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Psychiatric Mental Health

ADDRESSING THE GAP IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE

Shortages of qualified, mental health professionals are at crisis levels locally, statewide, nationally, and globally. Advance your career to meet the needs of the most vulnerable among us and help close the gap in access to mental healthcare and develop your knowledge and skills to provide increasingly complex care while honing the interpersonal therapeutic expertise central to the nurse-client relationship.

Overview

The mission of this program is to graduate exceptional and therapeutic clinician leaders facing an increasingly-complex healthcare landscape and to train exceptional clinicians, exemplary critical thinkers, and effective therapeutic communicators with populations across the lifespan.

Our program will set you apart with opportunities for certifications in specialty areas, a course in addiction, novel psychotherapeutics, a specialty immersion and exceptional psychiatric mental health training opportunities.

The School of Nursing also offers the Blake Scholars Program - a post-graduate certificate program for those interested in pediatric and adolescent psychiatric mental health. Click here to learn more.

Interim Program Director

Ellen Schimmels
PhD, DNP, PMHNP-BC, ANP-BC, CNE, FAAN
Professor, Clinical
joellen.schimmels@emory.edu



Dorothy Jordan
DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN
Director of the Blake Scholars Program
Associate Professor, Clinical
dorothy.h.jordan@emory.edu

Aurora Bridges
DNP Program Administrator
aurora.bridges@emory.edu

Financial Aid

More than 92 percent of the students in the School of Nursing receive some type of financial assistance.

Clinical Placements

Our students train in numerous clinical sites in Atlanta and across the U.S.

Proven Need

Shortages of qualified, mental health professionals are at crisis levels locally, statewide, nationally, and globally.

Faculty

Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed to promote the core centrality of the nurse-client relationship while maintaining a neurobiologically-informed approach to increasing core knowledge in the behavioral and biological disciplines. You will learn evidence-based practice across the life span, gaining the ability to treat psychiatric disorders within individuals, families, and groups. Emphasis is placed on the development of psychiatric nurse practitioners who will be prepared to function autonomously in a variety of clinical settings.

Post BSN to DNP PMHNP

An 86-credit hour, seven semester program, with a total of 1,170 precepted clinical hours (1,050 direct clinical practice and +120 project hours) as well as 75 contact hours of simulated onsite/virtual experiences.​

​Our PMHNP program will be delivered using a hybrid model with online synchronous/asynchronous classroom learning sessions, simulated learning experiences onsite or virtually via intensives, clinical training at sites where students are located, and weekly group and individual clinical supervision.​

During the clinical courses, PMHNP Clinical Practice III: Advanced Integrative Clinical Practice and Advanced Clinical Practicum Immersion, students will be supported in pertinent clinical areas of focus. Participation in these areas may result in additional certificates and badges. ​

Potential areas of focus may include: ​

  • Telepsychiatry​
  • Complementary & Integrative Mental Health
  • Master Psychopharmacology​
  • Global Mental Health
  • Addiction​
  • Trauma and Resilience​
  • Public Mental Health​
  • Veteran Mental Health​
  • Vulnerable Populations Mental Health​
  • Child & Adolescent Mental Health​
  • Geropsychiatry​
  • Palliative Care Mental Health​
  • Caregiver Mental Health ​
  • Psycho Oncology​
Post-Graduate Certificate Program

The Psychiatric Mental Health Post-Graduate Certificate Program is a 26 credit hour, three semester program is that is comprised of six courses, with a total of 690 precepted direct clinical hours (+15 contact hours of simulated onsite/virtual experiences).

Courses will be delivered via synchronous/asynchronous classroom sessions with designated onsite or virtual intensives and clinical practica at sites where students are geographically located.

On completion of the post-graduate  certificate program, graduates will be prepared to return to their communities and implement their psychiatric mental health advanced practice clinical judgement to assess, diagnose, plan, and implement holistic plans of care including psychotropic medication management; individual, group, and family psychotherapy and crisis management; and provide interprofessional collaborative care. Program graduates will link their advanced practice nursing skills with their knowledge of evidence-based research and practice to become highly effective practitioners. 

