The three PMHNP practicums: NRSE 5405, 5409 and 5411
Before their final internship, PMHNP students at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) complete three psychiatric practicums of 120 clock hours each: NRSE 5405, NRSE 5409 and NRSE 5411. ETSU's plan of study runs them in back-to-back spring, summer and fall terms, and two of ETSU's plan documents disagree on course titles, so read your plan closely and keep the psychiatric preceptor search one term ahead.
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The psychiatric sequence at a glance
ETSU's 2023 MSN PMHNP plans and its 2020 BSN-DNP PMHNP plans agree on order, hours and terms. The concentration admits in fall only and opens with NRSE 5010 in Fall 1; the psychiatric practicums start the first spring.
| Course | Hours | Full-time | Part-time | Full-time companions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NRSE 5405 Advanced Family Psychiatric Nursing Care I Practicum | 120 | Spring 2 | Spring 5 | NRSE 5303 Psychopharmacology, NRSE 5404 |
NRSE 5409 Care II Practicum (as the plan lists it) | 120 | Summer 3 | Summer 6 | NRSE 5408, NRSE 6002 |
NRSE 5411 Interpersonal Treatment Modalities Practicum | 120 | Fall 4 | Fall 7 | NRSE 5410 Interpersonal Treatment Modalities, NRSE 5000 |
NRSE 6950 Internship in Advanced Nursing Practice | 120 | Spring 5 | Spring 8 | NRSE 5001, NRSE 5006 |
The capstone has its own page, NRSE 6950, and the shared assessment course is covered under NRSE 5010. The five courses together make up the 540 hours of ETSU's PMHNP plan.
Four precepted terms in a row
From the start of NRSE 5405, a full-time student needs a psychiatric preceptor in spring, summer and fall, then the internship the next spring: four precepted terms with no break. Part-time students run the same stretch from Spring 5 to Spring 8. On the 2026-27 calendar, fall runs from August 24 to December 3, 2026, spring from January 19 to April 29, 2027, and the full summer session from May 17 to August 13, 2027.
That rhythm shapes the search. Each practicum has its own line on the Intent Form's course menu, so ask the graduate clinical coordinator whether a preceptor who carries on into the next course needs a new form and ProjectConcert entry. Working a term ahead, while the current rotation is still running, keeps one late approval from breaking the chain.
Title conflicts in ETSU's plans
ETSU's two PMHNP plan documents label two courses differently. The 2023 MSN plan calls NRSE 5408 a practicum and lists NRSE 5411 as Health Policy Leadership with 120 hours. The 2020 BSN-DNP plan calls NRSE 5408 Advanced Family Psychiatric Nursing Care II, a didactic course, and NRSE 5411 Interpersonal Treatment Modalities Practicum.
The hours settle most of it: both plans put 120 clock hours on NRSE 5411 and none on NRSE 5408, and the Intent Form's psychiatric practicum list names NRSE 5405, NRSE 5409 and NRSE 5411. ETSU has not posted a correction, though, so confirm titles with course faculty and your own plan of study before a preceptor signs anything.
Use the course number, not the title, on the Intent Form and in ProjectConcert: ETSU's plans title NRSE 5411 two different ways.
Who can precept a psychiatric practicum
ETSU publishes no written minimums for preceptors. What exists is the form's credential prompts (FNP, ANP, MD) and faculty approval course by course. Tennessee Rule 1000-01 asks that a preceptor's license sit at or above the one the student is working toward, with no encumbrance, in the state where the teaching happens, and with matching competencies. For psychiatric courses that points toward psychiatric nurse practitioners and physicians such as psychiatrists; check any other credential with course faculty first.
A prescribing PMHNP preceptor in Tennessee practices with a collaborating physician under jointly written protocols, and that physician reviews at least 20% of charts every 30 days. Bills in 2024 that would have let experienced psychiatric NPs practice without collaboration failed, so the arrangement stands. Tennessee APRN practice and preceptors explains what it means for a site.
Patient mix across the lifespan
ETSU describes PMHNP care as psychiatric-mental health care across the lifespan for individuals, groups and families in varied settings, and the first two practicum titles use Advanced Family Psychiatric Nursing Care. The same five-group patient table on the Intent Form applies to psychiatric sites, and faculty read it for fit with each course.
