PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH NURSE PRACTITIONER
Whatever role you seek as an advanced practice nurse, you’ll need knowledge, skills and experience. You’ll also need to be able to tap into information systems that help you stay current with today’s fast-paced health care environment. You’ll find all of this at Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, recognized nationally for excellence. OHSU’s SoN is ranked among the top 10 graduate schools of nursing in the country according to U.S. News and World Report.
The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty focuses on the promotion of mental health for individuals, families, and groups across the lifespan. Psychiatric mental health nursing involves education, research, and practice directed at the treatment of mental illness and optimizing mental health. PMHNPs work in partnership with their clients to provide care for the whole individual using nursing science and psychological theory to understand how mental health affects overall health.
Mental health is defined
by Healthy People 2010 as the ability of individuals to negotiate the
daily challenges and social interactions of life without experiencing
cognitive, emotional, or behavioral dysfunction. Study in this specialty
field includes treatment and prevention of mental and emotional problems
and mental disorders arising from interaction among biological and neurophysiological
vulnerabilities, psychological and developmental factors, and psychosocial
and physical environmental stressors. Interventions within the scope of
the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner are emphasized, including
evidence-based psychotherapeutic approaches that facilitate the development
of clients’ intrapersonal, interpersonal and system competencies,
as well as the prescription and management of psychotropic medications.
Upon graduation, PMHNPs work in a variety of settings including community
health centers, public health departments, hospitals, prisons, clinics,
businesses, physician offices, health maintenance organizations, government
facilities, independent nurse practitioner offices, and schools of nursing.
What You Will Study and Learn
The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program at OHSU School
of Nursing has earned a national reputation for its emphasis on primary
mental health.
The curriculum grounds students in the biological basis of mental illness
and the prevention and treatment of mental health problems and mental
disorders. Students study the interaction among biological and neurophysiological
vulnerabilities, psychological and developmental factors, and psychosocial
and physical environmental stresses.
The program emphasizes mental health nursing interventions, including
psychotherapy and psychopharmacology. Supervised clinical experience with
children, adolescents, adults, older persons, and with groups and families
are available in a variety of treatment settings, primarily in community-based
agencies and programs.
Psychiatric
Mental Health Nurse Practitioner... Is this you?
• Are you passionate about serving the primary mental health needs
of patients?
• Are you frustrated with the current limitations of your knowledge
and ability to assist patients with their emotional and mental problems?
• Are you intellectually stimulated by new discoveries in mental
health and illness and motivated to share your knowledge with patients
in the caring context?
• Are you a baccalaureate-prepared nurse practicing in either an
inpatient psychiatric setting or a medical-surgical setting looking for
new opportunities?
• Are you an advanced practice nurse looking to expand your depth
and marketability by adding the mental health specialty to your portfolio?
If you answered yes to these questions and you have the necessary qualifications and experiences, you may be an ideal candidate for this program.
Check out the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Requirements and why you should choose OHSU.
Already have a Master's in
Nursing? Click here to learn about a Post-Masters
Certificate Option.
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