title: A national survey of PNP curricula: preparing pediatric nurse practitioners to meet the challenge in behavioral mental health.
abstract: The emergent mental health needs of children and adolescents have been declared a national priority by the Surgeon General of the United States (United States Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 1999). Pediatric nurse practitioners (PNP) are called upon to respond to a new challenge by increasing their knowledge and skills in providing mental health care in the primary care setting. In turn, educators of PNP programs across the country are called upon to evaluate the status of PNP curricula in the field of behavioral/mental health and determine the essential competencies needed to meet the challenge. A survey was conducted to determine the extent of pediatric mental/behavioral health content currently taught in nationally approved PNP programs to discern the level of preparation PNP students received both in the classroom and clinically in the area of the assessment, diagnosis, and management of mental/behavioral health problems in children and adolescents. The final survey included a total of 78 nationally recognized PNP programs. Pediatric behavioral/mental health content was found to vary widely across programs, but it was apparent that all programs had begun to expand their curricula to include more content in this area. As the role of the PNP continues to expand, the burden of providing a sound education in a feasible time frame will be an increasing challenge.
authors.affiliation: The Catholic University of America School of Nursing, Washington DC, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hawkins-Walsh
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D001524:Behavioral Medicine / Q000193:education*; D002665:Child Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D003479:Curriculum; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education*; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000193:education*; D014481:United States