NSU's MSN APRN Psychiatric-Mental Health NP track: psychiatric clinicals and preceptor timing

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Nova Preceptor placement team

NSU's Psychiatric-Mental Health NP track runs 48 online credits, three more than the family and acute-care tracks because it adds NSG 5532 Neurobiology Psychopharmacology. Its four clinical courses, NSG 5719, NSG 5729, NSG 5739 and NSG 5799, total 855 hours in the 2026-27 catalog, and each one needs a psychiatric preceptor reported to your clinical coordinator two semesters out. On the flex plan the track stretches to nine semesters, the longest of the three.

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48credits in the PMHNP track: the 12-credit core plus 36 track credits

855clinical hours over NSG 5719, NSG 5729, NSG 5739 and NSG 5799 (our sum of the catalog figures)

9semesters on the PMHNP flex plan, one more than FNP or AGACNP

MSN APRN: Psychiatric NP (PMHNP). 48: credits in the PMHNP track: the 12-credit core plus 36 track credits; 855: clinical hours over NSG 5719, NSG 5729, NSG 5739 and NSG 5799 (our sum of the catalog figures); 9: semesters on the PMHNP flex plan, one more than FNP or AGACNP. — 48: credits in the PMHNP track: the 12-credit core plus 36 track credits; 855: clinical hours over NSG 5719, NSG 5729, NSG 5739 and NSG 5799 (our sum of the catalog figures); 9: semesters on the PMHNP flex plan, one more than FNP or AGACNP.

The PMHNP track at a glance

NSU's 2026-27 graduate catalog places the PMHNP inside its online MSN APRN, with full-time and flex versions. The PMHNP page advertises one on-campus intensive and optional live Zoom sessions. Of the 48 credits, 12 are the shared APRN core and 36 belong to the track, from the three Ps through the capstone, including the three-credit NSG 5532 that the FNP and AGACNP tracks leave out.

The page says the degree takes "only seven semesters," while its own plans run six semesters full-time and nine flex. Check the count for your start term with the program director.

Two admission rules shifted between catalogs. The 2026-27 catalog asks PMHNP applicants for an unrestricted RN license from any state, current wherever the practicum happens; the 2025-26 handbook and catalog wanted a Florida license and a home within 225 miles of campus. That older plan was also hybrid, at the Miramar and Tampa Bay campuses, with 51 credits. The RN license page lines up every source.

Full-time and flex plans

The flex plan is where PMHNP differs most from the other tracks. It spends five semesters on the core, the three Ps and NSG 5532 before the first clinical arrives in semester VI. Full-time students start clinicals in semester III and take NSG 5532 in that same semester.

PMHNP course plan by semester (NSU PMHNP page)
Courses	Titles	Full-time	Flex
`NSG 5111`, `NSG 5000`	Evidence and Practice; Advanced Nurse Roles	I	I
`NSG 5531`	Advanced Pathophysiology	I	II
`NSG 5512`, `NSG 5502`	Diagnostic Reasoning; Advanced Health Assessment (the intensive)	II	III
`NSG 5510`	Advanced Pharmacology	II	IV
`NSG 5130`	Healthcare Policy and Leadership	V	IV
`NSG 5220`	Health Promotion and Disease Prevention	IV	V
`NSG 5532`	Neurobiology Psychopharmacology	III	V
`NSG 5710` and `NSG 5719`	Psychiatric Management I and clinical	III	VI
`NSG 5720` and `NSG 5729`	Psychiatric Management II and clinical	IV	VII
`NSG 5730` and `NSG 5739`	Psychiatric Management III and clinical	V	VIII
`NSG 5790` and `NSG 5799`	Psychiatric Care Management Integration Capstone and clinical	VI	IX

A small website error to ignore: the flex plan marks NSG 5720, a lecture course, as the clinical and leaves NSG 5729 unmarked. The catalog confirms NSG 5729 is the clinical. Full-time versus flex compares the two plans for working nurses.

