Lewis University MSN Psychiatric-Mental Health NP: courses, hours and practicums

The PMHNP track at a glance

Psychiatric-Mental Health is a recent addition to Lewis's NP concentrations; the catalog's history dates its start to fall 2019. At 49 credits it is the heaviest of the four MSN NP tracks, three credits more than the adult-gerontology tracks, because it adds a dedicated psychopharmacology course, NURS 63000, to the shared MSN core and NP foundation courses.

Lewis offers the PMHNP as an MSN at Oak Brook or online, and as a post-master's certificate online only. Core courses run in 8-week sessions, the psychiatric courses in 16-week semesters, and the degree has a 5-year completion limit. Applicants bring the same things any Lewis MSN applicant does: an accredited nursing bachelor's, a current RN license without encumbrance, a GPA of 3.0 (a 2.75 to 2.99 GPA can mean provisional admission), two references, a resume and the 500-word essay.

Unlike the FNP and AGACNP tracks, the PMHNP has neither a named certification board nor a published pass rate anywhere on Lewis's pages.

Three psychiatric practicums in a fixed sequence

The PMHNP practicums build on each other in a chain. Lewis numbers them 1 to 3, pairs each with a didactic course in the same semester, and holds the last pair, NURS 63600 and NURS 63700, until NURS 63000 and all of NURS 63200 through NURS 63500 are complete.

Each course has a different center of gravity, and that shapes the preceptor you want. The first is about psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis, the second about psychotherapy, and the third about carrying out medication treatment, a course whose description expects you to know the limits of your own skills as you work alongside patients, preceptors and the wider care team.

Lewis describes all three as spanning the lifespan, so ask your track faculty how they expect children and adolescents to be covered if a preceptor sees only adults. Our PMHNP practicums guide takes each course in turn.

Timing the three PMHNP searches

1. During the MSN coreBuild a list of psychiatric practices, behavioral health programs and clinics within reach, and note which ones see children and adolescents.
2. Before Practicum 1Secure a preceptor for NURS 63300 whose visits include full psychiatric evaluations, and submit a complete contract request early enough for any new affiliation agreement.
3. Before Practicum 2Look for a preceptor whose work includes psychotherapy for NURS 63500. A practice built mainly on brief medication visits may not suit this course.
4. Before Practicum 3Line up a preceptor who manages psychiatric medications for NURS 63700, the course paired with Lewis's pharmacotherapy implementation course.
5. Every semesterKeep CastleBranch current. Whatever extra paperwork a psychiatric site requests, Lewis wants a copy with its Clinical Placement Office too.

Why Lewis PMHNP students work with us

A PMHNP plan is really three different searches: an assessment-heavy practice, a psychotherapy setting and a medication management practice, each near you and each able to clear Lewis's review before its semester. We map all three from the start, so the psychotherapy placement is not an afterthought squeezed in at the last minute.

For every preceptor we find, you get the license, practice and site details your contract request needs, ready to enter. We keep CastleBranch and agency onboarding moving, and should a preceptor leave mid-sequence, we line up another. Every placement still needs the approval of Lewis's coordinators and track faculty, and our part is handing them a complete request that fits the psychiatric course. Use the form below to begin.