Skip to content
Contact USI

The Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) is an advanced clinician who provides psychiatric/mental health services to individuals across the lifespan. The role includes diagnosis, provision of therapies, and medication management for individuals with psychiatric/mental health problems. Health promotion, disease prevention and management of mental health symptoms along with family consultation and education are included in the role. The PMHNP practices in various clinical settings including acute care and chronic care hospitals, community agencies, long term care facilities, home care, and outpatient offices. There are a total of 26 credit hours in the specialty with 630 direct clinical hours.

The PMHNP graduate is prepared to:

  1. Provide expert outcome-oriented nursing therapeutics for patients with mental health problems to promote improved health and enhanced quality of life.
  2. Manage, integrate, and coordinate patient care services across the mental health care continuum.
  3. Develop and provide patient and staff educational services to promote positive patient health care outcomes.
  4. Consult and collaborate with members of the multidisciplinary health care team to support delivery of quality patient care.
  5. Incorporate best practice evidence to investigate, promote, and evaluate nursing therapies and pharmacotherapy that support evidence for positive patient care outcomes.
  6. Advocate for patients and families to provide cost-effective, culturally competent, ethical, quality care in a variety of health care settings.
  7. Model responsibility for continued professional development, integrity, accountability, competence, and credentialing as a family psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

About the Clinical Experience

Curriculum Post Masters Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner  
Clinical Core Courses  
NURS 617 Advanced Concepts of Pathophysiology 3 credit hours
NURS 618 Advanced Health Assessment 3 credit hours
NURS 622 Clinical Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Practice 3 credit hours
  Total Clinical Hours 9 credit hours
   
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Specialty Courses  
NURS 661 Psychopharmacology 2 credit hours
NURS 662 Psychiatric/Mental Health Care of Families I 5 credit hours
NURS 663 Psychiatric/Mental Health Care of Families II 5 credit hours
NURS 664 Psychiatric/Mental Health Care of Families III 5 credit hours
  Total Specialty Hours 17 credit hours

Are you an out-of-state student interested in pursuing a distance learning degree at USI? Check your availability.

The MSN and Post MSN online programs are limited to working with certain states in the U.S. only. Moving into a state not recognized by the graduate nursing program will lead to inability to continue in MSN coursework. The exception to this is active military status.

Non-native speakers of English must meet English proficiency requirements as established by the USI Center for International Programs.

The baccalaureate degree in nursing, master's degree in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice and post-graduate APRN certificate at the University of Southern Indiana are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ccne-accreditation).

We offer admission into the program once a year and work with our students to provide a Plan of Study that allows for timely graduation and achievement of their goals.

Fall and spring courses are 16 weeks in length; summer course offerings are 10 weeks long.

There are no campus visits required.

Additional information about the University may be found on our About USI website. We also welcome student visits on campus that are arranged through the USI Office of Admission.