Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, DNP

A system-focused approach delves into normal physiological processes and pathological changes that affect homeostasis of individuals, including changes associated with diverse individuals at every stage of life.

The purpose is to establish differential diagnoses based on logical diagnostic reasoning for health maintenance, disease prevention and detection.

This practicum provides students with the opportunity to apply advanced health assessment skills and diagnostic reasoning in clinical settings. Emphasis is placed on integrating comprehensive histories, physical examinations and clinical data to formulate differential diagnoses for diverse populations at every stage of life. Students will engage in supervised practice experiences to strengthen critical thinking, refine clinical decision-making and support evidence-based health promotion, disease prevention and early detection strategies.

Emphasis is on pharmacotherapeutics with the goal of safe and effective prescription of pharmaceutical and complementary therapeutic agents for health maintenance, disease prevention and management for individuals based on evidence-based guidelines. Consideration of current health status, socioeconomic status, cultural and spiritual implications and developmental changes are included for diverse populations. Professional, legal and ethical standards, scope of practice and health care financing are addressed.

This course emphasizes the development and application of advanced diagnostic reasoning skills necessary for nurse practitioners in primary care practice. Using a case-based, symptom-to-diagnosis approach, students will synthesize clinical, theoretical and scientific knowledge to evaluate presenting complaints, formulate differential diagnoses and implement evidence-based management strategies at every stage of life. Special attention is given to integrating data from history, physical examination, diagnostic testing and clinical guidelines to support safe and accurate decision-making. Through pediatric and adult case studies, students will strengthen their ability to recognize common and complex conditions, refine diagnostic accuracy and design individualized, patient-centered care management plans that promote quality outcomes in diverse populations.

This course provides a comprehensive review of the essential knowledge and competencies required for national nurse practitioner certification across all specialty areas. Emphasis is placed on reinforcing advanced clinical decision-making, evidence-based practice guidelines and systems-based care principles relevant to primary and specialty care. Students will engage in structured review activities, practice examinations and test-taking strategies to strengthen readiness for the certification exam. Designed as a culminating didactic experience, the course integrates prior learning from core and specialty coursework to support students’ transition from graduate education into professional practice as board-certified nurse practitioners.

This course provides an advanced overview of psychopharmacology for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner practice. Students examine neurobiological mechanisms, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and principles of safe prescribing and monitoring at every stage of life. Emphasis is placed on integrating evidence-based decision-making, culturally responsive care and advanced clinical reasoning in the management of psychiatric disorders through case studies, applied assignments and structured discussions.

This course is designed to develop the doctoral advanced practice nursing student in the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner role to provide evidence-based psychotherapeutic care at every stage of life. Students examine foundational and applied psychotherapy concepts and engage with individual, family and group psychotherapy modalities, including brief and crisis intervention approaches. Emphasis is placed on clinical reasoning, culturally responsive care, ethical and legal practice, interprofessional collaboration and application of current evidence to psychotherapeutic and psychosocial interventions.

This practicum synthesizes advanced practice knowledge relevant to individuals with psychiatric illness and their families at every stage of life. Students integrate psychiatric assessment, diagnostic reasoning and evidence-based management planning in supervised clinical practice. The practicum emphasizes development of the therapeutic relationship, culturally responsive care, ethical and legal practice, documentation quality, interprofessional collaboration and safe application of psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions consistent with the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner role.

This course is the second of three didactic courses designed to further develop the advanced practice nursing student in the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner role in the diagnosis and management of psychiatric mental health disorders at every stage of life. Emphasis is placed on advanced diagnostic reasoning, psychopharmacologic management, ethical and legal decision-making and evidence-based treatment of complex psychiatric conditions. Students integrate neuroscience, psychopharmacology and population-based considerations to guide safe, effective and person-centered care.

This clinical practicum synthesizes advanced practice knowledge relevant to individuals with psychiatric illness and their families at every stage of life, with emphasis on child and adolescent populations. Students integrate comprehensive psychiatric assessment, advanced diagnostic reasoning and evidence-based management planning in supervised clinical practice. The practicum emphasizes therapeutic relationship development, culturally responsive care, ethical and legal practice, high-quality documentation, interprofessional collaboration and safe application of psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions consistent with the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner role.

This course introduces the principles and clinical application of pharmacogenomics for advanced nursing practice. Emphasis is placed on interpretation of pharmacogenomic test results, integration of evidence-based guidelines into medication selection and dosing, ethical and equity considerations and effective communication of pharmacogenomic-informed recommendations to patients and interprofessional teams. Students will develop foundational competence in applying pharmacogenomic data to support safe, personalized and evidence-based prescribing.

