About the Program
This program prepares advanced-practice nurses to provide psychiatric and mental healthcare to clients, families and communities in outpatient settings.
The goals of the Psychiatric and Mental Health Advanced Practice Nuse Post-Master’s Certificate program are to prepare advanced practice nurses to:
Evaulate and apply theories and research findings to the advanced practice of nursing; collaborate with healthcare providers and consumers to design and initiate strategies to influence the nature and outcomes of healthcare services; engage in advanced practice based on legal and ethical principles and professional standards of practice; assume a leadership role in identifying and resolving issues that have an actual or potential impact on nursing and psychiatric and mental healthcare; demonstrate the knowledge and skills of an advanced practice nurse in a variety of client psychiatric and mental healthcare situations; and continue to acquire knowledge andn skills requisite to maintaining and enhancing advanced practice expertise.
For more information, call 706-721-3676, or visit www.georgiahealth.edu/nursing/futurestudents.htm.
Career Opportunities
Graduates from this program will be prepared to function in community mental health environments working with mental health and drug abuse clients. Graduates who are also FNPs will be able to provide both mental and physcial health care to clients in the outpatient setting.
Salary Information
Salary varies according to the setting and expertise of the practitioner with a starting salary approximately $70-80,000 annually.
Accreditation
This program is fully accredited by CCNE. Graduates are eligible for national board certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
Technical Requirements
Computer literacy - A laptop is required upon enrollment. See minimum laptop specifications at http://www.georgiahealth.edu/itss/computing/hardware.html.
Admission Requirements
Completed Online Application for Graduate Programs. Please check the Office of Academic Admissions website for fee information: http://www.georgiahealth.edu/Admissions/
Application deadlines for application and required materials and documents:
Early submission of all application materials is strongly advised.
Fall entry - February 1
Spring entry - June 1
Summer entry - November 1
Note: All required application materials and documents must be received in order for an application to be considered complete and before an admission decision can be made. Applications and supporting materials received after the program deadline will only be considered on a space-available basis.
GPA: Minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Minimum Degree Requirement: Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree from an accredited program and an accredited college or university. To be used to satisfy degree requirement, evaluation of foreign educational transcripts must show degree(s) earned that are the U.S. equivalency of degree(s) required by the program.
Official Transcripts: Official transcripts are required from all universities and colleges ever attended. Only in the case of transcripts from international colleges/universities will an official course-by-course transcript evaluation be accepted in lieu of an official transcript.
Official transcripts should be sent to GHSU’s Office of Academic Admissions. To remain official, all transcripts must remain in the original, unopened, sealed and stamped/signed envelope from the Registrar’s office of the issuing institution. Alternatively, GHSU will accept official electronic transcripts from the registrar’s office at your prior institution. Electronic transcripts should be directed to admissions@georgiahealth.edu.
Transcript/Credential Evaluation of Foreign Transcripts:
An official, professional course-by-course evaluation based on official transcripts and documents is required for all foreign educational transcripts and documents from one of the following three credentials evaluation services: Josef Silny & Associates, Inc., World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE). Silny and WES are recommended. Official evaluations based on unofficial transcripts, documents, or copies will not satisfy this requirement.
References: Recommendations (which include a reference form and letter of recommendation) from three individuals are required. Referees should be individuals qualified to critically assess the applicant’s prior academic (usually college professors), employment, artistic, research and/or clinical experience (clinical or research supervisor/mentor) and qualifications (as applicable) as well as the applicant’s potential as a graduate student in the field/program selected.
Graduate reference forms and letters of recommendation can be submitted online only. As part of the online application process, applicants provide the names and current email addresses for three individuals they have asked to serve as their referees. Once the online application is submitted, each referee will receive an email notification directing him/her to the online site where he/she can complete the reference form and submit his/her letter of recommendation. To change a referee after the application has been submitted, the applicant is instructed to log into his/her CollegeNet account and update the name and current email address for the referee. Status updates of your referees’ submissions will be provided to you directly from CollegeNet.