During the clinical courses, PMHNP Clinical Practice III: Advanced Integrative Clinical Practice and Advanced Clinical Practicum Immersion, students will be supported in pertinent clinical areas of focus. Participation in these areas may result in additional certificates and badges. ​

Potential areas of focus may include: ​

  • Telepsychiatry​
  • Complementary & Integrative Mental Health
  • Master Psychopharmacology​
  • Global Mental Health
  • Addiction​
  • Trauma and Resilience​
  • Public Mental Health​
  • Veteran Mental Health​
  • Vulnerable Populations Mental Health​
  • Child & Adolescent Mental Health​
  • Geropsychiatry​
  • Palliative Care Mental Health​
  • Caregiver Mental Health ​
  • Psycho Oncology​

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to the program, you must submit the following items:

  • A baccalaureate degree from an accredited nursing program (CCNE, NLNAC)
  • Unencumbered RN license in the state of Georgia or a multi-state RN license

Competitive applicants will have direct patient care experience of a minimum of one (1) year of full time employment as a registered nurse in psychiatric and mental health, behavioral health or equivalent similar care setting with a psychiatric mental health population focus. Preference will be given to applicants with psych RN experience.

If you’d like to proceed with applying prior to one year of RN practice, we strongly advise that your application, personal statement, and recommendations speak specifically to the relevant experience that you believe make you a competitive applicant.  

International Students

Students who need an F1 visa are not eligible for admission due to the amount of content delivered online. The Department of Homeland Security does not allow our DNP or MSN programs to issue F1 visas.

Application

Admissions Checklist

  • Application for Admission
  • $50 Application Fee
  • Official transcripts from each school attended
  • Resume
  • Personal statement
  • 2-3 References (preference for at least one to be a nursing supervisor)
  • Students with international nursing degrees must provide an evaluation from Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (www.cgfns.org) for previous nursing coursework.
  • Students with international transcripts for non-nursing degrees must provide an evaluation from World Education Services (www.wes.org) for previous non-nursing coursework.
  • TOEFL, IELTS, or Duo-lingo scores are required if English is a second language. Read Emory University's accepted tests policy.
DNP Applicants Must Provide

Personal Statement: Describe why you want to be a student in the Emory DNP program along with a brief statement of your project interests for practice ,process, or systems-based health and healthcare improvement, with an emphasis on your psychiatric nursing interest, experience, and career goals (500 words).

Essay:

  • Describe your professional strengths and opportunities for growth
  • Describe a time you experienced a professional setback, how you dealt with it, and what you learned
  • Describe how you currently manage your work-life balance and how do you anticipate this will change when you begin a graduate/doctoral program?

Three References: References are preferred from professional colleagues, supervisors, or faculty who can speak specifically to the applicant’s professionalism and experience.

Post-Graduate Certificate Applicants Must Provide

Personal Statement: Describe your psychiatric nursing interest, experience, and your career goals. Please answer the following essay questions in your personal statement.

  • Describe your professional strengths and opportunities for growth
  • Describe a time you experienced a professional setback, how you dealt with it, and what you learned
  • Describe how you currently manage your work-life balance and how do you anticipate this will change when you begin a graduate/doctoral program?

Three References: References are preferred from professional colleagues, supervisors, or faculty who can speak specifically to the applicant’s professionalism and experience.

Transcript Submission

Choose Emory University - School of Nursing in the electronic transcript systems or have your school email your official transcripts to nursingquestions@emory.edu.

If your school does not participate in the electronic transcript system or cannot email your transcript(s) please have a printed copy mailed to:

Office of Enrollment and Student Affairs
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
Emory University
1520 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30322

Please note all items in application checklist must be verified by the Office of Enrollment and Student Affairs before they are marked as received in the application portal.

Blake Scholars Program

Shortages of qualified, mental health professionals are at crisis levels locally, statewide, nationally, and globally. This crisis disproportionately affects the pediatric and adolescent populations. Through Emory's Blake Scholars Program, you can advance your career to meet the needs of the most vulnerable among us and help close the gap in access to mental health care for our youngest populations.

The program provides full tuition for nurse practitioners enrolled in the School of Nursing post-graduate certificate psychiatric mental health nursing program with a focus on child and adolescent behavioral and mental health. Graduates of the program will have an additional opportunity to complete a year-long child and adolescent behavioral and mental health fellowship.

Click here to learn more.


FAQ

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