Student Spotlight: Deanna Hercik receives inspiration from family in pursuit of PMHNP degree

May 17, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

Deanna Hercik, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) student, has been a nurse for over two decades. She is now attaining her Master of Science in Nursing and is set to graduate later this year.

With a focus on lifetime care for individuals, PMHNPs are committed to promoting mental health through assessment, diagnosis and treatment of behavioral problems, mental disorders and comorbid conditions.

A resident of Springfield, Virginia, Hercik has served as an Infection Preventionist for the past 10 years. Through her role, she provides surveillance for healthcare-acquired infections for a health system with over 700 beds. She is responsible for submitting healthcare-associated infections to the Center for Disease Control’s National Healthcare Safety Network and tracks catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line bloodstream infections, surgical site infections and healthcare-associated clostridioides difficile infections. She has earned her Certification in Infection Prevention and Control, or CIC, credential.

Hercik’s decision to transition to mental health was influenced by her adopted 10-year-old son, who lives with mental health disorders and requires therapy and pharmacological treatment.

“It has been extremely difficult to find mental health care practitioners who understand his situation and know how to treat it,” Hercik said. “This has led me to have an interest in transitioning to mental health and becoming a compassionate and excellent provider.”

Hercik said she was attracted to FNU because of the selective admissions process and online program. She said she has enjoyed leveraging the Frontier network, and has been able to reach out to graduates who live in her area to ask advice or inquire about clinical sites. In fact, Hercik said one of her preceptors is an FNU alumnus.

“After researching schools with a PMHNP program, FNU pulled ahead of its competitors. I liked that admission was selective, the program was online, and there were programs to assist students in completing their degree. I liked the idea of both Frontier Bound and Clinical Bound to provide opportunities to connect with faculty and other students.”
– Deanna Hercik, PMHNP Student

“After researching schools with a PMHNP program, FNU pulled ahead of its competitors,” she said. “I liked that admission was selective, the program was online, and there were programs to assist students in completing their degree. I liked the idea of both Frontier Bound and Clinical Bound to provide opportunities to connect with faculty and other students.”

Thank you, Deanna, for taking this big step toward becoming a PMHNP.

If you are interested in pursuing your Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Post-Graduate Certificate (PGC) in psychiatric-mental health at a top-ranked online university, visit our website to learn more about our PMHNP program.

Student Spotlight: Carrie Baker uses nursing experience to advocate for public health

May 12, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

Frontier Nursing University (FNU) student Carrie Baker, MSN, FNP, PMHNP, is utilizing her experience as a nurse practitioner to advocate for the health of her community. Baker is pursuing a Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at FNU (Class 40) and is set to graduate this year.

A former U.S. Army officer, Baker lives on a Marine Corps housing installation in Hawaii with her two children and her spouse, who is an active member of the U.S. military. There, she serves as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) for a local nurse practitioner-owned telepsychiatry practice and as a Periodic Health Assessment provider.

Baker’s patient base is wide-ranging, including urban and rural, male and female and local and military. By completing psychological evaluations and medical management via telehealth, Baker is able to reach patients through most of Hawaii’s chain of islands.

Recently, Baker has served as an advocate for the public health and safety of her community. On Nov. 20, 2021, 14,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, a military storage facility in Hawaii that is operated by the U.S. Navy. As a result, the Navy’s water distribution system, which Baker’s community uses, became contaminated. Soon, residents began complaining of a visible oil sheen on the water, odor and a variety of illnesses.

Seeking accountability and solutions from local leaders, Baker co-organized a community town hall meeting.

“Due to a lack of acknowledgement, validation and communication, our community has taken a stand to be heard,” Baker said. “Somehow, I have found myself at the forefront of this.”

Several key stakeholders were invited to the meeting, including the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Hawaii, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, local housing leadership, local water board personnel and members of the media. During the meeting, community members were given the opportunity to ask questions to leadership personnel.

Baker said some key takeaways from the meeting included increased communication, further water testing, flushing of the community water system, entitlements (such as funds for hotel lodging until the issue is resolved) and continued water points on the installation for retrieval of clean water.

“We are far from having this situation resolved, but we now have the attention of those leaders who matter,” Baker said. “There is still some discord between the community and the leadership in that we still have not been acknowledged as affected.”

Baker said her experience as a nurse practitioner gave her the confidence to advocate for the health of her community. To that end, she said she has decided to earn her DNP to gain confidence in being a leader and advocate for her patients and the community. She said FNU was the right choice in her pursuit of this goal.

“I decided to become a DNP to gain confidence in being a leader and advocate for my patients and community.”
– Carrie Baker, MSN, FNP, PMHNP

“I decided to become a DNP to gain confidence in being a leader and advocate for my patients and community,” Baker said.

