Designed for nurses seeking to become an advanced practice nurse as a child-family psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Graduate courses in application of theory to advanced practice, application of evidence to advanced practice, advanced pathophysiology, and advanced health assessment provide a foundation for this specialty.
Graduate education in psychiatric/mental health nursing gives opportunities for greater autonomy in practice, diverse employment opportunities, research and teaching capabilities, and advanced assessment and intervention skills.
We are excited to now offer these programs in a hybrid-online format! Approximately one third of the curriculum in each course is delivered in a traditional classroom setting, and two thirds is completed in a web-based format. Several different modalities are used to enhance the student’s learning, including multimedia presentations, asynchronous discussion boards and live chats. Travel to campus is required only 2 – 3 times per semester for 3 – 4 day sessions (depending on the courses being taught) where student encounters concentrated lab and interactive case-based seminar experiences.
Focused clinical experiences are arranged with preceptors and administrators in the student’s local healthcare setting. Rural health and experiences with disadvantaged and multi-cultural populations are encouraged.
Nurse Practitioner
The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner role includes emphasis on development of assessment skills and a knowledge base in psychoneuroimmunology, psychopharmacology, and mental health assessment across the lifespan.
In the current healthcare delivery system, there are positions for roles in institutional agencies, as well as in nurse managed primary care, psychiatric clinics, or private practice.
certification
At the completion of the program, students are eligible to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center exam for national certification.
The question of which ANCC certification exam matches which program is a confusing issue. This is in part due to the evolution and change of the exams. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) and the International Society of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurses (ISPN) are working with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to determine the competencies and the content of the exams. Currently, graduates of ASU’s Child-Adolescent Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program are eligible to take the “Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Exam.” This is the only psychiatric nurse practitioner exam that graduates can use to demonstrate minimum competency to work as Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners with children and Adolescents. Graduates should be ware that there is a movement to develop a specific Child-Adolescent Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Exam. However, “it should also be emphasized that the promotion of a child/adolescent focused PMH APN exam does not discount the need for a Family PMH- NP exam “(Delaney, Kathleen, ACAPN NewsLetter, Nov 2006). Graduates in the subspecialty should be aware and follow the development of the exams and their content.
Psychiatric Specialties: Program Comparison,
Concentration, and Competencies
See the Chart (PDF) that explains the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner programs offered, the difference in scope of practice for each specialty, and the competencies that are covered in each program. This chart helps potential students understand the different options for practice and the Certification exam that would be taken at the completion of the program. Download Chart.
Nurse Educator
Graduate students who wish to take education courses to prepare for nurse educator roles may do so by completing the Nurse Educator Certificate course work in addition to their specialty course work.
