This area of the site is your resource concerning advanced practice psychiatric-mental health nursing education, practice, licensing, certification, etc. Here you will find a wealth of manuals, articles, links, and other relevant and important information for and about advanced practice psychiatric-mental health nurses (APPNs).
About APPNs
Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs about advanced practice psychiatric-mental health nurses
APPN Role - Click here to download articles about the role of the advanced practice psychiatric-mental health nurse organized by topic, workplace setting, and/or specialty.
Continuing Education
APNA eLearning Center - Online continuing education for psychiatric-mental health nurses, including archived sessions from past conferences, special skills for PMH nurses, and more. Session length and contact hours vary. Discounted pricing available for members and select sessions offered free of charge.
Psychopharmacology CE - Continuing education in psychopharmacology availible in the APNA eLearning Center: sessions from past conferences captured live and available as archived sessions. Session length and contact hours vary. After the completion of a post-test and evaluation, you will receive your CE Certificate online.
Licensure Accreditation Certification and Education
APRN Licensing & Certification - Documents and links concerning licensing and certification. Download the APRN-PMH Licensing Manual, the Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Competencies, find links to ANCC and the DEA and more!
APRN Consensus Workgroup - Learn more about this workgroup organized by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing APRN Advisory Committee, download the Joint Dialogue Report, and view the APNA Slide Presentations of the Options for Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nursing and APRN Stakeholders.
Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education - Click here for more information about LACE, questions and answers about ANCC certification exams, essentials of mental health nursing, and special APNA discounts on ANCC exams and renewals.
APNA Position Statement: Psychiatric Mental Health Advanced Practice Nurses
APRN Practice
First-Generation Versus Second-Generation Antipsychotics in Adults: Comparative Effectiveness - In response to a request from the public about antipsychotics used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults (U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved indications), a systematic review was undertaken to examine what is known about the comparative effectiveness, benefits, and adverse effects of these drugs.
Scope of Practice Legislation Database - National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) database which tracks current US legislation, regarding commissions and boards, licensure and credentialing, Medicaid/health insurance plan reimbursement, practice autonomy, prescriptive authority, truth in medical education, and truth in advertising for 22 health care professions.
Nurse Practitioner Claim Report - Claim reports from the Nurses Services Organization, including liability reports and a risk control self-assessment checklist for NPs.
Tobacco Dependence Information Center - Important manuals, papers, presentations, guidelines, and links regarding tobacco dependence.
Parity Toolkit for Addiction & Mental Health Consumers, Providers, and Advocates - The Parity Implementation Coalition's toolkit is designed to help all involved in the recovery from addiction and mental illness understand the new rights and benefits under the parity law. The toolkit is designed to be a resource in how to better communicate with plans, how to ably prepare and document information should disputes arise with a health plan over coverage or reimbursement and better understand your basic appeals rights and procedures.
Rx Event - Adverse Event Reporting System - An option for practitioners to report adverse drug events. Adverse drug event reports submitted will be sent to the manufacturer and/or the FDA, and will also be held by a Patient Safety Organization (PSO). This reporting system is for use by U.S. Healthcare professionals only.
Evidence-Based Practices:
NREPP - SAMHSA's national registry of evidence-based practices and programs
National Guideline Clearinghouse - From the US Department of Health and Human Services, a searchable database of US and Canada national guidelines/standards of care.
Deposition Preparation for Nursing Professionals - From NSO, this video defines what a deposition is, describes the process, provides useful advice related to deposition preparation, and offers specific examples through mock depositions.
APRN Educator Toolkit
Nursing Service Organization's Educator Toolkit - This toolkit provides nurse educators access to risk management materials including user-friendly PowerPoint presentations and handouts, articles, quizzes and links to useful sites. It aids educators in providing accurate, up-to-date risk management information. The toolkit will be updated over time with modules covering topics such as communication and patient safety. New users must complete a free registration before accessing this toolkit.
Pay Scale
Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Federal government estimates of Registered Nurses' occupational Employment and Wages
Payscale.com:
A listing of salary ranges by job for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
National salary data for Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
National salary data for Psychiatric Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
Reports & Statistics
Second-Generation Antidepressants in the Pharmacologic Treatment of Adult Depression: An Update of the 2007 Comparative Effectiveness Review - From AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program, materials that summarize the comparative efficacy, effectiveness and adverse effects of 13 second-generation antidepressants used to treat adults suffering from depression.
NIMH Statistics - Find mental health research information from across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal departments on this page. The page includes information on the prevalence of mental disorders and treatment, mental health-related disability, suicide, and the economic costs associated with mental illness.
SAMHSA Report: Mental Health, United States, 2010 - Includes mental health statistics at the national and State levels in three sections: People: the mental health status of the U.S. population and prevalence of mental illness; Providers: providers and settings for mental health services, types of mental health services, and rates of utilization; Payers: expenditures and sources of funding for mental health services.
APNA Organizational Responses Endorsed Letters
Organizational Responses: APNA provides input and comments on issues that affect psychiatric mental health nursing. These responses generally are the product of collaboration between the membership, councils, and Board of Directors.
Endorsed Letters: APNA actively supports health care reform. To do so, we work with and through a number of coalitions. The Institute for Mental Health Advocacy reviews letters regarding pertinent legislative issues and determines whether or not we will endorse them.
*Please continue to check this page as we update the information found in the Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse Resources section of the APNA website!
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