Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Graduate Certificate

School of Nursing

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) post-MSN certificate, is designed for currently licensed and certified advanced practice nurses passionate about providing advanced psychiatric mental health care in their communities. This program prepares you to perform advanced clinical differential diagnoses and manage patients within this specialized population. With 540 total clinical hours, you can complete your degree in three semesters, benefiting from individualized plans of study based on your educational and experiential background.

Make a Difference in Mental Health

• Flexible Learning: All didactic courses are offered online, both synchronously and asynchronously.
• National Certificate Preparation: Prepares you to sit for either the ANCC or AANP certifications.
• In-State Tuition Rates: All students benefit from in-state tuition rates, regardless of residency.

Students who graduate from this program may sit for either the national certification examination offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). At the completion of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Post-Master’s Certificate, the graduate will be prepared to demonstrate the following outcomes:

• Apply nursing theories and evidence to make clinical decisions in advanced psychiatric care.
• Create and communicate ethical, evidence-based care plans that promote well-being and mental health recovery.
• Collaborate with interprofessional teams to improve patient outcomes, reduce risk, and promote equity.
• Disseminate recommendations from clinical practice guidelines, evidence-based interventions, and knowledge from nursing and other sciences to improve psychiatric mental healthcare and patient outcomes.
• Coordinate resources to ensure safe, quality psychiatric and behavioral health care.
• Utilize information and technologies to provide psychiatric mental health care, gather data to drive clinical decision making, and support advanced-practice professionals in managing and improving the delivery of safe, high-quality, transparent healthcare.
• Demonstrate accountability, leadership, collaboration and ethical practice in psychiatric mental health nursing.
• Engage in self-reflection and activities that promote self-care, resilience, leadership development, and lifelong learning.

Apply to WVU

Depending on prerequisites completed, entry term into the program will vary from student to student. Students will be reviewed for admission on a rolling basis until July 1. Applicants will be notified of admissions decisions as they are reviewed.

• Start your application.
• Select the following options on the New Application screen:
• Type of Student: Certificate
• Which Program: Select your Post-MSN Program
• You will be asked to select a Progression Plan on the Nursing Application. The Post Graduate certificate is only offered as a full-time program.
• On the Supplemental Materials screen, you will upload the following:
• Current curriculum vita or resume.

Start Application

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Request Official Transcripts from All Colleges and Universities Attended

• It is preferred that official transcripts be sent via an online, secure service such as eScrip-Safe, National Student Clearinghouse, or Parchment to GraduateAdmissions@mail.wvu.edu.
• Alternatively, sealed, untampered, physical official transcripts can be sent directly to:
• WVU Hub
  P.O. Box 6004
  Morgantown, WV 26506
• Applicants who completed prior education outside of the U.S. must have their transcripts evaluated by World Education Services (WES). Please request a "course-by-course" International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP).

Note: Certificate seeking students, with approval from the certificate program, may transfer up to 6 of the required credits for a graduate certificate from a different institution or applied from another previous or concurrent WVU degree or certificate. Individual course credits may be applied to no more than two degrees, majors, or certificates. Courses applied to a certificate must have been completed no more than seven years prior to certificate conferral.

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Acceptance

Candidates for admission are evaluated on the entire admission packet. The WVU School of Nursing accepts new Post-MSN Certificate students on a rolling admission basis and will review all qualified applications based on admission criteria. Acceptance is dependent upon space available in the program with the most qualified applicants being accepted at the time of review. Decisions will be emailed to students. Accepted students will receive information regarding orientation and course registration. Students will be evaluated based on the following:

• Nursing GPA
• Work Experience
• Overall GPA

Enrollment in nursing courses is based upon readiness, availability of space and other essential resources.

Clinical rotations with approved preceptors in the final year of your program must be arranged with course faculty. Due to potential preceptor limitations, students may have to travel out of their local areas to their clinical sites and are required to provide their own reliable transportation.

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Gap Analyses

Some students applying to certificate programs may have accrued direct patient care hours prior to admission. Upon request, the student’s program of study will be personalized via gap analyses to determine the number of clinical practicum hours required of each student. Any hours accrued prior to admission must have been academically supervised and completed in a setting and population appropriate to the certificate program in which the student is enrolled. Students must obtain a completed Verification of Qualifying MSN Clinical Hours and Gap Analysis form from the director of their previous program within the first semester of enrollment.

Tuition and fees are usually not the only educational expenses you may have while pursuing a degree. You may have other costs such as books, supplies, and living expenses. Visit the Estimate Costs and Aid webpage to estimate and plan for other potential expenses.

Tuition per credit hour is listed on the page of your program of interest. Please note, tuition and fees are reviewed and subject to change at the start of each academic year.

• Learn More about Tuition and Financial Aid
• Explore All WVU System Tuition and Fees
• Understand Restrictions on University Tuition Waivers