Proposal For a Post Masters Certificate as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Curriculum and Application Overview

Dr. Rosalie Mainous, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Research

I.  Educational Objectives and Rationale

1.1  Program Objectives:

a.  To build on an existing knowledge base obtained in a prior Master of Science in Nursing program.

b.  To make Registered Nurses with a Master of Science in Nursing degree eligible for a certification examination as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

c.  To provide essential course content as described by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the International Society of Psychiatric Nurses and the American Psychiatric Nurses Association American Nurses Credentialing Center .

d.  To prepare Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners to practice in a variety of practice settings which include clients with acute and chronic psychiatric and mental health disorders using independent clinical judgment for all aspects of care management.

e.  The rational for this program is two-fold. First, Kentucky regulatory guidelines dictate that post-masters students obtaining further training for clinical certification in a new specialty area must obtain a program certificate recognized by the educational institution. Secondly, the certifying bodies now require that simply obtaining coursework to meet the criteria is insufficient, and instead students must obtain a Certificate from a recognized Certificate Program to be eligible for the certification exam. A standard curriculum will enhance student outcomes.

1.2  Internal/External Influences

  1. Advanced Practice Nurses are critical in the new health care reform initiative and providing specialty training in a post-masters certificate format is an expeditious way to train nurses who already have a master of science in nursing degree but wish to specialize further. This meets several of the universities goals within the strategic plan.
  2. Nurses who are currently psychiatric nurses, are nurse practitioners in another area of specialization or those that have a generic MSN degree are candidates for this certificate program. There is a growing field of job opportunities for PMHNP’s across the country.
  3. Employment prospects for PMHNP’s have risen dramatically in the last 5 years due to a more visible presence and an attempt to integrate with primary care.
  4. There will not be an increased need for faculty as current faculty will teach existing courses to both the MSN students as well as the post-masters certificate students.
  5. This certificate program will have no impact on any other program within the university.
  6. This program is supported by the School of Nursing
  7. This Certificate program is not proposed instead of a degree program, but in addition to a MSN degree, to provide an added level of specialization.

II.  Program Description

2.1  Admission

  1. Applicants must currently hold a Master of Science in Nursing degree and have. It is recommended that they have psychiatric nursing experience. They must also have at least a 3.0 GPA from their Master’s program. They must be cleared by a background check to enter the program and carry liability insurance. Documentation of current immunization to the required immunizations for all professional students that interact with patents must be presented.
  2. Applicants must provide a transcript and complete an application to the SON and the graduate school.
  3. There may be some universities that grant a Master of Science degree (MS) instead of a MSN and these students will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
  4. Initial review of the admission documents occurs in the Office of Student Services. Once the application is complete it is forwarded to the Graduate Academic Affairs Committee for review. This committee makes a determination on admission and the application then goes to the Associate Dean in charge of graduate programs for a signature.

2.2  Curriculum

a,b c, d. The required curriculum can be found below. Total Credit hours=20

Prerequisites:
NURS 611 Advanced Pharmacology
NURS 655 Pathophysiology
NURS 656 Advanced Clinical Assessment
SUMMER 1
NURS 638 Integrated Psychopathology and Psychopharmacology (5 credits) / FALL 1
NURS 600 Genetics (2 credits)
NURS 641 Adv Practice Psych I (3 credits)
NURS 645 Adv Practice Psych I Clinical (3 credits) / SPRING 1
NURS 642 Adv Practice Psych II (3 credits)
NURS 646 Adv practice Psych II Clinical (4 credits)

e. The PMHNP track courses currently run each year but may, if indicated, run every other year to assure an adequate number of students in each cohort. May 2010 a group of 9 PMHNP students will be graduating and 3 post- masters students will complete the program.

f. Course descriptions attached.

2.3  Experiential Components

  1. This program has a strong clinical component. Nursing is a practice discipline at the graduate level, advanced practice PMHNP students require at least 500 hours of clinical time to master the skills necessary for advanced practice and to meet the criteria for certification and licensure.
  2. The clinical experiences are in NURS 645—3 credit hours at a 5:1 ratio resulting in 220 clinical hours. NURS 646---4 credit hours at a 5:1 ratio resulting in 280 clinical hours.
  3. There are a multitude and wide variety of clinical sites for this program. Some examples include but are not limited to: Our Lady of Peace Psychiatric Hospital, Kentucky Correctional Prison Complex, Prospect Counseling Center, Wellstone Psychiatric Hospital, The Growth Center, Positive Connections, Central State Hospital, Seven Counties Services, SCS Crisis Stabilization Unit, Rivendell Residential Treatment Center, & Maryhurst Residential Treatment Center.
  4. Students are each assigned to a single preceptor for a clinical day. Over the course of a semester they may each have several preceptors. Preceptors include Psych ARNP’s, psyc hiatrists, psychologists and Masters prepared social workers in concert with an ARNP or psychiatrist. There are 2 faculty that share the responsibility of 10-15 students.

2.4  Accreditation/Certification

Criteria from the following organizations and agencies guide and direct the curricular components: The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, The International Society of Psychiatric Nursing, The American Psychiatric Nursing Association, National Association of Neonatal Nurses, the National Certification Corporation, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, and the Kentucky State Statute on advanced practice nursing.

2.5  Evaluation

Evaluation is measured in 3 ways: program completion, the ability to pass the certification exam, and ability to obtain a position in the field. To date, the PMHNP program has a 100% pass rate on the certification exam and all gradates have found suitable employment.

III.  ADMINISTRATION OF CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

3.1  The Program

The office responsible for the administration of the program, record keeping, accountancy and filing annual reports is the office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Research within the School of Nursing. Currently we collaborate with Western Kentucky University (WKU) wherein they send students to the University of Louisville for the PMHNP core and the WKU students take all other course work in their home institution and receive a degree from WKU.

3.2  Reviews

All certificate programs will be reviewed in accordance with guidelines established by the University Program Review Committee.

3.3  Programs Must be Approved by:

Programs should be submitted by the Unit Dean to the Provost. The Provost’s Office coordinates the review process

IV.  RESOURCES

4.1  Resources Required

  1. The facilities to be used for this certificate program will the SON classrooms, the Learning Resource Center, the Graduate Assessment Laboratory, local hospitals, the computer laboratory on the fourth floor of the K Building, the Kornhauser Library, faculty offices, and the Office of Student Services.
  2. There are no additional resources required from the library for this Certificate Program. This Certificate Program uses courses from the existing PMHNP program. The libraries holdings are already sufficient in the area of PMH nursing and the library liaison, Michel Atlas, is very responsive to the SON’s needs.
  3. No new faculty will be hired. The track coordinator, Dr. Debbie Thomas, is a board certified PMH ARNP and will direct the Certificate program (CV attached). Dr. Thomas is full time.

4.2  Budget Request

There are no additional resources required.

4.3  Financial Aid

DOE approval is desired for the program.

V.  MAJOR REVISIONS OF CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

5.1  Revisions

Revisions that will substantially alter the purpose of the program will be resubmitted as a new proposal