Four psychiatric clinicals and their hours

Each two-credit clinical is 190 hours and the three-credit capstone is 285, at the rate of 95 hours per credit that the PMHNP page cites. Every clinical pairs with a lecture course whose title tells you what that semester covers.

PMHNP clinical courses (2026-27 ACON graduate catalog)
Clinical course	Paired lecture course and focus	Hours
`NSG 5719`	`NSG 5710` Psychiatric Management I: Psychopathology and the DSM V	190
`NSG 5729`	`NSG 5720` Psychiatric Management II: Developmental Theories for Child and Adolescent Mental Health	190
`NSG 5739`	`NSG 5730` Psychiatric Management III: Modalities of Psychotherapy	190
`NSG 5799`	`NSG 5790` Psychiatric Care Management Integration Capstone	285
Total		855 (our sum)

The 855 figure is our addition; NSU prints only the per-course hours. The postgraduate PMHNP certificate is a separate program with its own conflicting totals. Course-by-course detail is on the PMHNP clinical courses page, and the final 285-hour block has a guide in NSU's capstone clinicals.

The one intensive: Tampa Bay or Palm Beach?

NSU gives two answers. The PMHNP page's delivery text promises "1 on-campus intensive at our Tampa Bay campus." The intensive table on that same page lists NSG 5502 Advanced Health Assessment, two days, at Palm Beach, and the BSN to DNP page's PMHNP table also says Palm Beach.

Other sources add more campuses. The handbook's program contact list places PMHNP at Miramar and Tampa Bay, and the certificates page runs PMHNP on-site work at Miramar and Tampa Bay. None of them publish dates.

NSG 5502 falls in semester II full-time or III flex, before your first clinical, so the trip should not collide with clinical hours. Even so, hold off on flights and hotels until your program director or the course confirms the campus. The intensives page follows this conflict for every track.

Two NSU sources name two different campuses for the PMHNP intensive. Get the campus in writing from your program director before you make travel plans.

Psychiatric settings and preceptors

The coordinator confirms that each site gives the appropriate clinical experience, and NSU keeps the specifics in its graduate clinical guide and your Canvas course. PMHNP clinicals usually take place in psychiatric care: outpatient psychiatric practices, community mental health centers, inpatient psychiatric units and integrated behavioral health clinics.

The second clinical deserves a closer look. NSG 5729 runs with a lecture on child and adolescent mental health, and NSU does not publish whether its hours must include younger patients. Ask your course faculty or clinical coordinator early; a preceptor who sees children and adolescents as well as adults keeps that semester simple.

Florida adds its own layer at Florida sites. Under FAC 64B9-4.001(13), a qualified preceptor there is any APRN, physician (MD or DO) or dentist holding a Florida license, which takes in psychiatrists. Among APRNs, s. 464.012 lets only those who are also psychiatric nurses prescribe psychiatric controlled substances to patients under 18. NSU's own criteria are covered under NSU preceptor requirements.

When each PMHNP preceptor must be named

The handbook asks APRN students who have a preceptor and site in hand to flag them for the clinical coordinator two semesters ahead of the clinical. The coordinator checks the preceptor against NSU's supervision requirements and the site against the course. Students who flag nobody are assigned a site somewhere within 150 miles of their residential ZIP code, and NSU treats that assignment as not negotiable.

PMHNP notice points, two semesters before each clinical (our count; confirm with your clinical coordinator)
Clinical course	Full-time semester	Full-time notice by start of	Flex semester	Flex notice by start of
`NSG 5719`	III	I	VI	IV
`NSG 5729`	IV	II	VII	V
`NSG 5739`	V	III	VIII	VI
`NSG 5799`	VI	IV	IX	VII

Clinical hours open in week one alongside the lecture course and must be spread across the semester, with every absence made up. Paperwork comes first, and you visit the site and meet your preceptor before hour one. The two-semester deadline page converts these counts into terms.

Why PMHNP students choose us

Psychiatric preceptors are specialists, and we search for them that way. Your placement advisor looks for psychiatric preceptors near your home, APRNs or psychiatrists, whose patient mix fits each course, including the child and adolescent content in NSG 5729, and confirms weekly availability for the full term before your notice point.

