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 School of Nursing offers a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Post Graduate Certificate for RNs who hold a Master of Science in Nursing Degree or the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) with a MSN in psychiatric and mental-health nursing. The certificate 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. It consists of didactic and clinical course content essential to provide psychotherapy to individuals, families, and groups. Content is also provided for psychotropic medication management across the continuum of care throughout the lifespan. Differential diagnosis, pathophysiology, pharmacotherapy, and physical assessment/health promotion are required. In addition so that PMHNP students are equipped with knowledge of NP requirements, four credits of NP coursework are required. Approximately 700 clock hours are completed in a variety of faculty or preceptor-supervised settings. Coursework can be completed in four semesters of study. Some applicants may be eligible for summer admission. Graduates are eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Certification (ANCC) Family PMHNP examination.

Students who enter the PMHNP Post Graduate Certificate program as post graduate clinical nurse specialists (CNS) in psychiatric mental health nursing will complete 21 credits of NP courses to include PMH and PMHL 695 and PMH 686 . These PMHNP courses focus on the prescriptive role. Students who enter as post graduate nurse practitioners (such as FNP) will complete 25 hours of psychiatric mental health nursing. Post graduate students without CNS or NP preparation will take the 39 credit hour PMH post graduate certificate course work as listed.

This Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program also has an initiative (collaborative relationship) between the SU SOB PMHNP and other schools of nursing. Through this arrangement, the graduate nursing student attending collaborative agreement schools will receive a graduate degree from the home university and a post graduate certificate in PMHNP from SU SON.  The post graduate PMHNP program is offered on the Winchester campus and at ICPH site in Fairfax, Virginia.

Students will complete core requirements from the home university before entering the PMHNP Program of Study.

At the present time the School of Nursing has collaborative agreements with the following schools:

Collaborative Schools

James Madison University School of Nursing

Marshall University School of Nursing

West Virginia Wesleyan Department of Nursing