Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner - Post-Masters Certificate (Online)
Post Graduate APRN Certificate Program: This program is for currently certified Master’s or doctorally-prepared nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists who wish to obtain the coursework needed to sit for certification in another specialty. The Post-Graduate certificate consists of 18 credit hours, including a minimum of 500 clinical hours. When applying to the Post-Graduate APRN Certificate program, please select “Graduate Certificate” in the application system. Please note that the clinical hours are “required” for national certification and cannot be waived or negotiated.
The Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty prepares nurses for advanced practice focusing on mental health issues across the lifespan. The curriculum builds upon four core PMHNP competencies: advanced health assessment (physical and psychosocial); diagnosis (diagnosis of mental disorders, pathophysiology, and neurophysiology); psychotherapy (individual, group, and family); and medication management (pharmacology and psychopharmacology). Other courses develop competencies in healthcare systems, best-practice research utilization and translation, and healthcare quality improvement. Graduates are prepared to sit for the Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam.
For application information, visit the School of Nursing website or contact the Nursing Graduate Advisor for more information about application and admission requirements at (575) 646-2772.
| Prefix | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Psychopharmacology for Advanced Practice (Optional Elective) | 3 | |
| NURS 6410 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan I | 3 |
| NURS 6411 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan I Practicum | 3 |
| NURS 6420 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan II | 3 |
| NURS 6421 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan II Practicum | 3 |
| NURS 6352 | Integrated Care for Diverse Populations | 2 |
| NURS 6430 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan III | 1 |
| NURS 6431 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan III Practicum | 3 |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| Psychopharmacology for Advanced Practice (Optional Elective) | ||
| NURS 6410 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan I | 3 |
| NURS 6411 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan I Practicum | 3 |
| Credits | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| NURS 6420 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan II | 3 |
| NURS 6421 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan II Practicum | 3 |
| NURS 6352 | Integrated Care for Diverse Populations | 2 |
| Credits | 8 | |
| Summer | ||
| NURS 6430 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan III | 1 |
| NURS 6431 | PMHNP Across the Lifespan III Practicum | 3 |
| Credits | 4 | |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
Notes
- Certificate students must complete 576 hours of supervised clinical practicum hours. 1 credit in a clinical course = 64 hours of clinical practicum
- For PMHNP certificate students, NURS 514 Psychopharmacology for Advance Practice is optional because the New Mexico Higher Education Department limits graduate certificates to 18 credits. However, it is strongly recommended that students take this course to prepare them to meet the prescriptive practice and medication management competencies on the PMHNP certification exam.
New Mexico State University is a full member of the National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements consortium (SARA). Students will need to check the NMSU SARA website before application to determine if NMSU has a reciprocity agreement with their home state before application is made.