Clinical Experience
As an DNP/PMHNP-track student, you will complete 675 precepted clinical hours in your identified practice setting. Working with Medical Doctors (MD), Osteopathic Physicians (DO), Physician Assistants (PA), and Nurse Practitioners (NP) who agree to precept and/or mentor you. Your preceptor/mentor will make sure you receive an outstanding learning experience at a practice site as close to home as possible.
Your clinical experiences focus on meeting the mental health needs of the individual client, the family, or the group. Through your clinical experiences, you will encounter patients and clients across the lifespan including children, adolescents, and adults addressing acute, chronic, or complex mental health needs. You will gain experiences in addiction medicine, and you will learn multiple modalities of counseling.
Your clinical settings may include inpatient settings, outpatient or ambulatory care settings, behavioral health or substance abuse treatment centers, or emergency care settings. Most students obtain precepted experiences at multiple sites to obtain the widest possible experience in practice patterns, skill sets, and specialties. This partnership between the academic and clinical practice environment not only prepares you for clinical practice, but for future employment opportunities.
Additionally, DNP level practice hours can be completed across a variety of community practice settings and healthcare organizations. Throughout the program of study, you will be exposed to a variety of didactic courses to augment and facilitate your practice and learning experiences. The DNP practice hours align with the AACN new essentials (2021) where you will advance necessary skills and build upon the AACN level two sub-competencies that prepare you as a DNP scholar. There is a total of 1000 hours as a requirement to satisfy the DNP degree. Previous clinical and practice experience at the post-graduate level are considered within your degree plan.
Most students obtain precepted and mentored experiences at multiple sites to obtain the widest possible experience in practice patterns, skill sets, and specialties within your home state. Faculty will perform evaluations each semester to determine your progress with preceptor and mentor interactions, including patient/client encounters, to ensure your student experience meets our rigorous standards.