Thank you, Carrie, for exemplifying FNU’s Culture of Caring, both in your professional endeavors and in your community activism.

To learn more about FNU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice, click here.

Alumni Spotlight: Cody Pittman hopes to reach more rural and underserved populations with mental telehealth practice

April 8, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumni Cody Pittman, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, has worked full-time in correctional healthcare with the Kentucky Department of Corrections in LaGrange, Ky., for the past eight years. He also recently opened his own practice named Healing Neurons Psychiatry, which provides mental health services to patients via telehealth. Cody became a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) in November 2020 after earning his MSN from FNU.

Pittman says the focus of working in corrections is to try and rehabilitate patients so they are prepared to live healthy lives when released back into the community. Many of his patients have a history of polypharmacy and substance abuse/addiction.

Pittman recognized that there are simply not enough mental health providers, so he founded Healing Neurons Psychiatry to help fill that gap. With the patient in mind, Pittman decided to offer 100% telehealth services so that patients can make their appointments from the comfort of their own homes. Furthermore, telehealth ensures the privacy of those living in rural areas who fear they may be stigmatized if others see them walking into a mental health clinic.

“I always thought I would end up being in management for most of my nursing career as it is something I do well and hold dear to my heart. Not only do I enjoy helping patients, but I have also been an advocate for my staff for many years,” Pittman said. “Helping others has always been a passion of mine and this started at a very young age.”

Pittman’s career in healthcare began when he was 16 years old providing dietary services at a nursing home. He knew becoming a nurse practitioner would allow him to continue helping others and give him the autonomy to pursue his vision and open his own practice. Pittman is currently completing FNU’s DNP program. In his first term, he says it is going well.

“Frontier places the student first. I cannot begin to tell you how many practitioners I have worked with who are not confident in their decision making or are always second guessing themselves,” Pittman said. “I truly believe that Frontier gave me a well-rounded knowledge base that continues to allow me to advance my NP knowledge.”
– Cody Pittman, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC

FNU makes it easy for students to continue on with their education by offering FNU MSN and PGC graduates, like Pittman, the opportunity to continue into the DNP program via the Companion DNP Program.

Chasing my dreams to become Dr. Pittman, DNP has always been a goal of mine. Moving directly into the DNP program from the MSN was a no-brainer for me,” Pittman said. “It was an easy transition and just made the most sense. Completing the MSN at Frontier ensured that some of the DNP courses were completed during that program, making my DNP journey shorter in length. The family-like atmosphere that is felt while attending Frontier has been the biggest breath of fresh air. I have classmates and faculty that I consider family, hundreds of miles away all because of Frontier.

Pittman got married in 2017 and has a three-year-old daughter. He played the saxophone in middle and high school and can still play today! In his free time, he enjoys relaxing at home with his family, spending time in their new pool and cruising backroads in his Jeep Wrangler.

Thank you Cody for your dedication to mental health and fulfilling FNU’s mission to provide care to rural and underserved populations.

To read more alumni stories, visit the FNU Alumni stories page.

Student Spotlight: April Haneline, taking strides to make a difference for underserved in home community

March 18, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

April Haneline, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) student, has worked in nearly every setting as a nurse. Two years ago, she decided to advance her career by pursuing her Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) in FNU’s Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program. Shortly after starting at FNU, Haneline moved back home to rural Murray, Ky., and decided to switch programs after recognizing the lack of mental health providers, especially for queer people in Western Kentucky.

“I chose Frontier for its reputation and for its focus on underserved, rural communities,” Haneline said. “It fits where I’m from and where I want to be.”

“I chose Frontier for its reputation and for its focus on underserved, rural communities.”
– April Haneline, PMHNP Student

Currently, Haneline is working to wrap up her clinical experience. Haneline has worked with the same preceptor in three different settings – community mental-health, a therapist-led practice, and now a private practice.

“It has been very educational to see the different settings, but also to see how the different settings have affected my preceptor’s practice,” Haneline said.

It was important to Haneline to find a preceptor in an open environment who would be welcoming, supportive and affirming who was also willing to teach. She found just that in Dr. JJ Cansler, an FNU alumni and Regional Clinical Faculty.

After graduation, Haneline plans to continue practicing with Dr. Cansler at Cansler Health and hopes to help grow the new practice, serve the queer community, and work with the local university to provide for the mental health needs they may have.

“I’m so happy doing what I’m doing,” Haneline said.

Beyond making a difference in her community within a private practice, Haneline also decided to answer the call for more diverse representation in her community by running for city council.

