Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Practicum I Adult/Gero – NURS 754

Course Description

This practicum course provides extensive experience to prepare the student for the professional role of a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Students will provide interviewing, screening, diagnostic testing, episodic, acute and chronic care to adult and geriatric clients. The student should demonstrate evidence based practice behaviors and adhere to standards of care to order and interpret screening/diagnostic tests, prescribe therapeutics, and develop health prevention/promotion and health maintenance plans. Students should be able to assess adults and geriatric clients and develop a plan of care in consultation with the preceptor. The student should provide holistic care through the integration of ethnicity, culture and community.

Rationale

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) practicum courses provide the context and framework through which, upon completion of the Post MSN DNP/PMHNP or Post Graduate PMHNP Certificate program, the nursing student will be prepared to enter the professional role of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. This course helps to meet the required minimum of 1000 post-BSN clinical hours for DNP students, and helps to meet the minimum of 500 population-focused direct patient care hours in order to be eligible to sit for the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner nationally recognized certification. (ANCC, 2006; NTF, 2017), and the Liberty University School of Nursing, minimum of 504 PMHNP direct-patient care Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner practicum hours.

Professional Standards

American Association of Colleges of Nursing.  (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice.  Washington, D.C. AACN. 

American Nurses Association. (2015). Guide to the Code of Ethics for Nurses: Interpretation and Application. Silver Spring, MA.

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing:  Scope and standards of practice (3^rd ed.). Washington, D.C:  ANA.

National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. (2017). Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies Content. Washington, D.C.:  NONPF

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

School of Nursing Handbook Acknowledgement Assignment

The School of Nursing handbook provides essential information for the successful completion of the program requirements. This quiz will take the student to the link for the program handbook, and the student will be asked to agree to the School of Nursing Handbook Acknowledgement.

Practicum Objectives Assignments (3)

The Practicum Objectives Assignments afford the student the opportunity to develop measurable practicum learning objectives that are consistent with the practicum focus. The student cannot start practicum without the approval of the practicum objectives part I by the instructor. Please see Practicum Objectives Assignment (Part I-III) Grading Rubric in NURS 754 Course.

Practicum Log Checks

Submission of a practicum log for each patient encounter into the InPlace system is a mandatory requirement of the practicum course. Each student is responsible for maintaining his or her own practicum logs. All patient encounters, whether seen independently, in collaboration with preceptor, or as observation, require an entry into InPlace. Every entry will include demographic information for each patient, level of student participation and level of care. The student is required to select two patient encounters on each practicum day to write a full SOAP note. The remaining patient encounters will be entered as clinical summaries. The student is also required to document two comprehensive psychiatric assessment of new patients from practicum encounter in InPlace during the semester. Practicum faculty will review practicum logs on a weekly basis and offer feedback.  The student is expected to respond to feedback and make corrections as recommended.  Faculty will review case logs at the midterm and at the end of the semester looking for completeness and revision of logs and award points for completed logs. The student will be required to submit assignments to the third-party software and then in cases outlined in the Canvas modules, will submit completion validations for review and grading. Please see the InPlace Guide and the Practicum/Clinical Log Grading Rubric in NURS 754 Course.  SOAP notes must be entered within one week of the clinical experience.

Practicum Hours

During NURS 754 PMHNP Practicum I, the student is required to complete 224 hours providing direct patient care under the supervision of the practicum preceptor.  NURS 754 PMHNP Practicum I adheres to the practicum guidelines and requirements set forth in the current Liberty University Doctor of Nursing Practice Student Handbook. 

Practicum Schedule

The student is required to develop a practicum schedule that is agreed upon and approved by Practicum preceptor. A PDF copy of the schedule should be uploaded to the InPlace system “External Documents”, “Practicum Schedule” folder. A quiz upload in Canvas is provided to validate that the student has completed the task and it is ready for review.

Practicum Hour Verification

The student is required to maintain a preceptor-verified, log documenting practicum hours for each Practicum Course that will become a part of the student’s permanent academic record (DNP Practicum Tracking Record). Failure to maintain signed Practicum Log verifying practicum hours will result in an Incomplete for the Practicum Course and the student will not be permitted to progress to the subsequent Practicum Course.

The student is required to enter practicum hours into the InPlace Time Log. The Practicum Faculty will monitor the Practicum Time Log throughout the practicum course and practicum hours will be endorsed by Practicum Faculty at the end of each practicum course. The student must document the practicum experience in InPlace within 24 hours of completion, otherwise it will not be able to be recorded or tracked. The student will be required to submit assignments to the third-party software and then in cases outlined in the Canvas modules, will submit completion validations for review and grading.

Student Performance Evaluation

NURS 754 PMHNP Practicum I adheres to the student performance and evaluation requirements set forth in the current Liberty University Doctor of Nursing Practice Student Handbook. The student will be required to submit this assignment in the module quiz link to show completion validation.

Case Analysis Exercise (CAE) Assignment

The case analysis exercise (CAE) assignments afford the PMHNP student the opportunity to analyze patient encounters from practicum experience.  Emphasis is placed on the evaluation of the plan of care in regards to evidence-based practices, cultural and socioeconomic factors.  

