NU 556 Clinical Psychiatric Diagnosis and Management Across the Life Span II

This course builds upon the knowledge and skill base from previous core MSN and the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner courses. It provides the theoretical, clinical role development, and skill foundation requisite for the primary care of individuals and families with common acute and chronic health problems.  Focus is on the application of evidenced-informed didactic concepts for the delivery of quality driven advanced practice care. Emphasis is on the integration of content areas to advance competences in the ethical, safe, collaborative and evidence-informed provision of mental health care for all ages. Role preparation of the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner is emphasized with attention to the components of a comprehensive assessment; clinical management and therapeutic monitoring; and coordinating and management of health promotion and disease prevention. The clinical learning environment provides essential experiential opportunities for the development and refinement of core competencies. Communication skills, comprehensive history-taking techniques, advanced psychosocial and physical assessment skills, screening/diagnostic testing, and diagnostic reasoning skills required in advanced nursing practice are developed. The focus is on developing these skills from an evidence-informed, culturally responsive perspective. Prerequisite: NU 501, NUF 500, NU 552, NU 554, NU 555, NU 556