Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program Overview
The psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) graduate program focuses on promoting mental health and applying evidence-based assessment and treatment strategies to individuals and families across the lifespan. PMHNPs lead psychiatric and addiction treatment teams, develop program policies, and engage in patient advocacy, education and research.
Program Features
- Multidisciplinary study in a 630-hour preceptorship.
- Five-semester program that consists of 49 credit hours.
- Research opportunities on the Purdue West Lafayette campus.
- Distance learning technology.
- Research and practice opportunities at Purdue's nurse-managed clinics.
Program Goals and Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this program, the graduate will be able to:
- Evaluate client and family responses to health, illness, and social determinants as a basis for promotion, restoration, and maintenance of mental and physical health, functional abilities and the prevention of illness.
- Integrate theory, research, and informatics in the management of the care of individuals and families in a specialized area of practice.
- Apply advanced practice nursing interventions based on knowledge of the interrelationship among person, environment, health and nursing in the care of diverse populations.
- Demonstrate role competence as an Advanced Practice Nurse in providing compassionate, safe, and ethical care to individuals and families including rural and vulnerable populations.
- Provide leadership in effecting positive change in professional, social, political, and ethical situations to advance nursing, healthcare, and health policy.
- Evaluate quality and cost-effectiveness of nursing and health systems based on outcomes through effective communication and collaboration.
Types of practice
The Purdue PMHNP curriculum has a lifespan approach, allowing graduates to implement evidence-based treatment in the form of psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic techniques in a variety of settings. Graduates may choose to provide psychiatric and/or substance use treatment in such areas as:
- Primary care
- Community mental health
- Outpatient psychiatry
- Acute and long-term inpatient psychiatry
- Psychiatric consultation-liaison services
- Correctional facilities and programs
- School-based clinics
- Substance use medication-assisted treatment programs