Lewis PMHNP practicums: assessment, psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy
Lewis's Psychiatric-Mental Health NP track has three practicums, NURS 63300, NURS 63500 and NURS 63700, and the catalog prints 180 clock hours for each, which together meet the track's 540-hour minimum. Every course follows a different skill across the lifespan, so the preceptor who fits the first one is not always the one who fits the last.
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Tell us your Lewis program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Lewis course.
Three practicums, three skills
Each PMHNP practicum at Lewis is a 16-week course taken in the same semester as its paired didactic course. The hours sit right in the course descriptions, which makes the PMHNP the simplest Lewis NP track to plan by the numbers: three practicums, 180 clock hours apiece, 540 in all.
| Practicum | Paired course | Clock hours |
|---|---|---|
NURS 63300 PMHNP Practicum 1: Assessment and Diagnosis Across the Lifespan | NURS 63200 Psychiatric Assessment and Diagnosis Across the Lifespan | 180 |
NURS 63500 PMHNP Practicum 2: Introduction to Psychotherapy | NURS 63400 Introduction to Psychotherapy | 180 |
NURS 63700 PMHNP Practicum 3: Implementation of Pharmacotherapy | NURS 63600 Implementation of Pharmacotherapy | 180 |
The pharmacotherapy pair always comes last: NURS 63600 requires NURS 63000 Psychopharmacology plus NURS 63200 through NURS 63500. Before any of it, you finish the MSN core and the NP specialty core, NURS 58800, NURS 60400, NURS 60500 and NURS 60700.
One small catalog mismatch: the course list shows credit ranges for these practicums (1 to 3 credits for NURS 63700, for example), while the program tables fix each at 3. The 180 clock hours printed in each description stay the same either way.
Matching a preceptor to each course
Lewis does not publish a credential list for PMHNP preceptors. Its Clinical Coordinators and/or track lead faculty approve each preceptor and site against the course it will serve, so the course titles are the best guide to fit. This is the matching logic we use:
NURS 63300: a psychiatric clinician who performs full diagnostic evaluations, so you see new intakes as well as follow-up visits.NURS 63500: a setting where psychotherapy is part of the daily work, whether individual, group or family, because the course introduces psychotherapy for advanced psychiatric nursing.NURS 63700: a preceptor who prescribes and manages psychiatric medications, since the course is about putting pharmacotherapy into practice.- All three: patients across the lifespan, or a written plan with your coordinator for how you will see children and adolescents as well as adults.
The catalog text for the final pair expects students to recognize their limitations while working with patients, preceptors and the interdisciplinary healthcare team. A clinic where you work next to therapists, social workers and psychiatrists gives that expectation something real to measure against.
The lifespan question
Lewis frames all three PMHNP practicums across the lifespan, yet a practice that serves only adults, or only children, leaves a gap. Lewis's public pages do not say how that gap should be closed: whether one preceptor has to see every age group, whether a second site is expected, or how many hours should go to younger patients.
What the public record does show is that a request can name more than one person. Lewis's contract legend describes approval for a specific site "with the indicated preceptor(s)", so the paperwork has room for two preceptors at one agency. Whether that arrangement fits your course is a faculty decision, and it is worth asking before you commit to a single-age practice.
Settle the lifespan plan with your PMHNP track coordinator before you file for NURS 63300. Adding a child and adolescent preceptor at the start is far easier than finding one in week ten.
Lining up three semesters in order
Lewis publishes no semester-by-semester PMHNP plan, so your advisor's plan of study sets which term holds each practicum. Lewis's contract approval names a semester, which means each practicum needs a preceptor who is confirmed, filed and cleared for that particular term.
- At acceptanceLewis encourages NP students to start planning from the day they are admitted. Decide whether you want one agency that could carry two or three courses, and raise the lifespan plan with your coordinator.
