Overview
NURS 527: NP Mental Health is part of the Master of Nursing: Nurse Practitioner (MN-NP) degree and the Post-Masters Diploma: Nurse Practitioner (PMD-NP) program.
In NURS 527, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of mental health promotion, assessment, diagnosis, and management of common mental health conditions encountered in nurse practitioner practice. Emphasis is placed on evidence-informed approaches to care for adults, including both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions.
Outline
NURS 527 is a paced course delivered over 13 weeks using a blended learning approach that combines asynchronous online learning and regular synchronous virtual sessions.
Course content focuses on the development of competencies required for the assessment and management of mental health conditions. Emphasis is placed on the following:
- Foundations of mental health and mental illness, including health promotion and prevention
- Comprehensive mental health assessment and diagnostic approaches
- Pharmacologic management of common mental health conditions
- Therapeutic communication, counselling approaches, and psychotherapeutic interventions
- Substance use health, including screening, assessment, and management
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Conduct comprehensive mental-health assessments using screening and diagnostic tools, integrating emotional, psychological, and social determinants of well-being;
- Describe common mental health disorders and select appropriate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, including psychotherapies.
- Outline counselling interventions to support the client’s management plan, including identifying biases, establishing a therapeutic relationship, therapeutic use of self, and trauma and violence informed care;
- Apply harm-reduction strategies and culturally safe, evidence-informed practices in the care of clients with mental health and substance use disorders;
- Implement appropriate documentation, monitoring, and follow-up to support continuity of care in collaboration with clients;
- Examine strategies to enhance patient and prescriber safety related to the prescription of controlled substances;
- Recognize and respond appropriately to mental health emergencies.
Evaluation
Assessment in NURS 527 consists of multiple course activities with assigned percentage weightings. Your final grade is based on overall performance across all required assessments. A variety of assessment approaches are used to evaluate achievement of the course learning outcomes.
| Activity | Weight |
| Participation Activities | 10% |
| Assessments | 30% |
| Exams | 60% |
| Total | 100% |
Materials
There are no required textbooks for this course. Links to learning materials will be made available in the course.
Recommended (not provided) American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.; DSM-5-TR). Washington, DC: Author.