We gather what your clinical coordinator needs to approve the match: the preceptor's license and credentials, the practice or unit, and how its patients fit the course. We keep your CastleBranch items and the site's onboarding current, and we replace a preceptor who drops. Your coordinator signs off on every preceptor and site; our work makes sure the request arrives complete and in line with NSU's rules at the first pass. Use the form below to start.

Questions NSU students ask

Does NSU's PMHNP take longer than the FNP?

Full-time, no: both run six semesters, though PMHNP carries 48 credits to the FNP's 45 because of NSG 5532. On the flex track, PMHNP takes nine semesters against eight for FNP. The PMHNP page also says "only seven semesters," which matches neither printed plan, so confirm your timeline with the program director.

Can a psychiatrist precept an NSU PMHNP student?

Florida's rule treats a Florida-licensed MD or DO as a qualified preceptor at a Florida site, alongside APRNs. Whether NSU accepts a physician for a given PMHNP course depends on NSU's supervision standards, kept in the graduate clinical guide. Your clinical coordinator makes that call when you report the preceptor.

Do I need a Florida RN license for NSU's PMHNP?

Under the 2026-27 catalog and today's admissions page, no: PMHNP applicants need an unrestricted RN license from any state, current where the practicum takes place. The 2025-26 handbook and catalog required a Florida license. If your clinical site is in Florida, the state's rule expects you to be an RN licensed under chapter 464, so check how that applies to your license.

What if my psychiatric preceptor leaves partway through a semester?

Tell your clinical coordinator right away. NSU's public rules do not describe a mid-course switch, but they do require weekly hours, no bunching at the end of the term, and making up every absence, so lost weeks are hard to recover. A replacement found quickly protects the course, and finding one is part of our service.

How is the MSN PMHNP different from NSU's PMHNP certificate?

The certificate is for nurses who already hold an MSN, so it skips the core. Its hours conflict across sources, 765 on the web against 855 in the 2026-27 catalog, and its page still requires Florida licensure and a home address inside 225 miles of the campus. The MSN track described here is the full 48-credit degree.

PMHNPPMHNP postgraduate certificateNSU's PMHNP postgraduate certificate: NSG 5532 and NSG 5710 to NSG 5790, 765 or 855 clinical hours, Miramar and Tampa Bay, and psychiatric preceptors.DNPBSN to DNP: PMHNP concentrationNSU's BSN to DNP, PMHNP concentration: 76 credits with NSG 5532, the NSG 5719 to NSG 5799 psychiatric clinicals, 1,455 hours and the DNP project that follows.150 milesThe 150-mile placement ruleWhat happens when an NSU APRN student names no preceptor: a coordinator placement within 150 miles of your home ZIP code that NSU calls "not negotiable."Fell throughWhen a placement falls throughWhen an NSU preceptor drops out or a site cancels: the day-one compliance rule, removal from a site, withdrawal and re-enrollment rules, and a fast replacement.Tampa BayTampa and HillsboroughTampa and Hillsborough for NSU NP students: Tampa General's APP student order, BayCare's physician-sponsor route, Moffitt, the Haley VA and the 150-mile reach.Florida ruleFlorida preceptor ruleWho may precept NP students at Florida sites under 64B9-4.001(13): a Florida-licensed APRN, MD, DO or dentist, the student RN rule, and what it means at NSU.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against NSU's own handbook, catalog and program pages. The graduate clinical guide, your course in Canvas, your clinical coordinator and your program director have the final word.

NSU lets you name your own preceptor. We make sure you have one, close to home and in time.

Tell us your NSU program, your home ZIP area and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors who fit the course and have everything ready for your clinical coordinator well before the two-semester notice.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, acute care for AGACNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP, a practice site for DNP project hours
Named early enough for NSU's two-semester notice, with license, credentials and site details ready for the coordinator
Close to your home ZIP code, with clinic days we plan around your work schedule

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