PRAC 6635: Psychopathology and Diagnostic Reasoning Practicum

Welcome to PRAC 6635: Psychopathology and Diagnostic Reasoning Practicum!

This practicum, the first 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 can apply your knowledge to specific, real-life cases, thus gaining both experience and confidence in mental health and psychiatric care. 

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 in your next practicum experience. 

Again, welcome to your practicum! 

Course Description

Advanced practice psychiatric-mental health nurses need to have the knowledge and ability to provide safe, competent, and comprehensive mental health assessments to patients in mental health settings across the lifespan. Students in this course apply assessment skills to include psychiatric interviewing, history taking, and examination to gather patient data to inform diagnosis. They also apply knowledge of psychopathology and diagnostic reasoning in clinical settings for health promotion, psychiatric assessment, and to develop differential diagnosis for patients with psychiatric and substance use disorders across the lifespan. Students synthesize their knowledge from previous coursework and professional experiences to develop advanced communication and documentation skills. 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 are required.

Requirements: 160 hours; A minimum of 80 patient encounters are required; (these are minimums, not maximums, you must log every hour and every patient encounter for PRAC for accountability and legal reasons)

Note: Of those minimum 80 encounters, students must see at least 5 pediatric patients, 5 adolescent patients, 5 adult patients, and 5 older adult patients. Students must be in practicum setting for a minimum of 8 weeks to ensure varied learning experiences.

*Students must be able to see patients across the lifespan to include children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. If the primary preceptor only sees adult clients, a secondary preceptor will be needed in order to complete the requirements for children and/or adolescent experiences. Sometimes this can be another provider in the same office as the primary preceptor. Or multiple sites may be required to see the types of patients and services required for this course. Students would need each preceptor and/or field site approved applications.

PRAC 6635: Psychopathology and Diagnostic Reasoning 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 and diagnosis of children, adolescents, adults, and older adults 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 center, college counseling center, employee assistance program (EAP) sites, or assisted living/Alzheimer’s facility, hospital or specialty care facility, jails/prison, or any other site where psychiatric assessment and diagnosing 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 6501, NURS 6521, NURS 6512, NURS 6052, NURS 6630

Course Learning Outcomes

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

• Assess psychiatric-mental health advanced practice nursing skills for strengths and opportunities 
• Develop professional plans in advanced nursing practice for the practicum experience
• Apply advanced practice nursing assessment and diagnosis skills in mental health settings
• Analyze cases involving advanced care of patients across the lifespan in mental health settings
• Formulate differential diagnoses for patients across the lifespan

Course Summary: