A Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN) is the first education requirement a prospective student seeking a career as a psychiatric nurse practitioner must attain prior to certification. The four years of interdisciplinary study require clinical rotations and completion of coursework in liberal arts, science and nursing to qualify for graduation. BSN students follow a schedule of nursing prerequisite and university core education requirements during the first two years of study, followed by two years of nursing and clinical rotations. Graduation from a BSN program prepares the nursing student for the National Council for Licensure Examination—Registered Nurse, which is a requirement in order to practice as a nurse within the U.S.
Most psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner graduate programs require the prospective student to attain at least one year of full-time registered nursing experience prior to application.
A Master of Science degree in nursing (MSN) with a specialization in a nurse practitioner field of psychiatry, or most commonly, mental health, is required in order to qualify to sit for the mental health nurse practitioner certification examination. An MSN program in mental health generally requires about two years of study, though some programs may be completed in a shorter period of time. Mental health nursing students generally take courses such as pharmacology, models and theories of psychiatric nursing, neuroscience, health assessment, clinical reasoning, specialty populations and psychiatric issues and health care systems.
Postgraduate programs are also available to those who already hold an MSN in another field of specialization or for those who wish to achieve greater specialization in the field.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center offers Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certification. As of June 2010, the registration fee for the certification examination is $390 for nonmembers and $270 to $340 for registered nurses who are members of the American Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, American College of Nurse Practitioners or International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses.
Eligibility to sit for the certification examination requires a current and unrestricted registered nurse license and a graduate degree in psychiatric/mental health nursing. Students also must have completed a minimum of 500 supervised clinical hours as a requirement for the graduate nursing program. The curriculum of the graduate program must include study of health assessment, pharmacology, pathophysiology, health promotion and disease management and clinical training in at least two psychiatric modalities.
Certification is valid for five years, upon which the nurse must submit a renewal application and show proof of participation in continuing education coursework that is related to the field of mental health/psychiatry.