Integrating Mental Health Care into Family Nurse Practitioner Education

The World Health Organization has stated that “There can be no health without mental health.” It is estimated that half of people in the United States will develop a mental health problem at some time in their lives and that most will prefer to seek help for these problems from their primary care providers. Nurse practitioner programs ask: In preparing future primary care providers, what didactic, clinical, and research opportunities will develop family nurse practitioner student competencies in mental health care? This interactive session will discuss the strategies employed and experiences of the Family Nurse Practitioner program with integrating mental health care competency development into the MS and DNP FNP curricula.

Panel members will lead discussion of a variety of strategies and exemplars, including threading mental health content through the core FNP management courses; developing a family-focused health management course; providing health care practicums in which students provide primary care for patients with chronic mental illness; guiding population-focused projects that include mental health program planning, implementation and evaluation; and mentoring mental health care topics for MS and DNP research projects. Strategies discussed and experiences shared in these discussions will provide insights for curriculum development in other APN programs and populations. Discussion questions include:

1)    How can mental health content be integrated into the didactic curricula and what are best ways for outcomes competencies to be assessed?
2)    What are creative ways that NP programs can help students develop patient-provider relationship and coaching skills with individuals and families in an environment in which much of our education is technology driven and delivered in online formats?
3)    What practicum/clinical experiences will develop student skills in assessment and management as well as collaboration with other disciplines to care for the mental health needs of patients seen in primary care?
4)    How can students learn to address population-focused mental health issues and successfully collaborate with community partners in this process?
5)     How can scholarship and leadership in integrated primary and mental health care be fostered via MS or DNP research projects?