Doctor of Nursing Practice, D.N.P. (Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Concentration)

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the DNP curriculum, the new graduate will be able to:

1. Integrate science from nursing and other disciplines to identify, develop, and evaluate practice change initiatives that improve individual and population health.
2. Demonstrate leadership within health care systems to adopt strategies to improve quality and safety.
3. Incorporate knowledge of evidence-based practice into advanced decision-making through the evaluation and translation of evidence into practice.
4. Analyze, apply and integrate appropriate information and technology that will improve and transform care at the individual and population level.
5. Critically analyze health policy to develop and implement health care reform that advocates for social justice and equity.
6. Engage in advanced decision-making within an inter-professional environment that results in culturally aware, ethical, and comprehensive systems of care.
7. Demonstrate high levels of skills in health promotion and disease prevention strategies for individuals, populations and systems.

Holistic Based Admission Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing from a regionally accredited institution.
• RN License: current unrestricted registered nurse (RN) license in the state in which practice will occur.
• GPA: Overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. A GPA as low as 2.75 will be considered on a case-by-case basis with acceptable GRE or MAT score.
• GRE General Test or MAT official test scores should be sent to the Graduate School no less than four weeks prior to the published program deadline. Test scores more than five years old at the time of application will not be considered. Test scores are not required if overall bachelor’s GPA is 3.0 or higher from a regionally accredited institution. Test scores are required if overall bachelor’s GPA is between 2.75 and 2.99 from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants with an overall bachelor’s degree GPA of 2.749 or lower will not be considered for admission.
• Three professional letters of recommendation (Quick online survey through application tool required; additional letter is not required)
• Include on resume: Include successful completion of academic credits in undergraduate community health, health and physical assessment, nursing research, and statistics.
• Include on resume: Include the 600 hours of Registered Nurse experience prior to beginning any clinical courses in the BSN to DNP program.
• Resume: 1-page clinical work-history resume.
• Creation of a professional video to respond to prompted interview questions related to self-appraisal, life experience, nursing experience, leadership style, communication skills, community involvement, research experience, ability to overcome adversity, and/or healthcare affiliations. Review video instructions here.
• PMHNP concentration admission questions for video: limit of five (5) minutes. Video will not be reviewed past the time limit.
  • Describe why you want to be a PMHNP.
  • We are seeking prospective students who come from a wide variety of backgrounds with professional and life experiences and differing professional goals to enrich learning experiences of all students in our program. Please explain how you will contribute to this goal.
• International applicants: must present evidence of professional standing in their home countries. This requirement excludes U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents.
• Differential tuition: differential tuition applies to this program.

Degree Requirements (70 total credit hours)

The program of study for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (Psychiatric Mental Health (PMHNP) Concentration) includes 22 courses including NSG 699 which is taken twice. Students must fulfill the requirements for the program as they work closely with advisors to plan their course of study. The focus of the DNP program core is leadership in nursing practice. Skills will be developed for translating research to impact practice and population of outcomes at an in-depth level. Emphasis is placed on managing information systems, using appropriate technology for health care delivery, assessing and managing health risks, enhancing inter-professional communication, and designing and developing health care systems. Successful completion of all courses in the curriculum core is required for graduation. The focus of the PMHNP Concentration is on advanced practice nursing skills.

• NSG 601 - Pathophysiology for Advanced Practice Nurses Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 602 - Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 603 - Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 630 - Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology Credit Hours: 4
• NSG 631 - Advanced Psychiatric Mental Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 632 - Psychiatric Mental Health Disorders, Disease management and Psychotherapeutic Treatment Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 633 - Group and Family Therapy Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 634 - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 635 - Management of Complex Psychiatric Mental Health Issues Across the Lifespan Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 680 - Population Health Promotion and Clinical Epidemiology Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 682 - Genomics for Advanced Practice Nursing Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 683 - Statistics for Evidence-Based Practice Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 685 - Theoretical Approaches to Evidence-Based Practice Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 686 - Methodologic Approaches to Evidence-Based Practice Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 688 - Health Care Systems Leadership and Quality Improvement Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 689 - Health Care Policy and Financial Management Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 692 - Health Care Information Systems and Technology Credit Hours: 3
• NSG 699 - DNP Project Credit Hours: 3 (taken twice)
• NSGL 643 - Clinical Group and Family Therapy Credit Hours: 3
• NSGL 644 - Clinical Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care Credit Hours: 3
• NSGL 645 - Clinical Management of Complex Psychiatric Mental Health Problems Across the Lifespan Credit Hours: 3
• NSGL 681 - Residency in Advanced Nursing Practice Credit Hours: 3

Exit Requirements

All DNP students must:

1. Complete and pass a written and oral comprehensive examination of the DNP Project.
2. A DNP student must have a grade of B or better in each required course. If a student earns a C, he/she must repeat the course must earn a B or better to progress. A student will only be allowed to repeat one course during the program. A student with 2 or more C’s will be dismissed from the program. A student must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
3. Total of 1,000 clinical hours (500 direct patient care clinical hours and 500 non patient care clinical hours).