Haneline hopes that with her progressive way of thinking, she may be able to help push some progessive initiatives forward within her community and be the voice for those who don’t always feel a sense of belonging within the community. She also hopes, if elected, to address mental health and health prognosis issues that are within the community and to address equity within her hometown.

“Health, equity and belonging, those are my reasons for running for city council,” Haneline said. “I never felt like I belonged here and I know that there are countless other people that are from here that don’t feel like they belong here and feel like they have to go somewhere else.”

Haneline is active in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work at FNU and will use that not only in her practice, but also as a person running for local office and getting more involved in other local organizations that fit her personal mission and goals.

“Those experiences absolutely have allowed me to be like, ‘okay April, you do have a voice and you can use it here’,” Haneline said. “If I didn’t have that FNU work with the Office of DEI, I don’t think I would have been nearly as primed and ready to step forward into this role in the community and to be doing this.”

Despite FNU being a leading distance-education institution, there are many ways our students can get involved like April.

“I encourage people, no matter where they are at, to get involved as much as they can, even though it’s an online institution,” Haneline said.

Thank you, April, for living out FNU’s mission by providing equitable care to those living in a rural community and serving the marginalized people.

If you are interested in pursuing your Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Post-Graduate Certificate (PGC) in psychiatric-mental health at a top ranked online university, visit our website to learn more about our PMHNP program.

Student Spotlight: Paul Kibby, RN, hopes to change mental health stigma among rural men

February 16, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

Frontier Nursing University (FNU) student Paul Kibby, RN, is using his experience in the healthcare field to break down the stigma surrounding mental health in his community. Kibby is pursuing an MSN with a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) specialty, in which he entered through FNU’s Bridge program (Class 174), and is set to graduate this year.

Kibby currently works with a new behavioral health clinic startup in Mountain View, Arkansas. Stone County, where Mountain View is located, has a federal poverty rate of over 20 percent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

In his current role, Kibby is making efforts to research and change the stigma associated with mental health among rural men. He said he plans to do this by sending the local newspaper a letter to the editor, collaborating with the local community center, and having discussions with staff members at local banks, pharmacies, physicians offices, businesses and the local hospital to discuss the need to connect mental health with overall health care.

“They are both the same,” Kibby said.

Kibby has experience in several health care roles, such as an RN, nurse navigator, infusion and case manager and radiation oncology nurse for medical centers and institutions throughout Texas. He recently served as a case manager for Hospice of the Ozarks in Mountain Home, Arkansas, which is located about an hour away from Mountain View.

Upon initially moving to Mountain View, Kibby said he began to notice the prevalence of drug addiction and poverty among young people in the community. He soon realized he wanted to make a mission out of helping underprivileged members of his community with his health care background.

While working at Hospice of the Ozarks, Kibby injured his back and had to undergo surgery. As someone who deals with major depression and anxiety, Kibby said his time spent recovering from the surgery was particularly challenging, as he felt “idle.”

While recuperating, Kibby began looking into several programs online with the goal of “making a difference.” At the recommendation of some friends, Kibby decided to apply to FNU. To his surprise, he was accepted into the university.

“I ran down the stairs to tell my husband that I was accepted,” he said. “I cried so much that day because for the first time in months, I had great news and at 56-years-old, I was finally going to get to do more. I was on my way to making a difference in my little rural county. I still am holding on to that moment.”

For Kibby, what has appealed to him about FNU is the university’s rich history, diversity program, model of serving the underprivileged, and focus on rural community needs, regardless of socioeconomic status or race.

Kibby also is grateful for FNU’s faculty.

“The faculty allowed me to see the full potential within myself to be an excellent provider,” he said. “I am most thankful for all the faculty and hope to make each of them very proud of my accomplishments. My whole experience with FNU is and has been a valuable experience.”

We at FNU are grateful for Kibby and wish him continued success in his efforts to help his community!

Frontier Family: Sisters Take the FNU Journey Together to Become Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners

January 12, 2022 By Frontier Nursing University

The last time sisters Emily Hagy and Teresa Vlahovich were in the same class was more than 20 years ago when they were in high school.

“The last time we took a class together it was geometry. She was a high school freshman and I was a junior,” said Teresa, who is 20 months older than Emily. “I am pretty certain that Emily got an A and I had dropped out by October. As kids, Emily was much more studious than me.”

Teresa’s modesty aside, both sisters have gone on to successful careers, taking vastly different routes to the same destination as they are both currently enrolled in Class 198 of Frontier Nursing University’s Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program. When they took their first PMHNP course together in October, it was the first time they were classmates since high school.

Emily Hagy (center) with older sister Laura Vlahovich (left) and Teresa Vlahovich (right), and their mother Paula Clark.

The sisters, who are the middle two out of four children, grew up in Tacoma, Washington. Their father was a nationally known wooden boat builder and his work took them to the east coast periodically. Now, most of the family, including Teresa and Emily, lives in Maryland. Their older sister is a graphic designer and their younger brother fishes salmon in Alaska.

Despite the close proximity — Teresa and Emily live about two hours apart — their careers have vastly differed until now. They were both inspired to some degree by their parents, with Teresa being drawn to their mother’s career as a nurse. Teresa, MSN, CNM, graduated from FNU’s CNEP program in 2013 (Class 78), after earning her BSN from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and has worked for most of her career in the federally qualified health center (FQHC) setting.

“I did not grow up thinking that I wanted to go into psych/mental health,” said Teresa, who now lives in Baltimore, Maryland. “I was drawn to pregnancy and childbirth early on. However, my mother’s nursing career did plant a seed. She worked most of her career in an outpatient day program at the VA hospital. The program primarily served Vietnam veterans with schizophrenia. She would bring us to work for holidays and I have fond memories of cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the guys and helping with games and gifts. I still remember how touched I was by the supportive way that the patients related to one another in the group setting. I had never seen men relate that way before. My mother had years-long relationships with many of these men who had experienced serious trauma as young men in war and were subsequently living on the margins of society. It was clear to me that the relationship she had built with these men was a part of what kept them engaged in care. I know now that what I was witnessing was the therapeutic relationship in action, and throughout my own career, I have come to value just how significant that relationship is to both client and clinician. With the rising number of mental health conditions and a nationwide substance use disorder crisis, I wanted additional training to better serve my current patient population.”

While a health care profession always appealed to Teresa, little sister Emily was inspired more by her father’s line of work and she graduated with bachelor’s degrees in marine biology and invertebrate zoology and a master’s degree in marine ecology.

“I worked with oysters for approximately ten years, conducting research and restoration in the Chesapeake Bay,” said Emily, who lives in Cambridge, Maryland. “People think that jumping from oysters to people is strange, but I view the careers as similar. Caring for non-human animals is not that different from caring for humans. The skills and knowledge are different, but both are service-oriented and fulfill my desire to use my heart at work.”

Emily, too, remembers her mother’s work at the VA and enjoyed volunteering there.

“I have vivid memories of interacting with the participants,” Emily said. “This was a unique experience for a teen, and I’m sure it piqued some interest in me.”

While that interest took a back seat to marine biology for a period of time, it resurfaced recently when she was working as a nurse at a FQHC.

“I saw the extreme shortage of mental health care available in our area,” said Emily, who earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Salisbury University. “I knew our patients well, and it was disheartening that there was simply so little we could do for them, considering the shortages. That was what I needed to push me into pursuing a PMHNP.”

Though they both had a similar interest in psychiatric-mental health, the sisters were both quite busy with their established careers and lives. Emily and her husband William have a son who was born in April 2020. Teresa and her wife Crimson have four children — a 14-year-old son, an 8-year-old daughter, and twin four-year-olds (one boy, one girl).

Despite their busy schedules, they are both high achievers driven to serve. Separately, they have each noticed the shortage of mental health providers in their respective communities, and, jointly, they decided to do their part to address the issue.

Teresa Vlahovich (left) and Emily Hagy

“In my community, access to care is the biggest concern,” Emily said. “Working through the stigma of mental health care doesn’t matter if there are no providers to see the clients.”

As their interest in psychiatric-mental health piqued, Teresa leaned on her previous experience at Frontier to guide their joint decision.

“When investigating nurse-midwifery programs, I was initially drawn to Frontier for the community health focus. I had a great experience at Frontier obtaining my midwifery education and honestly did not consider looking anywhere else for the psych-mental health program,” Teresa said. “I used my influence as an older sister to influence my sister to join me.”

“Teresa has been singing the praises of FNU for some time,” Emily said. “Also, I’ve had several providers who are Frontier graduates, and they had nothing but good things to say. I wanted an online program, and I was most comfortable choosing one with a long successful history.”

One of FNU’s areas of focus is helping to reduce healthcare disparities. While Emily and Teresa recognize that they alone will not fill the significant voids, they are eager to play a role in the overall care of their communities. They have even considered opening a practice together someday.

“One person doesn’t solve the problem, but it is significant for the people we can serve,” said Emily, who hopes to work with patients of all ages, with a focus on children and adolescents. “In mental health, treatment for one client can make a world of difference for that client, but also for their children, siblings, parents, friends, and community.”

