DeSales University is adding a new Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program to their already comprehensive selection of nursing degree offerings. Beginning fall of 2016, nursing students can complete the program in three years part-time or two years full-time.
“The local health care employers are excited about this new PMHNP program,” says Carol Gullo Mest, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, director of the master of science in nursing programs at DeSales. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for DeSales Nursing to help fill the growing demand for nurse practitioners in the psychiatric realm. The career and salary outlook is very strong for graduates of this program.”
The PMHNP diagnoses and manages chronic and acute mental and behavioral health problems. These highly-skilled nurses diagnose mental and behavioral health problems and manage treatment care plans that may include psychotropic medications, psychotherapy, crisis intervention, and consultation.
PMHNPs work in diverse range of healthcare settings including hospitals, skilled-care facilities, mental health clinics, and other outpatient treatment programs.
“Our University really does have a wonderful reputation in the health sciences. People in the healthcare industry often tell me that DeSales is one of the best nursing schools in the Lehigh Valley — they say ‘I can always tell who the DeSales students are.’ It sounds almost cliché, but our nurses really do stand out in the healthcare industry,” says Mest.
Student clinical placements, in nationally-ranked clinical facilities throughout the Lehigh Valley and beyond, are coordinated by the University.
Graduates of the DeSales PMHNP program are eligible to take the Psychiatric-Mental Health (Across the Lifespan) Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Applications are being accepted for a Fall 2016 start. More information can be found at www.desales.edu/np. For more information contact Mest at carol.mest@desales.edu.