Nursing Practice, Doctor of (D.N.P.) with a concentration in psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner

The D.N.P. program is strongly positioned to prepare students to improve the quality of health care delivery and patient outcomes. Graduates of the D.N.P. program at VCU will be prepared to improve health care delivery by critically appraising scientific evidence to inform practice, sharing clinical expertise in collaborative and dynamic environments, leading interprofessional teams, providing systems leadership for sustainable best practices in clinical settings and influencing health policy. Building on the university’s mission to improve human health, VCU D.N.P. graduates will translate evidence that leads to sustainable practice change for improved patient quality and safety outcomes. 

The 66-credit hour B.S. to D.N.P. pathway will prepare students to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the program to health care settings. Those students who pursue the program’s nurse practitioner concentrations will possess the knowledge and skills to serve as certified nurse practitioners in health care settings. The purpose of the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner concentration is to prepare students with knowledge and skills to provide primary mental health care to individuals, families or populations across the life span in a wide range of settings. The focus of the courses is assessment, diagnosis and management of mental health problems including the promotion of optimal mental health as well as prevention and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Program goals

The goals of the VCU School of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice program are to prepare nurses for the highest level of professional nursing practice in advanced practice roles and specialties, and to lead the delivery of quality health care to diverse populations.

Student learning outcomes

The graduate will:

1. Synthesize knowledge and theories from nursing and related sciences to improve health outcomes for individuals, population and systems.

2. Integrate prevention and population health concepts into models of care.

3. Demonstrate leadership to foster interprofessional collaboration that advances health care practices and influences health policies.

4. Integrate evidence and organizational science into practice to enhance outcomes.

5. Enhance patient care and safety using quality processes and improvement science.

6. Incorporate current and emerging health care technologies and informatics into practice.

7. Demonstrate core competencies in their advanced practice concentration.

VCU Graduate Bulletin, VCU Graduate School and general academic policies and regulations for all graduate students in all graduate programs

The VCU Graduate Bulletin website documents the official admission and academic rules and regulations that govern graduate education for all graduate programs at the university. These policies are established by the graduate faculty of the university through their elected representatives to the University Graduate Council.

It is the responsibility of all graduate students, both on- and off-campus, to be familiar with the VCU Graduate Bulletin as well as the Graduate School website and academic regulations in individual school and department publications and on program websites. However, in all cases, the official policies and procedures of the University Graduate Council, as published on the VCU Graduate Bulletin and Graduate School websites, take precedence over individual program policies and guidelines.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on academic regulations for graduate students.

Degree candidacy requirements

A graduate student admitted to a program or concentration requiring a final research project, work of art, thesis or dissertation, must qualify for continuing master’s or doctoral status according to the degree candidacy requirements of the student’s graduate program. Admission to degree candidacy, if applicable, is a formal statement by the graduate student’s faculty regarding the student’s academic achievements and the student’s readiness to proceed to the final research phase of the degree program.

Graduate students and program directors should refer to the following degree candidacy policy as published in the VCU Graduate Bulletin for complete information and instructions.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on degree candidacy requirements.

Graduation requirements

As graduate students approach the end of their academic programs and the final semester of matriculation, they must make formal application to graduate. No degrees will be conferred until the application to graduate has been finalized.

Graduate students and program directors should refer to the following graduation requirements as published in the Graduate Bulletin for a complete list of instructions and a graduation checklist.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on graduation requirements.

Other information

VCU School of Nursing student handbooks are located in Canvas.

Admission requirements

Note: No admissions test is required for this program.

To be considered for admission to the School of Nursing, applicants must:

1. Meet the general admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School
2. Submit all official college transcripts from each college attended, including concurrent college enrollment transcripts
3. Be eligible for readmission or be in good standing at the last college or university attended
4. Be a baccalaureate (or higher) graduate of an accredited (ACEN, CCNE or CNEA) nursing program
5. Have a current unrestricted R.N. license or authorization to practice as an R.N. in the U.S.

