Cultivating Advanced Skills for Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioners to Care for Adults and Their Families
The online adult Psychiatric/Mental Health nurse practitioner track is designed to prepare students to provide a wide range of mental health services through a bio-psychosocial model of care. It includes the study and application of diagnostic and treatment modalities, theories and approaches to practice. Students learn collaborative skills to work with other healthcare professionals to provide mental healthcare services in all settings; the program enables graduates to deliver direct (assessment, intervention) and indirect advanced practice services (consultation, case management and supervision) to individuals who are at risk for and/or require mental health services.
This is a high-quality program that demands a major time commitment by advanced practicing nursing students. Because students are being trained to diagnose and treat patients, the online Master’s program was designed to combine the convenience of online learning with the necessary rigor to become a highly-competent, confident and advanced nurse practitioner upon graduation. Thus, while most courses are offered online, some facets of the program do require on-campus visits and a clinical practicum rotation in one of eight states (listed below).
Drexel’s adult Psychiatric/Mental Health MSN program is a 55-credit graduate track with a 640 clinical hour requirement. Clinical practicum courses consist of two parts: didactic lectures and clinical practicum rotations that run concurrently. The didactic lectures are held once a week online for three hours. Each clinical practicum course has a required 160 total clinical hours. Students typically complete two eight-hour clinical days each week (no weekend or evening hours).
Upon completion of the program, students are eligible for Adult Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification through ANCC.
On-Campus Requirements
The Nurse Practitioner Faculty is committed to quality and excellence in the online Nurse Practitioner (NP) programs. Campus visits are essential to maintain the preeminence of these degrees.
Students are required to be on campus once per quarter starting with the NURS 550: Advanced Physical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning course and throughout all clinical practicum courses, including NURS 592, 593, 594 and 595.
On Drexel’s campus, students will participate in simulated clinical learning experiences conducted in CNHP’s new state-of-the-art multidisciplinary patient simulation lab.
Residency visits afford faculty the opportunity to provide students with direct support, guidance, and mentoring. They provide students with the opportunity to interact with faculty and collaborate with their peers.
Location Requirements
- Please note that residents of New York are not eligible for this program.
Key Program Features:
- Synchronous online lectures are offered in a highly interactive, e-learning method that challenges and engages students.
- Fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036. (202) 887-6791.
- An experienced and board certified faculty from Drexel’s acclaimed College of Nursing and Health Professions
- Mandatory on-campus visits:
- NURS 550 – Advanced Physical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning
- Clinical Orientation coincides with the last day of the NURS 550 on-campus visit. Please note, all post-master’s students are required to attend the clinical orientation day.
- NURS 592 PMHNP I – 5-day Summer Residency
- NURS 593 PMHNP II – 2-day Fall Simulation Experience
- NURS 594 PMHNP III – 2-day Winter Simulation Experience
- NURS 595 PMHNP IV – 5-day Spring Residency
For additional information on the program, please contact:
Track Coordinator:
Dorit Breiter, DNP, ARNP, PMHNP-BC
dgb33@drexel.edu
Academic Advisor:
Gladys Clapano-Mozdzonek, BA
215-762-8564
Gc346@drexel.edu
