PRAC 6665: PMHNP Care Across the Lifespan I Practicum

PRAC 6665: PMHNP Care Across the Lifespan I Practicum

This practicum, the third of four you will take in your program, is designed for immersive learning and evaluation of clinical skills within a supportive environment. At the practicum site, you will apply your knowledge to specific, real-life cases, thus gaining both experience and confidence. In this practicum, and in your final practicum, you synthesize the knowledge and skills you have gained thus far to assess, diagnose, and treat patients across the lifespan. This provides you with an opportunity to draw on prior coursework in psychopharmacology, assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and psychotherapy.

You will start the course by assessing your strengths and opportunities for improvement and developing goals. Throughout the course, you will formally track both the hours you spend at the practicum site and the patients you see. You will also engage in informal reflection of your skill development and progress toward your goals. Your clinical skills will be evaluated at two points (Weeks 5 and 10). Following these evaluations, you will receive feedback from your Clinical Faculty and Preceptor. The course ends with an opportunity to reassess your strengths and opportunities based on what you have accomplished during the practicum. You will then build on those areas as you continue into your final practicum experience.

Again, welcome to your practicum!

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is the third of four practicum courses in the advanced practice psychiatric-mental health curriculum. Students will apply their knowledge of psychopathology, psychopharmacology, and psychiatric assessment to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of mental health disorders in children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. The focus of this course is on advanced nursing practice in mental health settings. Note: Students with catalog years before Spring 2018 must complete a minimum of 144 practicum hours; those with catalog years beginning Spring 2018 must complete a minimum of 160 practicum hours. A minimum of 80 patient encounters/logs (40 hours and 40 patient encounters/logs with children/adolescents and 40 hours and 40 patient encounters/logs with adults/older adults) are required. No student may complete their practicum hours sooner than 8 weeks.

PRAC 6665: PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH NURSE PRACTITIONER CARE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN I COURSE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

• Types of Patients: Patients receiving care for psychiatric and substance use disorders across the life span to include children, adolescents, adults, and older adults.
• Types of Services: Assessment,  diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with acute and chronic psychiatric and substance use disorders.
• Possible Preceptor Choices: PMHNP or Board Certified Psychiatrist.
• Possible Site Choices: Private practice, community psychiatric and/or counseling center, crisis centers, drug/alcohol rehabilitation centers, college counseling center, employee assistance program (EAP) sites, assisted living/Alzheimer’s facility, hospital or specialty care facility, jails/prison, or any other site where psychiatric assessment, diagnosing, and treatment takes place (to be determined on an individual basis).
• Nonacceptable Sites: Any form of community and/or home visits.
• Nonacceptable Preceptors: FNP, AGACNP, AGPCNP, PMHCNS, or any other NP other than a board-certified psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner. No PAs. No psychotherapists, psychologists, or MSWs.
• Any schedule for more than 8 hours per day must be verified through preceptor email to faculty as preceptor working a condensed schedule AND approved by faculty.

COURSE PREREQUISITES

• NURS 6630: Psychopharmacological Approaches to Treatment of Psychopathology
• NRNP 6635: Psychopathology and Diagnostic Reasoning
• PRAC 6635: Psychopathology and Diagnostic Reasoning Practicum
• NRNP 6645: Psychotherapy With Multiple Modalities
• PRAC 6645: Psychotherapy With Multiple Modalities Practicum
• *NRNP 6665: PMHNP Care Across the Lifespan I

*This course is ideally taken concurrently, as a corequisite, but may also be taken as a prerequisite if needed.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Assess advanced practice psychiatric-mental health nursing skills for strengths and opportunities 
2. Develop professional plans in advanced nursing practice for the practicum experience
3. Apply advanced practice nursing assessment, diagnosis, and treatment skills in mental health settings
4. Analyze cases involving advanced care of patients across the lifespan in mental health settings
5. Formulate differential diagnoses for patients across the lifespan in mental health settings
6. Formulate appropriate treatment plans that include psychopharmacology and psychotherapeutic techniques
7. Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams as a social change agent to improve clinical practice in mental health settings

Course Summary: