Mount Carmel PMHNP Program

College of Nursing Columbus, OH

Mount Carmel offers two distinct PMHNP educational pathways:

  • Master of Science PMHNP Track (46 credit hours)
  • Post-Graduate Certificate PMHNP Track (22-25 credit hours)
The program is offered entirely online with three immersive experiences beginning in the third semester, providing flexibility for working professionals while maintaining rigorous clinical preparation.

Program Tracks Overview

Program / TrackEst. TuitionDuration
MSN – PMHNP $45,080~18 months
Post-Graduate Certificate – PMHNP $22,540 ~12–18 months

Master of Science PMHNP Track

The estimated cost for the MSN PMHNP program is $45,080 and would take 1.5 years to complete on a full-time basis. This comprehensive track serves registered nurses with bachelor’s degrees seeking advanced practice specialization in psychiatric-mental health care across all age groups.

The program maintains a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio and boasts 100% employment rates within 12 months for graduates. Students complete a minimum of 25 encounters each with adult, pediatric, and geriatric psychiatric patients, plus specialized therapy hours, ensuring broad clinical competency across the lifespan.

Curriculum

The curriculum includes 12 credits of graduate core courses covering nursing research, quality and safety, theoretical foundations, and leadership, plus 12 credits of direct care core in advanced pharmacology, pathophysiology, and health assessment.

Core classes include:

NURS 525 – Role Transition – APRN
Prepares NP students for the transition into advanced practice by exploring the NP scope of practice, professional responsibilities, and comparisons with other healthcare roles. Emphasizes essential skills such as informatics, communication, teamwork, scholarly writing, and self-reflection to support success in graduate nursing education.

NURS 501 – Research/EBP
Covers the evidence-based practice process for guiding nursing decisions, including reviewing, appraising, synthesizing, and integrating research. Builds foundational skills for translating evidence into clinical practice.

NURS 521 – Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology
Examines advanced pathophysiologic concepts related to disease processes across all major body systems. Explores cellular and systemic changes, comorbidities, and their impact throughout the lifespan.

NURS 522 – Advanced Health Assessment
Builds advanced cognitive and psychomotor skills for comprehensive health assessment across the lifespan. Focuses on gathering, interpreting, and applying assessment data through supervised practice in lab and clinical settings.

NURS 520 – Advanced Pharmacology
Provides the pharmacologic knowledge necessary for safe, effective prescribing and management of medications across the lifespan. Addresses pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and legal requirements, with emphasis on meeting APRN licensure standards.

NURS 531 – Applied Psychopharmacology
Focuses on prescribing psychiatric medications, integrating neurobiology, pharmacologic principles, and evidence-based models. Emphasizes individualized treatment planning considering diagnosis, safety, patient preferences, and pharmacogenomics.

NURS 502 – Quality, Safety and Effectiveness
Introduces advanced concepts in quality improvement, patient safety, and effectiveness in nursing care. Covers analysis tools, human factors, informatics, and strategies to create safe, patient-centered environments.

NURS 583 – Assessment & Management of Mental Health Disorders 1
Provides foundational skills for diagnosing and managing mental illness across the lifespan. Emphasizes accurate diagnosis, evidence-based decision-making, health promotion, and understanding of symptom development and disease progression.

NURS 584 – Assessment & Management of Mental Health Disorders 2
Expands on assessment skills with focus on therapeutic interventions for mental illness, including CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and group therapy. Addresses mental health care for diverse age groups and family or community contexts.

NURS 506 – Health Care Systems and Health Policy
Analyzes key health policy issues and the U.S. healthcare system’s structure, roles, and stakeholders. Encourages critical evaluation of existing policies and development of alternative solutions.

NURS 504 – Leadership in Advanced Nursing Roles
Examines leadership theories and skills required for advanced nursing practice in complex healthcare systems. Emphasizes leadership at local, national, and global levels.

NURS 585 – Assessment & Management of Mental Health Disorders 3
Integrates advanced diagnosis and management skills for psychiatric care, emphasizing medication management, therapy continuation, and collaborative practice. Addresses legal, professional, and scope-of-practice considerations in psychiatric nursing.

Clinical Requirements

Students complete three sequential clinical courses:

  • Assessment and Management of Mental Health Disorders covering adult (150 clinical hours)
  • geriatric (150 clinical hours)
  • pediatric populations (200 clinical hours)

Specific encounter requirements including minimum 30 adult, 25 geriatric, 15 pediatric psychiatric encounters, and 15 therapy-related clinical hours.

Master’s Track Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in nursing from CCNE or ACEN-accredited program
  • Current unrestricted RN license
  • Completed application with $30 fee
  • Two letters of recommendation from master’s degree holders
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • Current resume or curriculum vitae
  • Interview may be required

Post-Graduate Certificate PMHNP Track

The estimated cost for the Post-Graduate Certificate PMHNP program is $22,540 and would take 1-1.5 years to complete on a full-time basis. This accelerated pathway targets master’s-prepared nurses with existing APRN certification seeking psychiatric-mental health specialization.

Curriculum

The streamlined 23-credit curriculum focuses exclusively on psychiatric-mental health specialty courses, including applied psychopharmacology and three clinical management courses. The accelerated pace requires students to have preceptors and clinical sites secured before beginning their first clinical course, reflecting the intensive nature of this pathway. Credit requirements may vary from 22-25 hours depending on previous educational background and transfer credits.

Clinicals

Clinical requirements mirror the master’s track with 500 direct patient care hours across the same three clinical courses and population-specific encounter minimums. The program accepts transfer credits for students with existing nurse practitioner certification seeking a second specialty area, with transcript evaluation for clinical hours and relevant coursework.

Post-Graduate Certificate Requirements

  • Master’s degree in nursing (MS or MSN) from accredited program
  • Current unrestricted RN license or Ohio eligibility
  • Current APRN specialty certification
  • Minimum one year of registered nursing experience
  • Graduate GPA of 3.0 on 4.0 scale
  • Same documentation requirements as master’s track

Tuition

Graduate tuition is $980 per credit hour with a $30 application fee.

See the official tuition page for more details.

Accreditation

Mount Carmel College of Nursing maintains full accreditation through appropriate nursing education bodies. Graduates from both tracks are eligible to sit for board certification as Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Other Nursing Programs

Mount Carmel College of Nursing offers additional graduate programs including:

  • Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
  • Family Nurse Practitioner
  • Nursing Leadership – Clinical Operations
  • Nursing Education
  • Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
  • Post-Graduate Certificate tracks in multiple specialties

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