Shadow Health Module Assignments (6)

The student will be provided a digital clinical experience that will assess interviewing skills, history taking, assessment, diagnosis, evaluate side effects, health promotion and disease prevention. The student will conduct a focused mental health assessment while working each assigned simulation scenario module. The student will be required to participate in the third-party software and then in cases outlined in the Canvas modules, will submit completion validations for review and grading. The student must score a 90% or greater on the Shadow Health assignments before uploading his/her completion documents in each of the designated Canvas module assignment links.

InPlace Final Completion Assignment

The portfolio will serve to demonstrate the PMHNP student’s ongoing professional development.  The Portfolios can be used to provide PMHNP the student an avenue to present his/her knowledge, expertise and experience when seeking employment or professional opportunities, providing evidence for regulatory bodies and for identification of areas for personal or professional growth.  Portfolios may present information through text, video, electronic files, hyperlinks, images and other online resources.  Each student will develop a professional portfolio as part of the professional development. Please see the InPlace Final Completion Grading Rubric in NURS 754 Course. 

MS Teams Synchronous Meeting: Practicum Orientation

The MS Teams Synchronous Meeting discussion will provide the student the opportunity to discuss the topic for the week. The student is required to be present for this mandatory practicum orientation that will prepare him/her for the child and adolescent practicum experience. The student will also share clinical encounters as it relates to the topic. The MS Teams Synchronous Meeting discussion will allow the student to interact, share experiences, discuss assigned topics for the week and ask questions relating to the practicum experience.

TOPICS:

• PMHNP Practicum I Orientation and InPlace Tracking

MS Teams Synchronous Meeting: Adult/Geriatric Mental Health Disorders

Adult/ Geriatric Mental Health: 

The student is to select a patient from an encounter in clinical setting for which an adult or geriatric patient presented with a complex chronic mental illness. The student will reproduce a SOAP note from the patient encounter and then complete the CAE following the rubric. Please see Case Analysis Grading Rubric in NURS 754 Course. The student will submit a validation of completion to the designated Canvas module quiz link.

MS Teams Synchronous Meeting: Presentation Assignments (2)

The student will prepare a PowerPoint Presentation to lead a short MS Teams Meeting discussion according to assigned module requirements.  Each student will be provided 10 minutes to present topic. The student will submit a PowerPoint slide presentation with title slide, 4 – 5 content slides, reference slide through Turnitin Assignment after the MS Teams Meeting session has concluded and prior to the Sunday deadline date/time. At the conclusion of the online presentation, an additional 2 – 3 minutes may be used to answer questions. Further discussion can take place as time permits. Please see MS Teams Meeting Presentation Grading Rubric in NURS 754 Course.

MS Teams Synchronous Meeting: Standardized Patient (SP) Experience Assignment

The Standardized Patient (SP) experience is a mandatory requirement of this course. The purpose of the SP experience is to evaluate clinical progress through problem based scenarios utilizing Standardized Patients (SPs).  Course points will be awarded for completion of the SP encounter, completion of the SOAP note, and self-evaluation for each mental health encounter. Attendance is required and SP experience can NOT be submitted for practicum hours.  Please see the Standardized Patient Grading Rubric in NURS 754 Course.

Quizzes: MS Teams Synchronous Meeting: Class Discussion (2)

The MS Teams Meeting discussion provides the student with the opportunity to have discussion on the assigned topic for the module. The student will also share clinical encounters as it relates to the topic. The MS Teams Meeting discussion will allows the student to interact, share experience and ask questions relating to practicum experience. Please see MS Teams Meeting Discussion Grading Rubric in NURS 754 Course.

Topics to be discussed will include:

• Session 1 - Evidence-based Practice for Telemental Health and the PMHNP Role.
• Session 2 - Federal Regulations of Prescribing.

Quiz: Documentation, Coding and Billing Statement Attestation

The student will submit a statement of attestation that he/she has read and processed the contents of the materials on psychiatric documentation, billing, and coding. Once you have completed Documentation, Coding and Billing Statement, the student will complete this quiz attesting that he/she has completed the assignment.

Quiz: Evaluation of Preceptor & Site Validation Submission

Before completing this quiz as confirmation of completing the Evaluation of Preceptor & Site submission to InPlace, read the Practicum Preceptor Final Evaluation Instructions and Student Evaluation of Preceptor and Site Template in the Learn section of this module. Evaluation form must be submitted to InPlace, then the student must complete this quiz for validation of completion.

Quiz: Mid-semester Preceptor Evaluation and Practicum Electronic Site Visit Attestation

The student must submit a copy of the preceptor evaluation in the InPlace "External Documents." Also, submit an attestation that the form is submitted in InPlace and ready for review.

Quiz: InPlace Portfolio Components: Cover Letter, Resume & DCP Statement of Attestation

Prior to beginning this quiz, the student will review the InPlace Portfolio Components: Part I Assignment Instructions and Practicum Log Assignment Instructions located in the Learn section of this module. Once the student has completed both of these entries, the student will complete this two-question quiz attesting that he/she has submitted in InPlace.