Online Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program curriculum
Prepare for a career as an advanced practice mental health provider through the online Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program. Explore the key program learning objectives below.
What will you learn in the online PMHNP program?
Nearly 50 million people in the United States report experiencing mental health challenges, but too often, finding care can be difficult1. And this crisis of unmet care is expected to continue growing, as the U.S. is predicted to face a shortage of at least 14,000 psychiatrists in the next few years2.
The need for skilled mental health practitioners is clear, and Yale School of Nursing prepares aspiring nurse practitioners to answer the call.
The online PMHNP specialty in the Master of Science in Nursing program equips graduates with the human-forward perspective and clinical competencies essential to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health patients across the lifespan.
Throughout the three-year online master’s degree, PMHNP students complete a specialized course of study that emphasizes whole health and bridges the gap between physical and mental health care. Students learn to screen for mental health and substance use disorders, diagnose, prescribe medications, perform mental health assessments, educate patients, and coordinate the delivery of care across health care teams.
Advanced nursing students also develop and reinforce soft skills including communication, time management, leadership, and collaboration through in-person and asynchronous coursework.
Online PMHNP curriculum overview
The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner curriculum includes academic and clinical training to prepare students for advanced practice in psychiatric mental health nursing. Each online PMHNP course and clinical experience challenges students to think critically as they navigate the complex care for individuals with mental health needs.
Students will have three mandatory in-person immersions at YSN on Yale’s West Campus (one per year). During immersions, students will demonstrate their skills in simulated environments and receive intensive instruction and feedback from faculty. The immersions will last approximately four days, including weekends. Travel, hotel, and food costs are the student’s responsibility.
Courses*
*Pending final approval and subject to change.
Year one
Semester one
3 credits
This course provides students with advanced physiologic and pathophysiologic concepts central to understanding maintenance of health and the prevention and management of disease across the lifespan. Content on cellular function, genetics, immunology, inflammation, infection, and stress and adaptation provides the framework on which further specialty content knowledge is built.
2 credits
This course is a synthesis and application of the process of health promotion, public health, community organization, and epidemiological principles. Emphasis is on prevention of disease, health maintenance, health promotion, and care of the sick within households, families, groups, and communities, across the lifespan.
Semester two
3 credits
This course is designed to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to conduct a comprehensive, focused health history and physical examination and includes core content regarding assessment of all human systems, advanced assessment techniques, concepts, and approaches. Emphasis is on the assessment of physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural dimensions of health, as well as factors that influence behavioral responses to health and illness. Normal/abnormal variations in physical exam findings and differential diagnoses will be presented. Content includes assessment of individuals of diverse and special populations, including transgender, LGBTQIA, geriatric, pediatric and individuals with disabilities.
2 credits
This course is designed for students to build upon their introduction to drug therapy courses. Principles of pharmacology are presented through the study of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Emphasis is placed on drug categories, mechanisms of action, and side effects. Following initial content on general principles, applied interpretation of some of the most common clinical indications and considerations for prescribing are addressed.
Semester three
3 credits
This course provides theoretical and practical experience in appraisal and application of research evidence into practice. The emphasis is on applying that knowledge to the critique of published research.
3 credits
This course examines the psychopathology and neurobiology of major psychiatric disorders across the lifespan. Essentials of neuroanatomy and neurobiology are examined as they relate to psychiatric symptoms. Disorders selected for examination are those most commonly seen in clinical settings in children, adolescents, adults, and older adults, including anxiety; depression; and behavioral, personality, and cognitive disorders (ADHD, Alzheimer’s). The public health importance, epidemiology, risk factors, and neuroscience are reviewed.
Year two
Semester one
2 credits
2 credits
This course provides an overview of the major schools of personality theory and psychological development, and the individual psychotherapy treatment modalities that were developed from them. Students deepen and expand their knowledge of fundamental elements in developing and maintaining therapeutic relationships with clients in mental health settings. The student conceptualizes personality characteristics, behavior, and defensive structure in order to better understand the dynamics of the patient and the therapeutic relationship.
