Marian Newton, Professor and Director, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program and Assistant Dean of Advising, Retention and Progression
Health & Life Sciences Building, Office 156, (540) 665-5509, mnewton@su.edu

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Program is designed to provide the nurse with the necessary knowledge, skills, values, meanings and experiences to assume the role of a PMHNP in a variety of clinical settings. The program consists of didactic and clinical course content essential to provide psychotherapy to individuals, families and groups within hospitals and community settings. Differential diagnoses, health promotion and psychotropic medication management (prescriptive authority) for the psychiatric mental-health patient is addressed in this curriculum. The PMHNP student will complete approximately 600 clinical hours during this program of study. Shenandoah University collaborates with other universities to complete coursework in the role of PMHNP. The PMHNP program is offered on the Winchester campus and at the ICPH site in Fairfax, Virginia in a synchronous hybrid format.  Graduates of this program are eligible to take the appropriate  national certification exam. 

In addition to the 25 credits of required MSN courses, the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner requires 26 specialty credit hours.