This course is the third and final didactic course in the Psychiatric Mental Health Diagnosis and Management sequence and is designed to advance the doctoral nursing student’s competence in the care of specialty and complex psychiatric populations at every stage of life. Emphasis is placed on advanced diagnostic reasoning, evidence-based psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions, ethical and legal decision-making, health policy implications and culturally responsive care. Students integrate neuroscience, research evidence and systems-based considerations to guide safe, effective and person-centered psychiatric mental health care.

This clinical practicum synthesizes advanced practice knowledge relevant to individuals with psychiatric illness and their families at every stage of life, with emphasis on child and adolescent populations. Students integrate comprehensive psychiatric assessment, advanced diagnostic reasoning and evidence-based management planning in supervised clinical practice. The practicum emphasizes therapeutic relationship development, culturally responsive care, ethical and legal practice, high-quality documentation, interprofessional collaboration and safe application of psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions consistent with the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner role.

This capstone course provides a culminating academic and clinical synthesis of advanced psychiatric mental health nursing practice with a focused emphasis on evidence-based telehealth care delivery. Students integrate diagnostic reasoning, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, ethical and legal considerations and population-based evidence into comprehensive telepsychiatric care. The course emphasizes clinical scholarship, quality improvement, professional role transition and demonstration of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner competencies through applied telehealth cases, practice evaluation and a scholarly capstone project.

This course focuses on the essential elements of the Doctor of Nursing Practice role to prepare nurses for the highest level of nursing leadership and application of evidence-based practice to achieve quality and safe patient care within an ever-changing health care environment. An in-depth analysis of social, economic and political leadership structures necessary to design strategies in nursing and health care environments are explored, including the critical role of the DNP within interdisciplinary collaboration.

This course provides Doctor of Nursing Practice students with the foundational skills necessary to excel in scholarly writing. Emphasis is placed on developing a clear, concise and professional writing style consistent with academic and publication standards. Students will learn the scholarly writing process, including effective organization, formatting, proper citation and utilization of peer-reviewed publications in research, journals and proposals. Through structured assignments and revisions, students will address challenges commonly encountered in academic writing, including co-authorship, iterative editing and dissemination of evidence-based findings. By enhancing their writing skills, students will be better prepared to communicate the outcomes of evidence-based quality improvement projects and translate new knowledge into practice to improve patient care and health care systems.

This course focuses on principles and methods of biostatistics and epidemiology used to assess determinants, distribution and deterrents of disease in populations. The course includes conceptual and analytical skills required to measure risk, incidence and prevalence of morbidity and mortality and its impact on health care delivery.

This course focuses on the methodological basis for translational research for the Doctor of Nursing Practice role. Critical evaluation, synthesis, transference and application of evidence-based findings are related to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of nursing care in diverse practice settings. Students will critically appraise the nature of the evidence for potential inclusion in the capstone project.

This course will explore the development of nursing knowledge and theory, health promotion and population health. The philosophies of science and their influence on knowledge development for doctoral nursing practice will be explored and strategies for theory development and analysis will be discussed. Recognizing, understanding and respecting health beliefs and practices of individuals, families and populations will be emphasized. Health care disparities will be addressed through a review of evidence-based guidelines.

This course prepares Doctor of Nursing Practice students to integrate health systems policy and health care finance into advanced nursing practice across clinical, academic and leadership settings. Students examine how health care economics, reimbursement systems and financial management principles intersect with policy and organizational decision-making. Core concepts include U.S. health care economics, reimbursement, budgeting, capital planning, quality measurement, informatics, project management and entrepreneurship. Students will apply knowledge to design financially sustainable and policy-aligned practice models, service lines or programs that improve access, equity and outcomes.

The content of this course is focused on methods of inquiry for the systematic appraisal of nursing practice and health care programs. Utilization of outcomes for decision-making, implementation, accountability and improvement in nursing and health care is included.

This course provides knowledge and skills related to information systems and technology to prepare the doctoral practice nurse to manage individual and aggregate information and to assess the efficacy of patient care technology. Computer programs and software relevant to nursing executive leadership, education, research and practice will be explored.

In consultation with the DNP faculty advisor, students will select an area of clinical practice and will implement their capstone project through an 80-hour clinical practicum.

This course focuses on the organization and refinement of all aspects of the DNP scholarly project design, implementation and evaluation. This clinical practicum is 160 hours.

This course focuses on the organization, refinement and completion of all aspects of the DNP scholarly project design, implementation and evaluation and completion of the scholarly paper. This clinical practicum is 100 hours.

This course focuses on the completion of all aspects of the DNP scholarly project such as data collection, dissemination and completion of the scholarly paper.