1 credit
Semester two
2 credits
3 credits; 105 clinical hours; 30 clinical seminar hours
Semester three
2 credits
4 credits; 150 clinical hours; 30 clinical seminar hours
Year three
Semester one
1 credit
2 credits
3.5 credits; 127.5 clinical hours; 30 clinical seminar hours
The goal of this two-term practicum is to provide the student with an opportunity to develop clinical skills with individuals and family across the lifespan. While in psychiatric clinical settings, students apply skills including holistic physical and mental health assessment, formulate differential diagnosis, plan and implement developmentally appropriate psychiatric nursing interventions, and evaluate interventions and outcomes with children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and their families. Emphasis is placed on application of a variety of population-specific assessment skills and use of differential diagnosis, and a beginning utilization of pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment methods with individuals, groups, and families.
Semester two
1.5 credits
5 credits; 210 clinical hours; 15 clinical seminar hours
The goal of this two-term practicum is to provide the student with an opportunity to develop clinical skills with individuals and family across the lifespan. While in psychiatric clinical settings, students apply skills including holistic physical and mental health assessment, formulate differential diagnosis, plan and implement developmentally appropriate psychiatric nursing interventions, and evaluate interventions and outcomes with children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and their families. Emphasis is placed on application of a variety of population-specific assessment skills and use of differential diagnosis, and a beginning utilization of pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment methods with individuals, groups, and families.
Semester three
2 credits
Advanced practice nursing occurs in contexts that inevitably influence practice. This course provides students with an integrative experience in applying health policy, organizational, regulatory, safety, quality, and ethical concepts to care. It provides the opportunity for students to explore the theoretical and practical considerations underlying the roles of advanced practice nurses (leader, educator, researcher, advocate, clinician, and consultant). The course is organized into modules incorporating the following content areas, explored utilizing a case-based approach: Regulation and Scope of Practice; Leadership and Organizational Dynamics; Health Care Access, Coverage, and Finance; Clinical Ethics; and Safety and Quality.
5 credits; 210 clinical hours; 15 clinical seminar hours
The goal of this two-term practicum is to provide the student with an opportunity to develop clinical skills with individuals and family across the lifespan. While in psychiatric clinical settings, students apply skills including holistic physical and mental health assessment, formulate differential diagnosis, plan and implement developmentally appropriate psychiatric nursing interventions, and evaluate interventions and outcomes with children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and their families. Emphasis is placed on application of a variety of population-specific assessment skills and use of differential diagnosis, and a beginning utilization of pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment methods with individuals, groups, and families.
Frequently asked questions
Students in the online PMHNP master the skills to serve as mental health nurse practitioners for patients of all ages. The online master’s degree program includes human-forward training in mental health assessment, neurobiology, psychopathology, developmental and personality theory, individual, group and family psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology.
PMHNP students also build on the professional skills necessary to succeed in advanced practice nursing roles, including leadership and project management.
Advanced practice mental health nurses, including psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, are in demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the employment of nurse practitioners will grow 46 percent by 2031, and nurse practitioners have become the most recruited providers in health care3. The expanded scope of practice and mental health expertise developed through the online PMHNP specialty prepares Yale graduates to join this growing and in-demand profession.
The YSN online Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty of the Master of Science in Nursing prepares graduates to sit for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) PMHNP board certification exam. As of 2021, Yale School of Nursing Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner graduates have a 95 percent first-time and overall pass rate on board certification exams.
Your 802.5 hours of clinical experience are balanced across populations and settings during your second and third year in the program. Accessibility to clinical sites varies from state to state and a means of transportation will be required. There may be instances where students may need to travel to their clinical experience. Clinical practice experiences will take place in a variety of health care settings and systems including, but not limited to: community mental health centers, integrated psychiatric and primary care, acute and long-term care settings, etc.
Students must be located in the United States in order to complete the program and clinical placements.The online PMHNP program is currently not being offered to students residing in New York, Tennessee, or foreign countries.
1 American Association of Medical Colleges, 2022
2 Mental Health America, 2022
3 Merritt Hawkins, 2021