Continuing Education

Clinical Application of Psychopharmacologic Agents

(15 contact hours/18 pharmacology hours)

This course will enable the advanced practice nurse to understand the pharmacological basis for drug action in the prevention of illness, restoration, and maintenance of health in advanced practice psychiatric and mental health nursing. The challenges of drug interactions and adverse drug effects will be explored. Safety in prescribing psychotropics and methods of evaluating psychiatric drug information will be presented. This course is appropriate for advanced practice nurses (CNS or NPs) who prescribe psychiatric medications. We remind you that for the purposes of prescriptive authority, pharmocotherapuetic continuing education courses must be relevant to your clinical scope of practice. The Oklahoma Board of Nursing has approved this course for 18 contact hours in pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nurses.

Purpose

This course is designed for Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses. Content is aimed at Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialists and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners. This course is appropriate for any Advanced Practice Registered Nurse who prescribes psychiatric medications to gain a more thorough understanding of psychotropic drugs. This course is approved by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing as Category C education. Nurses wishing to take this course for purposes of renewal of prescriptive authority recognition are reminded that any pharmacotherapeutic course for continuing education credit must be relevant to their scope of practice.

Course Objectives

• Describe the neurotransmitter systems that provide the pharmacological basis for drug action in the prevention of illness, restoration, and maintenance of health in advanced practice psychiatric and mental health nursing
• Describe the neurotransmitter systems that reinforce substances of abuse
• Discuss interactions and adverse reactions of different classes of psychotropic drugs
• Discuss special considerations of psychotropic drugs for special populations (i.e., Alzheimer's or pediatric patients).

Course Format

This is a web based instructor led course. The course is open entry so you can start when you are ready.

Those successfully completing the course will be awarded 15.0 contact hours. The University of Oklahoma College of Nursing is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Colorado Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. This course has been approved for Pharmacology hours by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing for 18 contact hours of Category C education (based on 50 minutes per contact hour) for Advanced Practice Nurses (Adult or Family Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists certified in Adult or Child and Adolescent Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing). Please note that this course is not approved for those seeking advanced pharmacology hours for initial prescriptive authority. Other advanced practice nurses may be able to submit the hours earned in this course for a portion of their prescriptive authority continuing education, if the course content is relevant to their scope of practice.

Registration and Pricing

To register online click here or you can contact the University of Oklahoma Continuing Education Department at 405-271-2062.

The cost of the course is $150.

Textbooks

The following required textbook should be obtained as soon as possible to assist you to successfully complete the online course. It is available online through Amazon.com or other online booksellers:

Stahl, Stephen. M. (2008). In Stahl's Essential Psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific Basis and Practical Applications (3rd Ed.). Cambridge: University Press. ISBN 9780521673761

Neuroscience Education Institute: $199: You must also join the Neuroscience Education Institute to access other course materials needed to complete course objectives. The Neuroscience Education Institute web site is located at http://www.neiglobal.com/. The reading assignments of the text are coordinated with the learning activities located on line at the NEI web site. The membership fee entitles you to access to all member resources of the website, including additional free CEU offerings related to psychiatric and mental health. Browse the site for all the available resources. You will be directed to specific learning activities in the course.

Contact Us

For more information contact the OU College of Nursing Continuing Education Department

Sandra McConnell Continuing Education Secretary (405) 271-2062.