Because NRSE 5411 pairs with Interpersonal Treatment Modalities, ask whether its hours should center on therapy with individuals, groups or families. ETSU's Quillen College of Medicine has also offered an integrated behavioral health option whose hours counted toward NRSE 5411 and the internship; it was funded through 2025, so check its current status on the integrated behavioral health page.
Questions for each psychiatric syllabus
None of the three full catalog descriptions for 2026-27 was readable. Put these questions to course faculty before each term:
NRSE 5405: whether the first practicum expects patients of several ages or can center on adults.NRSE 5409: whether summer hours must come from a site other than the one used forNRSE 5405.NRSE 5411: how much of the time should involve psychotherapy or other interpersonal modalities.- All three: whether telehealth visits count, what hour total is expected at mid-term, and how the course is graded.
Since each graduate nursing course needs at least a B and only one repeat is allowed, settle these points before hours begin rather than after a mid-term surprise. Grades and progression has the rules.
How we support ETSU PMHNP students
Four precepted terms in a row call for a partner who plans ahead. Our placement desk searches your community for psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychiatrists whose caseloads fit each course, lines up the next placement while the current one is running, and gathers the Intent Form and ProjectConcert details every time: credentials, degree history, license and certification numbers and their expirations, the caseload mix and your planned hours.
We flag new-agency contracts on the first call and remain on call through all three practicums and the internship. Each preceptor is still approved by ETSU faculty and credential-checked by the College; our work is making each request whole and rule-ready before it goes in. Tell us where you are in the sequence.
Questions ETSU students ask
When is the first psychiatric practicum in ETSU's PMHNP program?
NRSE 5405 comes in Spring 2 on the full-time plan and Spring 5 on the part-time plan, after NRSE 5010 in Fall 1. Full-time students therefore have one fall semester to secure a psychiatric preceptor, and they take NRSE 5303 Psychopharmacology in the same spring as the practicum.
Can a psychiatrist precept ETSU PMHNP practicums?
The form's credential examples include MD, and a psychiatrist's license satisfies Tennessee's at-or-above rule for an NP student. Whether the practice fits a given course is up to ETSU clinical faculty, who approve each preceptor for the course it is proposed for.
Is NRSE 5411 a health policy course?
ETSU's 2023 MSN PMHNP plan lists it as Health Policy Leadership with 120 hours, but the BSN-DNP plan titles it Interpersonal Treatment Modalities Practicum, and the Intent Form lists it among the psychiatric practicums. Treat it as a 120-hour psychiatric practicum and confirm the title with course faculty.
Do BSN-DNP PMHNP students take the same practicums?
Yes. ETSU's BSN-DNP PMHNP plans repeat the MSN sequence in semesters 1 to 5, including all three psychiatric practicums and NRSE 6950. The residencies, NRSE 6801 to NRSE 6804 at 125 hours each, begin in Summer 6 on the full-time plan; see DNP residencies.
Does ETSU publish psychiatric preceptor requirements?
Not as a written standard. ETSU's preceptor web page and preceptor handbook are no longer online, and no current graduate handbook is posted. What remains is the Intent Form's questions about credentials and patient mix plus Tennessee's license rule, so direct anything else to course faculty or the graduate clinical coordinator.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against ETSU's own catalog, College of Nursing pages, plans of study and ProjectConcert guides. Your plan of study, your syllabus, your course faculty and the graduate clinical coordinator have the final word.
ETSU asks you to lead the preceptor search. We make it the fastest part of your program.
Tell us your ETSU concentration, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who fit the course's patient population and prepare everything your Preceptor Intent Form and ProjectConcert entry need.
- Preceptors matched to the course: young and middle adults for
NRSE 5012, older adults forNRSE 5014, women forNRSE 5022, children forNRSE 5024, psychiatric care forNRSE 5405 - Credentials, license numbers, certification dates and the site's patient mix ready for faculty approval
- In your own community, in Northeast Tennessee or wherever ETSU approves your clinicals
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