Online mental health NP program trains nurses to treat mind, body, and soul

Now offering its pre-clinical intensive course through a virtual format for select students, Liberty University’s online Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program in the School of Nursing is helping nurses around the country develop skills to treat patients with mental health issues in addition to their physical ailments.

The one-week intensive for post-BSN students comes before they have begun their clinical practicum hours for the PMHNP, teaching proper techniques and best practices. Although the program is online, the course was only offered in-person in the past, requiring students to travel to campus. LUSON pioneered the remote format last month and said the positive feedback has already led them to consider offering the virtual option to post-MSN students in the future.

In addition to the three-year post-BSN program, the School of Nursing offers an online three-year PMHNP program for post-MSN DNP students and an online one-year postgraduate certificate program for current nurse practitioners pursuing national certification and state licensure as a PMHNP.

With a rising need for mental health services among patients and simultaneous nationwide nursing shortage, these programs remain relevant.

“There is a national shortage of mental health providers, in particular for the child and adolescent population,” said Dr. Sherri Walker, director of the PMHNP DNP program. “We really want to make sure our graduates are prepared and are able to take what they learn from the classroom and hands-on experience in the clinical setting and apply it to lessen this shortage.”

Walker said the programs take “a lifespan approach,” from children and adolescents to geriatrics.

“We schedule the intensive so it sets our students up for success when they get into their practicum settings,” she said. “We try to make it very comprehensive, starting from the first time they meet the patient, to what they are supposed to be asking.”

Throughout the programs, training includes treating standardized patients (people who portray patients for the purpose of medical training) remotely through telehealth as well as interactive software, which exposes students to a variety of disorders to address.

“The standardized patient experience is something we do at Liberty to evaluate student performance and readiness for patient care,” said Dr. Shade Odedina, field director for the PMHNP programs. “We have a state-of-the-art simulation center that helps us greatly in putting our students through scenarios. By the time our students go into the clinical setting, they’re well equipped.”

Odedina said Liberty’s program is also unique in how it emphasizes a biblical approach to nursing and mental health care.

“We prepare students to be Champions for Christ. We encourage the integration of body, mind, and soul to create holistic patient care.”