6. Write a personal statement

7. Submit a resume/CV

8. Provide additional information with the application according to the English language proficiency guidelines for applicants who are international or non-native English speakers without a degree from a U.S. high school, college or university (Additional information can be found on the ‘Required materials’ tab of the VCU International Admissions website.)  

Note: Requests for exceptions to the above criteria will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

In accordance with VCU’s Graduate School policy, a maximum of 50 percent of the didactic hours required for a graduate degree or any graduate certificate program may be transferred from another institution and, if not applied previously toward another degree, may be applied toward a degree. Prerequisite course work that does not count toward the VCU degree may not be transferred.

Degree requirements

The Doctor of Nursing Practice with a concentration in psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner is a 65-credit-hour degree program that requires completion of a D.N.P. project but no thesis. The focus of the program is quality and safety in advanced practice nursing. This is a direct clinical care concentration that prepares graduates to become certified in the specialty of psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. The purpose of the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner concentration is to prepare students with knowledge and skills to provide primary mental health care to individuals, families or populations across the lifespan in a wide range of settings. The focus of the courses is assessment, diagnosis and management of mental health problems, including the promotion of optimal mental health and prevention and treatment of psychiatric disorders. Course work culminates in the successful completion of a D.N.P. project focusing on the implementation of a system change to improve quality or patient safety in a practice setting.

Curriculum requirements

The minimum number of graduate credit hours required for this degree is 65.

Practice hours/residency requirement

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing requires a minimum of 500 practice hours focused on advanced level nursing practice to support advanced competency development. The 500-practice hour requirement includes direct and indirect practice experiences. The 500 practice hours are the minimum number of hours a student will need to complete to demonstrate the advanced-level competencies delineated in the essentials. This practice hour requirement applies to all students in any advanced-level program. In addition, the requirement for direct care practice hours for nurse practitioners is 750 hours.

In the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner D.N.P. program, the required hours are structured into the curriculum via the nine credit hours of family nurse practitioner practicum courses and the six credit hours of D.N.P. residency courses. The psychiatric-mental health practicum courses focus on building direct patient care skills in the assessment, diagnosis and management of health problems. Students build these skills under the mentorship and supervision of course faculty and assigned preceptors in various practice settings. PMH Practicum courses are graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

The residency hours focus on building skills to lead transformative change in health care rather than direct patient care skills. The residency hours are devoted to completion of a D.N.P. project under the mentorship and supervision of course faculty and an organizational sponsor. The practicum/residency experience will vary based on the nature of the D.N.P. project. Each D.N.P. Project will have individual project objectives and deliverables. Final evaluation of all residency requirements is the responsibility of the course faculty. Residency courses are graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. The school has identified criteria that will trigger an advisor’s decision to travel to the site for direct observation, such as project sponsor concerns regarding student performance or unsatisfactory communications with student or a project sponsor that cannot be resolved by telephone or video conference. The completed assignments from each residency course culminates in a professional portfolio that demonstrates achievement of all residency course objectives by the completion of the six required residency credits.

Project requirements

The D.N.P. program culminates in the successful completion of a scholarly work called the D.N.P. project. In collaboration with faculty and their project team, students design, implement and evaluate a quality/safety project that is focused on a system change in a practice setting. The final product is a scholarly manuscript describing the project that is suitable for publication in a professional journal. The project teams consist of a doctorally prepared faculty sponsor, an organizational sponsor with site-specific system expertise and project oversight authority, key organizational stakeholders, and additional content experts as needed. Dissemination of the D.N.P. project findings occur during the final semester as part of the course work.

Students who complete the requirements for this concentration will receive a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Contact
Debra Shockey, D.N.P., RN, CPNP-PC
Clinical associate professor and graduate program director
dpshockey@vcu.edu
(804) 828-1930

Additional contact
Fonda Neal
Educational program coordinator for doctoral programs
fneal@vcu.edu
(804) 828-0836

Program website: nursing.vcu.edu/programs/dnp