Educating Integrated Family/Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners: Program Development and Evaluation

摘要

Background: This article describes the development, implementation, and outcomes of an integrated family nurse practitioner/psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (FNP/PMH-NP) program. The program was designed to help alleviate health professional shortages in rural areas. Method: Faculty from both specialties developed a 3-year integrated curriculum, with attention to course sequencing and removing redundancies. Students completed all FNP and PMH-NP specialty courses and 855 clinical hours. Specialty integration occurred during the final semester through faculty-facilitated integrated case studies and clinical preceptorships with dual-certified rural nurse practitioners. Results: Thirteen students completed the program between 2006 and 2014. A survey of graduates (75% response rate) demonstrated that most were dual certified, and less than half practiced in rural areas. All were very satisfied with their nurse practitioner role. Conclusion: The program successfully prepared graduates to care for patients across the mind-body spectrum in integrated mental health-primary care positions. More work may be needed to market the integrated role and rural practice.