- One semester before NURS 63300Confirm the assessment preceptor and file the contract request. Lewis's legend asks for at least two weeks of review, longer if the agency needs a new affiliation agreement.
- During NURS 63300Line up the psychotherapy setting for
NURS 63500. If it is the same agency, ask the Clinical Placement Office whether the new term needs a new request. - During NURS 63500Confirm a prescribing preceptor for
NURS 63700and clear that agency's onboarding before the final semester opens.
The clinical hours planner shows the PMHNP next to Lewis's other NP tracks, course by course.
Online, certificate and out-of-state PMHNP students
The PMHNP certificate is online only at 31 credits, and the MSN is offered in Oak Brook or online, so many PMHNP students complete their practicums far from Romeoville. Lewis's licensure tables do not read the same for the MSN and the certificate in every state, so check your own row in the state authorization guide before you pick a route.
Inside Illinois, psychiatric practice is a real share of advanced practice: 16% of full practice authority APRNs who answered the state's 2024 FPA-APRN survey practice in psychiatric/mental health. Linden Oaks Behavioral Health, which appears on Lewis's list of clinical agencies under that name, is now part of Endeavor Health, and Endeavor's student page routes clinical requests through My Clinical Exchange.
How we line up PMHNP preceptors
Lewis asks NP students to take part in identifying preceptors; we do that search for you. We look for psychiatric preceptors in your own community whose practice fits the course in front of you: diagnostic intakes for NURS 63300, therapy for NURS 63500, medication management for NURS 63700.
We plan all three semesters as one project, so the lifespan plan, the order of courses and each agency's onboarding are settled before the first request goes in. You get the preceptor and site details the contract portal needs, complete and in order, with time left for Lewis's review. If a preceptor has to step back mid-term, we go looking for the next one straight away.
Tell us your program and start term on the placement request form. The MSN PMHNP page covers the rest of the track.
Questions Lewis students ask
How many clinical hours does Lewis's PMHNP require?
The catalog sets a minimum of 540 clinical hours for the MSN PMHNP, and Lewis's FAQ lists the track at 49 credit hours plus 540 clinical hours. Each of the three practicums, NURS 63300, NURS 63500 and NURS 63700, prints 180 clock hours, so for this track the course figures and the total agree.
Can one preceptor cover all three Lewis PMHNP practicums?
Lewis publishes no rule on it. Each practicum is approved for its own course, and the three courses stress different skills: diagnosis, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, all across the lifespan. A preceptor whose practice covers every one of those, with patients of all ages, could be a strong fit, but faculty decide. Raise it with your PMHNP track coordinator early.
Do I still need all 540 hours in the certificate if I am already an NP?
The PMHNP certificate's required course list includes all three psychiatric practicums. Lewis's transfer rules let certified APRNs with at least 1,000 APRN clinical hours in the last five years transfer courses such as health assessment, pathophysiology and pharmacology, up to 12 credits, but the practicums are not on that list.
Does Lewis publish PMHNP certification pass rates?
No. Lewis reports certification pass rates for its FNP and AGACNP graduates but publishes none for the PMHNP, and its pages do not name a certification board for the track. The certification exams guide covers what Lewis does publish for each track.
Is the Lewis PMHNP program online?
The MSN PMHNP is offered in Oak Brook or online, and the post-master's PMHNP certificate is online only. The practicums are a different matter: each one runs at an approved clinical site with an approved preceptor, which for most online students means a practice in their own area.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Lewis's own catalog, program pages and FAQ, its contract portal and Illinois law. Your course, your track coordinator and the Clinical Placement Office have the final word.
Lewis asks you to identify your preceptor. We do the searching.
Tell us your Lewis program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare every detail the contract portal asks for, so your request goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the practicum: primary care for
NURS 61100andNURS 61800, acute care forNURS 62500, psychiatric care forNURS 63300 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your preceptor contract request
- In your own community, anywhere Lewis enrolls you and your RN license is valid
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