Fill the Mental Healthcare Gap as a PMHNP
Help make meaningful, long-lasting change in your community through Walsh University's online Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Post-Master’s Certificate (PMHNP PMC) program. This program will equip you with the experience and competencies to provide mental and behavioral health care to individuals, families and groups throughout their lifespan in a variety of settings.
With an affordable, flexible curriculum, this online PMHNP Post-Master’s Certificate program will see you work alongside experienced faculty as you gain the skills needed to expand your scope of practice. Through didactic and clinical experiences, you will focus on the mental health care needs of patients as you advocate for their well-being. You can complete the program in as few as two years full-time, so you can continue to care for patients.
This program will equip you with the core and advanced competencies to allow you to thrive in your career and will help you:
- Prepare for certification as a PMHNP
- Expand your scope of practice
- Promote health, rehabilitation and improve quality of life for patients of all ages
Online PMHNP Fast Facts
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Develop advanced clinical skills and expand care in your community as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.
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Develop advanced clinical skills and expand care in your community as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.
Online PMHNP Post-Master’s Certificate Program Curriculum
Walsh’s contemporary curriculum ensures students are equipped with the core competencies required to prepare for their board certification. Students will complete 24-33 credit hours and 600 clinical hours in as few as two years of study. Below is a sample list of courses you will take while enrolled in the PMHNP Post-Master’s Certificate program. For a full list, please download a brochure.
This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of the major principles of assessment and intervention related to psychiatric diagnoses across the lifespan. The course will place emphasis on the acquisition, use and interpretation of assessment data. Interviewing techniques commonly used will be explored. The course will also address risk assessment, ethical and diversity issues including cultural bias and fairness.
This course provides learners with advanced knowledge of individual and group therapeutic modalities needed to provide support to clients experiencing psychiatric and mental health disorders across the lifespan. Emphasis is on modalities used in preventative, acute and long-term care situations. The practitioner’s ability to recognize and address dysfunctional interpersonal patterns through effective and adaptive communication, including the importance of the therapeutic use of self in engaging the client(s) will be explored. Learners will be expected to critically examine various psychotherapeutic techniques and theoretical orientations while developing a working framework for future practice rooted in a growing professional identity.
This course is designed to address common mental health disorders encountered in outpatient mental health settings. The course will focus on the development of knowledge and skills of the PMHNP student in the management of various mental health diagnoses in the outpatient setting. Emphasis will be placed on knowledge and skills needed for health history taking, mental health assessment and disease management of patients across the lifespan.
This course is designed to address the management of psychiatric patients in crisis across the lifespan. The course will improve the knowledge, competence and skills of the PMHNP student in addressing various mental health diagnoses in the acute psychiatric setting. The course emphasizes the development of knowledge and skills in mental health assessment and disease management of patients in crisis across the lifespan.
This course serves as the capstone experience for the PMHNP student and synthesizes all material from previous PMHNP courses. In addition, this course will explore legal and governing issues that impact advanced practice. Didactic content promotes transition into practice.
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Applications are currently being accepted for next intake
Clinical Placement Support
We know finding preceptors for clinical rotations can be one of the most challenging and stressful parts of any Post-Master’s program. As a Walsh PMHNP student, you’ll be paired with a clinical placement coordinator who will collaborate with you to secure clinical sites and preceptors for your clinical courses.
Our goal is to facilitate a streamlined, high-quality clinical placement experience to help you apply newly gained knowledge, values, and skills from the classroom to the clinical area. By assisting in the management of placement logistics, we hope you’ll be free to focus your efforts where they’re needed most—on coursework and developing competencies.
We collaborate with students to source and vet placement sites for all our online PMHNP students.
We assist in the heavy lifting to confirm your placement site meets all of the necessary clearances.
We’ll be readily available to answer any logistical questions you have about the placement process.
Online PMHNP Program Eligible States
Currently the Walsh PMHNP Post-Master’s Certificate program is available in the following states. Visit our State Authorization page for more information.
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Mexico
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Online PMC-FNP Program Careers and Outcomes
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 220,300 licensed nurse practitioners in the United States in 2020. That number is projected to increase by a massive 52% from 2020-2030. By comparison, the number of positions for registered nurses is expected to grow by 9% in the same time period, while the total number of jobs for all professions is projected to increase by 4%.
Family Nurse Practitioners work in a variety of environments, including:
- Primary care settings
- Ambulatory care centers
- Clinics
Along with appealing job opportunities, nurse practitioners also enjoy far above-average compensation, with median wages of $109,820 in 2019. This compares to median wages of $73,300 for registered nurses in 2019 and median annual wages of $39,810 for all occupations.
$109,820
Media Annual Salary
*(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Areas for Clinical Practice:
- Primary care settings
- Ambulatory care centers
- Clinics
- Hospitals
An FNP Nurse Fills a Growing Demand for Primary Care Providers
Family Nurse Practitioners, or FNPs, are highly educated advanced practice registered nurses who work autonomously or in collaboration with other healthcare professionals to deliver primary care to patients. An online PMC-FNP program covers a curriculum that prepares a qualified nurse to take the FNP National Certification exam. FNP nurses care for individuals and families throughout each stage of their lives, providing treatment for a range of medical problems and non-life-threatening acute conditions in outpatient settings, medical clinics and other healthcare environments.
An FNP nurse who graduates from an online MSN program or FNP Certificate program is increasingly being called upon to fulfill the essential need for primary healthcare. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of physician office visits tops 1 billion in the U.S. today. More than 50% of those visits are made to primary care providers. Couple that with the fact that today, a smaller percentage of physicians are entering the field than are practicing, suggests that shortages will worsen over time. Due to the dwindling number of primary care physicians, an FNP nurse is perfectly positioned to help fill the gap for primary care providers.
With a focus on preventative care, health care policy, health promotion, clinical assessment and management, Walsh University’s PMC-FNP online program can help you prepare to become a confident family nurse practitioner who’s ready to make a difference in the lives of patients and entire communities as a primary care provider. An online FNP Certificate program can provide a nurse with the family care skills that healthcare organizations and clinics need.
The master’s degree program in nursing at Walsh University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).