for complex care of children with psychiatric symptoms.

Prerequisite: Clinical Psychiatric Diagnostics and Management I

Corequisite: Internship III: Supervised Clinical Practice Across the Lifespan

Supervised Clinical Practice Across the Lifespan – Internship I
Course:
Credit:

This 1-credit internship is the first of three clinical internships that focuses the nurse practitioner student on primary assessment and diagnostic skills needed to determine appropriate therapeutic interventions in adults or children exhibiting severe mental illness. This first internship focuses on individual and/or group therapy.

Corequisite: Systems Interventions for Individuals and Groups

Supervised Clinical Practice across the Lifespan - Internship II
Course:
Credit:

This internship is the second of three internships that focuses the nurse practitioner student on the primary assessment and diagnostic skills needed to determine therapeutic interventions in adults or children with symptoms of mental illness.

Prerequisite: Psychopathological Disorders Across the Lifespan, Neurobiology and Psychopharmacology: Life Cycle Perspectives, Internship I

Supervised Clinical Practice Across the Lifespan - Internship III
Course:
Credit:

This 2-credit internship is the third of three clinical internships that focuses the nurse practitioner student on primary diagnostic skills and assessment needed to determine appropriate therapies for adults or children with severe mental illness.

Prerequisite: Internship II

Corequisite: Clinical Psychiatric Diagnostics and Management II

Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology
Course:
Credit:

This course builds upon basic knowledge of human anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of disease across the lifespan. The emphasis is on applied physiology and pathophysiology to assist advanced practice nurses in understanding how and why the clinical manifestations of disease occur so that appropriate therapies can be selected.

Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Practice
Course:
Credit:

This course prepares nurses for professional roles in advanced nursing practice with knowledge of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles of common drug categories used to prevent illness and to restore and maintain health for client systems across the lifespan. Mechanisms of action, pharmacologic response, usual doses, adverse effects, indications, interactions, compatibilities, contraindications and routes of administration will be emphasized in acute and chronic conditions. Six hours of legal, ethical and financial content related to prescribing is addressed in this course as required by the Ohio Board of Nursing.

Advanced Health Assessment
Course:
Credit:

This course provides opportunities for the advanced practice nurse student to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for the performance of comprehensive and focused health assessment. This course addresses clients across the lifespan and the post-master’s FNP student will have additional pediatric assessment as an additional module.

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