BSN To MSN Track: Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) - Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to Walden University and to the requirements for successful participation in an online curriculum. Students receive a foundation for the student's academic and professional success as scholar-practitioners and social change agents. Course assignments focus on the practical application of writing and critical-thinking skills and the integration of professional practice with professional and academic excellence as they relate to practice in nursing.  

In today's rapidly changing healthcare delivery system, decisions made within the political arena impact the future of healthcare systems and the populations that healthcare professionals serve. In this course, students examine healthcare reform and its impact on healthcare delivery, population health, and nursing practice. They evaluate policies that influence the structure, financing, and quality in healthcare and examine healthcare delivery from a global perspective. Through discussions, case studies, and other activities, students examine the effects of legal and regulatory processes on nursing practice, healthcare delivery, and population health outcomes. Students also examine ways to advocate for promotion and preservation of population health and gain the necessary skills to influence policy and support changes effected by the passing of new healthcare reform legislation.

Evidence-based practice is an essential nurse competency that supports the provision of effective and efficient care. Through team projects and individual applications, students learn how to organize, evaluate, and use health information and knowledge to critically appraise and use information technology to enhance evidence-based practice. Students also apply evidence-based practice to improve advanced nursing practice and healthcare outcomes across organization, public-health, and consumer-health settings.

Nurses base practice on sound and tested evidence to ensure the safety, high quality, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. Students have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the development and relationship of nursing theory, research, and practice in this course. Through a variety of online activities and coursework, students explore the role of nursing theory in both research and practice. They examine research literature to differentiate and critique various research designs, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method models; appraise statistical data; and analyze evidence. Acquired knowledge helps students evaluate research critically to make decisions about use of findings to enhance practice.

Students in this course prepare to exercise leadership through which they can help to ensure their organization is able to adapt and flourish in the ever-changing world of healthcare. Students explore the impact of healthcare system changes on transforming the nursing profession. They examine and discuss theories related to leadership and management and learn about empowerment strategies that assist master's-prepared nurses to assume and succeed in leadership roles. Students engage in course assignments that focus on real-world nursing practice applications of theory.

Advanced practice nurses must be equipped with an in-depth understanding of pathophysiological disease processes across the lifespan. In this course, students focus on understanding the biophysiological processes, the deviations from these processes, and an in-depth examination of the scientific concepts related to the biology of disease processes. Advanced practice nursing students learn how normal organ systems function and how organ systems are interrelated to help the body maintain homeostasis. Through knowledge of pathophysiological disease processes, students gain the information needed to develop appropriate treatment plans for patients across the lifespan. Students explore a variety of topics, such as immunity, inflammation, cancer genetics, and cardiovascular disease. They also examine a range of disease processes, including hematologic, renal, neurologic, gastrointestinal, and reproductive disorders.

A solid foundation in the concepts and principles of drug therapy across the lifespan is essential to the work of advanced practice nurses. Students in this course apply the advanced principles of pharmacology, including pharmacogenomics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics, by analysis of common drug classes prescribed by advanced practice nurses across the lifespan. Factors influencing successful therapy such as effectiveness, safety, acceptability, cost, genetic/environmental influences, complementary regimens, and patient behaviors are considered. Through this course, students prepare to examine complex decisions in the management and treatment of selected acute and chronic diseases across the lifespan through pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic agents. Advanced practice nursing students will have a more in-depth understanding of drug legislation and regulation for prescribing drugs.

The physical and emotional well-being of patients and families can be complex and multifaceted. Advanced practice nurses need to have the knowledge and ability to provide safe, competent, and comprehensive physical health assessments. Students in this course focus on concepts and skills to assess patients across the lifespan. They learn to use diagnostic reasoning, advanced communication, and physical assessment skills to identify changes in health patterns. Students also use a systematic approach through which they focus on the assessment of patients with acute and chronic health problems. The advanced skills of suturing, reading 12 Lead EKGs, and interpreting X-rays will be covered. Students engage in course assignments that emphasize risk assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and evidence-based assessment across the lifespan.

At times, psychotherapy is not enough to alleviate the emotional difficulties that some patients face. To that end, psychopharmacologic approaches are needed. Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) must have a strong basis in psychopharmacology, extending from a prior education in pharmacology, to make appropriate medication choices for their patients. Learners in this course consider psychopharmacologic approaches to major mental health disorders including, but not limited to, major depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders as well as psychotic disorders. Learners explore key considerations associated with medication selection, monitoring of efficacy, and long-term management.

Psychotherapy involves giving more than "good advice." For the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) to be effective, deliberate approaches to therapy must be used that are consistent with evidence-based practices. Learners in this course are introduced to a variety of therapeutic techniques that can be used during psychotherapy sessions with individuals across the lifespan. Emphasis is placed on evidence-based applications of various therapeutic approaches for a wide range of psychiatric issues. The focus of the practicum experience is on psychotherapeutic approaches with individuals.

Managed care has ushered in a new era of effective mental health services. To that end, the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) must know how to optimize not only his or her time, but also the treatment benefits associated with family and group therapy. In this course, the emphasis is on the concept of treatment of the family unit. Group dynamics and benefits associated with group therapy are also emphasized along with introducing the learner to techniques that can be used in group therapy settings. The focus of the practicum experience is on the treatment of the family unit as well as the provision of group psychotherapy.

Working from a lifespan approach, this first practicum course for the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) is an introduction for the learner to child and adolescent psychiatry. Emphasis is placed on the psychiatric and/or mental health disorders that begin in childhood and adolescence and topics include psychiatric assessment, differential diagnosis, application of diagnostic criteria, appropriate diagnostic testing, and diagnostic formulation. The learner will select a combination of psychotherapeutic modalities coupled with psychopharmacologic approaches to treat common psychiatric mental health conditions of children and adolescents. The focus of the practicum experience is on application of didactic concepts to actual patient care situations.

Continuing from the lifespan approach, the learner in this final course for the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) focuses on psychiatric mental health issues that occur in adults and older adults. Selection of assessment approaches for the adult and older adult as well as differential diagnosis, application of diagnostic criteria, appropriate diagnostic testing, and diagnostic case formulation will be undertaken. The learner will use both psychotherapeutic approaches coupled with psychopharmacologic approaches to treat common psychiatric mental health conditions of adults and older adults. Through these practicum experiences, learners will focus on the application of didactic concepts to patient care situations.