Expanding rural access to mental health care through online postgraduate nurse practitioner education.
OBJECTIVE
Workforce shortages in mental health care are especially relevant to rural communities. People often turn to their primary care providers for mental healthcare services, yet primary care providers indicate that more education is needed to fill this role. Rural primary care nurse practitioners (NPs) are ideal candidates for educational enhancement. Online programs allow NPs to continue living and working in their communities while developing the competencies to provide comprehensive and integrated mental healthcare services. This article presents a review of current online postgraduate psychiatric mental health NP (PMHNP) options.


METHODS
Website descriptions of online PMHNP programs were located using keywords: PMHNP or psychiatric nurse practitioner, postgraduate or post-master's, and distance or online.


CONCLUSIONS
Across the United States, 15 online postgraduate certificate programs were located that are designed for primary care NPs seeking additional PMHNP specialization.


CONCLUSIONS
For rural primary care NPs who are ready, willing, and able, a postgraduate PMHNP specialty certificate can be obtained online in as few as three to four semesters. The expected outcome is a cadre of dually credentialed NPs capable of functioning in an integrated role and of increasing rural access to comprehensive mental healthcare services.
Department of Acute and Chronic Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland.
Karan
K
Kverno
Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland.
Kate
K
Kozeniewski
D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education*; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000193:education; D012424:Rural Population; D012579:Schools, Nursing / Q000600:supply & distribution / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States
Nurse practitioners; distance education; mental health; rural