Week 1 Practicum Journal Entry: Certification Plan

Assignment 1: Week 1 Practicum Journal Entry: Certification Plan

Psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioners currently have only one choice for certification, which is through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The ANCC offers the “psychiatric/mental-health nurse practitioner (across the lifespan)” board certification (PMHNP-BC). In many states, board certification is needed as a prerequisite to being granted an NP license. Even if board certification is not a requirement for state licensure, it may be a requirement to receive privileges in various hospitals and other health care facilities. It may also be required by malpractice insurance providers prior to issuing coverage to NPs.

In this Practicum Journal Assignment, you will develop a plan, which will serve as the road map for you to follow to attain your certification.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

· Analyze state restrictions or limitations for practice

· Compare PMHNP practice environments in various states

· Analyze clinical practice issues

· Create plans for passing national certification exams

To prepare for this Practicum Journal:

· Review the interactive nurse practitioner (NP) scope of practice law guide in your Learning Resources.

· Review your state regulations and a neighboring state or state in which you would like to practice.

· Reflect on how to approach relocating licensure from one state to another.

· Review certification exam requirements for PMHNPs.

Write a 2- to 3-page paper in which you do the following:

Describe the PMHNP practice environment for your home state, highlighting restrictions or limitations for practice.

Compare the PMHNP practice environment in your home state with a neighboring state or a state in which you would like to practice.

Describe a professional and/or clinical practice issue a new PMHNP will need to consider and address with the certification, licensure, credentialing, or relocation process.

Develop a checklist for passing the national certification exam, including a detailed timeline that includes academic preparation (study plan), registration, financial preparation, etc.

References

American Nurses Association. (2014). Psychiatric-mental health nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

· Standard 5C “Consultation” (page 57)

Note: Throughout the program you will be reading excerpts from the ANA’s Scope & Standards of Practice for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. It is essential to your success on the ANCC board certification exam for Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioners that you know the scope of practice of the advanced practice psychiatric/mental health nurse. You should also be able to differentiate between the generalist RN role in psychiatric/mental health nursing and the advanced practice nurse role.

Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

· Section 5.1, “Psychiatric Interview, Mental Status Examination” (pp. 192–211)

· Section 5.2, “The Psychiatric Report and Medical Record” (pp. 211–217)

· Section 5.3, “Psychiatric Rating Scales” (pp. 217–236)

· Section 5.5, “Personality Assessment: Adults and Children” (pp. 246–257)

· Section 5.7, “Medical Assessment and Laboratory Testing in Psychiatry” (pp. 266–275)

· Chapter 6, “Classification in Psychiatry” (pp. 290–308)

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

· “Cautionary Statement for Forensic Use of DSM-5”

· “Assessment Measures”

· “Cultural Formulation”

· “Glossary of Technical Terms”

· “Glossary of Cultural Concepts of Distress”

Barton Associates. (2017). Nurse practitioner scope of practice laws. Retrieved from https://www.bartonassociates.com/locum-tenens-resources/nurse-practitioner-scope-of-practice-laws/

American Psychiatric Association. (2016). Practice guidelines for the psychiatric evaluation of adults. Retrieved from http://psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.books.9780890426760

Laureate Education (Producer). (2017b). Working with Adults and Older Adults” [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece 3 minutes.

Hagen, B. (Producer). (n.d.-a). Conducting a mental status exam [Video file]. Mill Valley, CA: Psychotherapy.net.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 25 minutes.

American Psychological Association. (2008). Assessment of older adults with diminished capacity. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pi/aging/programs/assessment/capacity-psychologist-handbook.pdf

Rosen, S. L., & Reuben, D. B. (2011). Geriatric assessment tools. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 78(4), 489–497. doi:10.1002/msj.20277

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2015). TIP 59: Improving cultural competence. Retrieved from http://store.samhsa.gov/product/TIP-59-Improving-Cultural-Competence/SMA15-4849