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BSN to DNP Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a practice doctorate that prepares clinical scholars recognized for outstanding leadership and innovative evidence-based patient/population centered outcomes. The program focuses on interprofessional collaboration and developing competencies in practice, leadership, and quality improvement and safety that lead to enhanced outcomes important to patients, families, providers, and organizations.

The BSN to DNP curriculum is in line with the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties' (NONPF) and American Association of Colleges of Nurses (AACN) commitment to move all entry-level nurse practitioner education to the DNP degree by 2025. The program is an integration of the objectives and learning opportunities required for attainment of doctoral level core and population-focused competencies.

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner pathway is designed to prepare skilled Nurse Practitioners to provide a full range of primary mental health care services across the lifespan. Graduates of this program are registered nurses with advanced education who are able to assess, make diagnoses, manage health care, prescribe medicines, and evaluate care for persons who have mental illness and co-occurring disorders.

The NP pathway offers 4-year part-time and 3-year full-time options to fit the schedules of working nurses. Many classes are offered online but there are on-campus learning requirements in some classes. On-campus learning consists of standardized patient visits, labs with clinical skills and physical assessments, and objective structured clinical exams. For additional information about this program, please contact nursing@ouhsc.edu.

Post-Graduate Certificate tracks are available. For additional information, please review our Post-Gradaute Certificate page.

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner curriculum prepares graduates to apply for and sit for the American Nurses Credentialing Center Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certification exam.

Residency requirements: Clinical Rotations will be performed in the state of Oklahoma. Due to federal regulations from the Department of Education, the College of Nursing currently accepts applications for its online doctoral degree programs from residents of the states participating in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA). A list of participating states can be found at: http://nc-sara.org/sara-states-institutions. Applicants are encouraged to check with their local State Boards of Nursing regarding any specific professional licensure requirements prior to applying or enrolling. 

Prerequisite Courses

Undergraduate Nursing Research

General Statistics 

Curriculum

The BSN-DNP program is 76 semester credit hours and 1024 clinical/practicum hours.

The Post-Graduate certificate program has 36 semester credit hours and 624 clinical/practicum hours. 

Programs can be completed in 3-4 years for the BSN-DNP option and 2-3 years for the Post-Graduate Certificate option. 

 

Admission Requirements

  • Completion of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Nursing from a regionally accredited institution.
  • Current license to practice as a Registered Nurse in Oklahoma or hold a compact license
    • Executive Leadership and Post-Graduate DNP Completion applicants must be licensed where clinical rotations will be completed
  • Prerequisite courses to be completed with a grade of “C” or better
    • Undergraduate Nursing Research (ex. EBP)
    • Statistics – either undergraduate or graduate
  • Last 60 hours grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
  • Submission of three letters of reference
  • Resume
  • Personal Statement
If after reviewing the qualifications for this program you are unsure of whether you meet them, please contact Nursing@ouhsc.edu. We are here to help and support you as you pursue a career in the health sciences.