Program Overview

Nursing DNP, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Emphasis

Overview

The University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Nursing offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program with a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner emphasis. This program is designed for registered nurses who have completed a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree and desire to obtain a doctoral degree in nursing practice.

Admission Criteria

General BSN to DNP Option

• A completed University of Missouri-St. Louis Nursing CAS application
• BSN from a nationally accredited nursing program
• BSN 3.0 GPA (calculated on the last 60 hours of BSN coursework)
• Current professional licensure
• Completion of an undergraduate or graduate general statistics course
• Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) track requires at least one (1) year of inpatient or outpatient psychiatric nursing or emergency room nursing experience

Direct Admit BSN to DNP Option

• A completed University of Missouri-St. Louis Nursing CAS application
• BSN from UMSL OR completed the UMSL CON Externship in Nursing Summer Program and earned a BSN degree from a nationally accredited nursing program
• 3.75 GPA in the last 60 hours of BSN coursework
• Essay which meets expectations and attributes listed in the essay portion of the application
• Current professional licensure
• Completion of an undergraduate or graduate general statistics course

Degree Requirements

Core Content for BSN to DNP program

• Foundational Concepts (30 hours)
  • NURSE 6111: Healthcare Systems (3 hours)
  • NURSE 6130: Research, Interventions and Evidence-Based Practice (3 hours)
  • NURSE 6424: Social Determinants of Health for Underserved Populations (3 hours)
  • NURSE 7211: Biostatistics I (3 hours)
  • NURSE 7215: Evidence-Based Practice for the DNP (3 hours)
  • NURSE 7220: Leadership in Practice (3 hours)
  • NURSE 7230: Epidemiology (3 hours)
  • NURSE 7240: Health Informatics (3 hours)
  • NURSE 7260: Program Evaluation and Quality Management in Healthcare (3 hours)
  • NURSE 7443: Healthcare Policy and Economics (3 hours)
• Clinical Expertise (12 hours)
  • NURSE 6518: Pathophysiology for Advanced Nursing Practice (3 hours)
  • NURSE 6520: Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Practice (3 hours)
  • NURSE 6524: Health Assessment for Advanced Nursing Practice (3 hours)
  • NURSE 6530: Introduction to Diagnostic Reasoning (3 hours)
• Integration of Practice (9-18 hours)
  • NURSE 6954: Advanced Practice Nursing: Practicum I (1-4 hours)
  • NURSE 6955: Advanced Practice Nursing: Practicum II (1-4 hours)
  • NURSE 7954: Advanced Practice Nursing: Practicum III (1-4 hours)
  • NURSE 7291: DNP Clinical Scholarship Project I (2 hours)
  • NURSE 7292: DNP Clinical Scholarship Project II (2 hours)
  • NURSE 7293: DNP Clinical Scholarship Project III (2 hours)

Specific Requirements for the Emphasis Area

• Diagnosis and Management Foundations
  • NURSE 6721: Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health (3 hours)
• Diagnosis and Management I
  • NURSE 6737: Psychiatric Mental Health I (4 hours)
• Diagnosis and Management II
  • NURSE 6738: Psychiatric Mental Health II (4 hours)

Learning Outcomes

A successful graduate should, upon completion, be able to:

• Integrate evidence-based concepts from advanced practice nursing, the arts, sciences, and humanities to provide comprehensive, competent, holistic, and patient-centered care promoting healthy outcomes and health equity for diverse individuals, families, communities, and populations.
• Demonstrate clinical decision-making and actions based on ethical and legal obligations, standards of practice, economics, health equity, and nursing values.
• Apply knowledge of health care policies in their regulatory environment and their influence on health care access and quality.
• Generate, synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate research to improve health outcomes, quality of care, and minimize risk of harm.
• Evaluate approaches to practice utilizing information and communication technologies to promote safe, high-quality care, and efficient health delivery services according to best practice, professional, and regulatory standards.
• Demonstrate responsibility and accountability for decisions and actions based on professional intrapersonal values, ethical and legal obligations, standards of practice, social justice, and economics.
• Demonstrate mastery of specialized nurse practitioner competencies, as outlined by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Population-Focused Nurse Practitioner Competencies.