The Psychiatric Mental-Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Program is designed to provide the nurse with the necessary biopsychopharmacotherapeutic knowledge and skills regarding differential diagnosis, health promotion and psychotropic medication management (prescriptive authority) for the PMH patient across the life span. The specialty also consists of didactic and clinical course content essential to provide psychotherapy to individuals, families, and groups within hospitals and the community settings.  Graduates of this specialty have earned their MSN degree or Post Graduate Certificate and are eligible to sit for the American Nurses Credentialing Certification PMHNP exams.

Nursing at Shenandoah

Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing's programs are challenging, but the rewards of completing your degree and entering this critical profession are many. We are committed to providing an outstanding education to nurses at all levels— from people entering the profession with a Bachelor's degree in nursing, to advanced practice nurses seeking doctoral-level training. Our programs are dynamic and responsive to the needs of our students and the health care industry. Shenandoah Nursing offers classes in Winchester at the Health and Life Sciences Building, and in Fairfax at the Shenandoah Northern Virginia campus. We're excited to share our programs with you.

The curricula for the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs combine important knowledge and skills with a friendly and caring spirit. Students like you share diverse backgrounds and personal and professional experiences with seasoned teaching faculty and clinical preceptors, who contribute to robust classroom discussions and enriching and exciting clinical interactions. Our goal is to prepare and challenge you for that next step in your professional career.

A variety of clinical psychiatric inpatient and ambulatory care settings to include primary care sites are utilized. The psychiatric practice (PMH695) course combines didactic and a 120 hour clinical experience to apply differential diagnosis and medication management principles for the care of acute and chronic psychiatric clients.  Students will have 180 clinical hours in both individual therapy and also group and family therapy along with 120 hours in primary care settings such as the emergency room where the students learns to integrate and differentiate primary care and psychiatric mental health care. The student completes at least 700 clinical hours by the end of the program of study. 

Shenandoah’s collaboration with partner universities allows you to complete your core MSN courses at your home university, and complete your PMHNP courses at Shenandoah. The program is fully accredited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and includes at least 700 clinical hours. You’ll learn:

• psychotherapy for individuals, families and groups within hospitals and community settings
• assessment, diagnosis and psychotropic medication management
• education for students, patients and staff
• health promotion/maintenance

Upon completion of the program, you’ll be eligible to sit for the American Nurses Credentialing Certification PMHNP exam.

Our graduates work as educators, consultants, prescribers, therapists, researchers and in combined roles. Some work in military installations, community mental health centers, child and adolescent settings, private practice with community psychiatrists or as teaching faculty.

You’ll study with students and faculty from other disciplines such as pharmacy, social work, medicine and psychology; and gain valuable clinical experience for providing psychotherapy to a diverse range of populations in a variety of hospitals and community settings.

You can select your program of study based on your experience and area of specialization. Choose from RN-MSN with PMHNP focus, MSN with PMHNP focus, Certificate Post-MSN (post-NP), Concurrent PMHNP-DNP with Mental Health clinical focus, or PMHNP Initiative. Through the PMHNP Initiative, you can complete your core classes at home universities who have a collaborative agreement with our school, and complete the specialty courses at Shenandoah University through our hybrid distance–on-campus option. Clinicals are offered in your community of residence, and select courses are available online.

Alumni are eligible for a tuition discount.

Course Requirements

We’re excited you’re interested in one of our graduate nursing programs! Shenandoah reviews applications on a rolling basis, which means we will begin evaluating your application once all your documentation has been submitted. Students submitting completed applications before our priority deadlines will be considered first.

Application Information