GRE Requirement: Test takers who took the GRE prior to August 1, 2011 were scored on the old scoring scale of 200-800. The minimum score requirement of 900 total (combined Verbal and Quantitative Scores) will continue to be used for those who took the GRE prior to the scoring changes.
Test takers who took the GRE after to August 1, 2011 are scored on the new scoring scale of 130-170. The minimum score of 290 total (combined Verbal and Quantitative Scores) will be required for those who took the GRE after to the scoring changes.
All official GRE scores must be submitted to GHSU’s Office of Academic Admissions directly from the Education Testing Service (ETS) and must be less than five years old. The institution code for submission of GRE scores to GHSU is 5406. Please do not select a department code.
The GRE is not required (will be waived) for applicants with a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale AND a minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale. (* NOTE: cumulative undergraduate and graduate GPA’s are based on GHSU’s calculation by the Office of Academic Admission of cumulative GPA using the Georgia Board of Regent’s standards. A GRE waiver will not be granted until ALL official transcripts have been received by the Office of Academic Admission and cumulative GPA’s have been calculated and confirmed. Please be sure to verify that your GHSU calculation of cumulative GPA’s meet requirements of this waiver. If your GHSU calculation of cumulative GPA’s do not meet the minimum cumulative GPA’s for this waiver, then you will be required to submit official GRE or MAT test scores. Meeting conditions of this waiver is not an indication of acceptance into the program).
Millers Analogy Test (MAT) The MAT is not required (will be waived) for applicants with a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale AND a minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale.
TOEFL Requirement: Minimum score of 550 paper‐based, 213 computer-based, or 79 internet-based.
Official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores are required for applicants whose first language is not English. The institution code for submission of TOEFL scores to GHSU is 5406. Please do not select a department code.
Exemption from the TOEFL requirement is allowed for graduate students who submit proof of earning a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college/university where English is the language of instruction.
Program Specific Requirements
Prerequisite course work: Completion of a three credit hour undergraduate or graduate statistics or biostatistics course with a grade of “B” or better.
Personal Interview: Interviews by invitation only. Applicants will be selected for an interview based on an initial review of submitted application materials. Selected applicants will be notified directly by the program.
Resume or CV: Including date of most recent revision.
Licensure: Proof of current unrestricted Georgia RN nursing license is required prior to the end of the first semester. Note: Enrolled students may be required to obtain an additional unrestricted RN nursing license for states bordering Georgia to accommodate clinical placement.
Experience: Minimum of one year RN experience is required before beginning clinical courses.
Admission Recommendations
GPA: Minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale to be the more competitive applicant.
Experience: Applicants are required to compelete a minimum of one year’s practice as an RN before they can be admitted to the clinical coursework in the program. Most students have at least two or three years of RN experience. The most successful nurse practitioner students have clinical experience with children of all ages and their families. Experience in communicating with children and their caregivers and in making independent nursing decisions has proven to be extremely helpful to students. While students often have experience in hospital and/or intensive care settings, it is not required, nor is it necessarily an advantage. Experience in any setting that promotes the development of professional confidence, clinical expertise, communication skills, and self-awareness is essential for success in the nurse practitioner program.
*Substitutions and/or waivers of minimum requirements must first be supported and approved at the program level and then formally approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
*While every effort is made to maintain this information as current, it may be subject to change. Please check with GHSU’s Office of Academic Admissions for recent updates.
*Applications deferred to another semester are subject to all admission requirements and program requirements in effect for the semester to which they are deferred.
Apply online at www.georgiahealth.edu/Admissions.
For more information on this program, visit www.georgiahealth.edu/nursing/futurestudents.htm
Office of Academic Admissions
170 Kelly Building–Administration
Georgia Health Sciences University
Augusta, Georgia 30912
Telephone: 706-721-2725
Toll free: 800-519-3388
Fax: 706-721-7279
E-mail: Admissions@georgiahealth.edu
Estimated Tuition and Fees
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For estimated tution and fees, please see the Tuition and Fees section of this catalog.
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