Teresa intends to continue to work as a nurse-midwife in addition to starting a psychiatric-mental health practice.

“I hope to start a part-time mental health practice with a focus on mental and emotional health needs during pregnancy and postpartum,” she said.

Even as they consider what lies ahead, Emily and Teresa are enjoying their journey together.

“It is a great motivator to have my sister in the program with me and I doubt that I would have taken on a post-graduate certificate program without her partnership,” Teresa said.

Thank you, Emily and Teresa, for answering the call to become nurse practitioners who provide primary care in underserved communities!

To learn more about our Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program or our Certified Nurse-Midwifery program, visit our website.

Dr. Jess Calohan Selected as American Academy of Nursing Fellow

August 16, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) announced that Frontier Nursing University Department Chair of Psychiatric-Mental Health Jess Calohan, DNP, PMHNP-BC, has been selected to be inducted into the 2021 Class of Fellows. Dr. Calohan is one of 225 distinguished nursing leaders selected by the Academy who will be formally inducted into the 2021 Class of Fellows during the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, October 7-9.

A retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army, Calohan served the military in a variety of medical positions for 20 years. Before coming to Frontier in 2017, he was the Program Chair and Assistant Professor of the PMHNP program in the Graduate School of Nursing at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., from 2013-2017. His distinguished military record includes a long list of awards, including a Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, and eight Army Commendation Medals.

Dr. Calohan’s professional activities include memberships in the American Association for Men in Nursing, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. He is also a member of the editorial board of the Journal of American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Calohan, who chairs the Department of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, at Frontier,” said Dean of Nursing, Dr. Joan Slager. “The program continues to develop innovative teaching strategies and expand the enrollment guided by his exemplary leadership.”

“I am incredibly honored to be selected for induction as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing,” Dr. Calohan said. “The Academy is an important and influential leader in the promotion of nursing leadership and advancement, and I am delighted to be part of such a distinguished organization.”

The Academy serves the public by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Academy Fellows are inducted into the organization for their extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally. With more than 2,800 Fellows, the Academy represents nursing’s most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia.

“I am thrilled to welcome another exceptional class of Fellows to the American Academy of Nursing during a momentous time of change and progress in our collective efforts to fulfill the organization’s vision of healthy lives for all people,” said Academy President Eileen Sullivan-Marx, Ph.D., RN, FAAN. “The Academy aims to improve health and achieve health equity through nursing leadership, innovation, and science. The Academy’s Fellows embody our values of equity, diversity and inclusivity, inquiry, integrity, and courage, which enable us to achieve new heights of impact that advance health policy across the globe. Congratulations to this dynamic cohort of leaders who bring diverse experience and expertise to the Fellowship.”

Through a competitive, rigorous application process, the Academy’s Fellow Selection Committee, which is composed of current Fellows, reviewed hundreds of applications to select the 2021 Fellows based on their contributions to advance the public’s health. Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone in a nurse leader’s career, in which their accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession.

How To Become A Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

April 19, 2018 By frontieredu

At Frontier Nursing University, we’re proud to be innovators in the graduate nursing education space enabling nurses everywhere to realize their dream and achieve a rewarding career. But the field of nursing offers many unique specialties, and for students interested in using their careers to promote mental health and wellness, becoming a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner offers an excellent option.

We’re proud to offer a world-class Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program that makes it easy for certified Nurse-Midwives, Nurse Practitioners, and RNs with associate’s or bachelor’s degrees to get the education they need to succeed in this field on their own time.

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program Options

Every student is different – and that’s why we’re proud to offer a range of options in our PMHNP program. No matter what field or level of education you’re coming from, we offer a flexible path to certification as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner.

Post-Graduate Certification

Our Post-Graduate Certification (PGC) program is an excellent choice for current Nurse Practitioners or Nurse-Midwives who wish to add a certification in psychiatric-mental health nursing. In this 32-credit, 18-month program you’ll get the hands-on learning and experience to thrive as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and receive a post-graduate certificate, making you eligible for the national certification exam as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. From there, we offer the option to seamlessly continue your studies and earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree without needing to reapply.

MSN Specialty Track

For RNs with a bachelor’s or associate’s degree, the PMHNP specialty track in our Master of Science in Nursing program is now taking applications. Completing the program makes you eligible for the national PMHNP certification exam, and you still have the option to seamlessly continue your studies and earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.

Become a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Today

All of our programs are available on a full or part-time schedule, and our education model makes your home community your classroom – making it easy to complete your studies while working. Don’t wait: answer the call and take the next step towards a rewarding career helping those around you. Apply for our PMHNP program today!