Assessment and Differential Diagnosis of Mental Health Disorders for PMHNPs

Catalog description

Psychiatric assessment and the development of differential diagnoses, grounded in the framework of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, will be examined. Emphasis is placed on cultivating advanced clinical skills in psychiatric interviewing, mental status examination, and client observation. Students will learn to integrate data from standardized screening tools, laboratory findings, and client history to inform diagnostic reasoning. Students will begin to write up mental status examinations and psychiatric case formulations. Through case-based learning, students will begin to synthesize assessment findings to develop diagnostic impressions that guide treatment planning in psychiatric-mental health care. Prerequisite: NSG 602 , NSG 604 , and NSG 606 .