b'CAREERS GUIDE| One of the things Ive learned is theres a considerable degree of variance in PMHNP programs. That yields different skill levels upon graduation, despite the fact that there are national standards for education. Jess Calohan, DNP, PMHNP-BC competent upon graduation, be a resourcebelieve that takes a certain amount of time.Frontier Nursing prepares its students in their community and provide the much- You can find programs that take a shorterfor a wide range of psychiatric care options, needed psychiatric care to people in eachamount of time than ours, but they dontboth medicinal and clinical. We are prepar-community. have the same depth or focus on traininging the students to provide psychiatric care, This is accomplished by refusing to com- someone to become a psychiatric specialist. which includes utilizing psychopharmacol-promise on the amount of time required toFrontiers PMHNP specialty exists asogyprescribing medicationsto address thoroughly prepare each student for theira hybrid program, with the majority ofmental health issues as well as using psycho-career. Offering admission to both bache- coursework performed virtually but withtherapy techniques, explained Dr. Calohan. lors-prepared nurses and to current NPstwo on-campus requirements before grad- Our scope of practice is all-inclusive in looking to attain a psychiatric certificate, Dr.uation for each student. Obviously, withterms of diagnostic assessments, evaluation Calohan and the faculty in Frontiers pro- COVID-19 weve had to move things to theand treatment, prescription of medication, gram emphasize the idea of specialty train- virtual environment, allowed Dr. Calohan,and psychotherapy.ing. Thats the foundational element of howbut once were able to come back together,Nonetheless, confusion reigns in the dis-Frontier sets ourselves apartwe are train- we will resume having our students on cam- tinction between prescribing providers and ing people to become specialists, and wepus for particular requirements. non-prescribing providers. Those who dont prescribe medications are such behavioral professionals as social workers, licensed professional counselors, and most clinical psychologists, while physicians, psychi-atrists and PMHNPs are able to prescribe medications in combination with the psy-chotherapy they offer. With the distinction clarified, the door is wide open as far as potential work setting for PMHNPs following graduation. They can integrate into a primary care clinic by providing behavioral health treatment, they can work in a virtual environment pro-viding telepsychiatric services (both inde-pendently or as part of a larger healthcare organization), or in numerous inpatient or outpatient facilities. Anywhere healthcare is being provided, theres potential for a PMHNP to work there, Dr. Calohan con-cluded.To learn more about the PMHNP pro-gram at Frontier Nursing University, visit the programs website.16 CAREERS GUIDE |2021| www.elitecme.com'