Practicum Journal: Checkpoint for Certification Plan
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Evaluate progress on certification plans
Report your progress on the Certification Plan completed in Week 1.
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What have you done to prepare for your certification?
Have you completed the scheduled tasks assigned on your timeline? If not, what are your
plans to stay on schedule?
Attached is the certification plan from week one to use to for this assignment as well.
Running head: PMHNP CERTIFICATION PLAN
Practicum Journal Entry: Certification Plan
Nurs 6670
3/24/2019
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PMHNP CERTIFICATION PLAN
Practicum Journal Entry: Certification Plan
Outline
I.
II.
Description of the PMHNP practice environment in Maryland
Comparison of the PMHNP practice environment in Maryland and Delaware
III.
Professional issue necessary for a new PMHNP licensure
IV.
Checklist for passing the national certification exam
Certification Plan
Individual’s certification plan is a process that involves the assessment of the nurse
practitioner’s practice environment in a particular state in the United States while comparing
with a different state’s practice environment. Notably, every state of the United States has its
Nurse Practice Act among other laws governing the scope of practice among the nurse
practitioners. This plan considers Maryland, the home state, while examining the practice
environment of Delaware, the neighboring state.
The board of nursing is responsible for the licensure of the Advanced Practice Registered
Nurses (APRNs) including the Nurse Psychotherapists (APRN/PMH). In the state of Maryland,
becoming an independent nurse psychotherapist, the nurse must first complete a master’s degree
in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing or an equally judged master’s degree V (Keltner & Steele,
2018). As per the regulations, the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) must
have the PMH certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or any
other approved certification.
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PMHNP CERTIFICATION PLAN
The state of Maryland recently joined other states that permit full practice authority
among nurse practitioners. As such, in Maryland, nurse practitioners can perform different
functions authorized by the law independently and without supervision by any physician. Nurse
practitioners in Maryland may therefore conduct patient assessments, carry out diagnosis and
order various tests among other functions. Like in several other states, the state of Maryland
considers nurse practitioners as primary care givers. Additionally, nurse practitioners in
Maryland may prescribe controlled substances from Schedule II-V (Keltner & Steele, 2018).
However, within a period of 18 months after the licensure, the state requires that a nurse
practitioner must engage in a collaborative relationship either with a full practice authority nurse
practitioner or a physician. After the collaborative practice period of 18 months, the nurse
practitioner can independently provide health services in his or her line.
It is noteworthy that a nurse practitioner with appropriate and sufficient experience or
proper training, a nurse practitioner with full practice authority may get a waiver from the federal
government to permit the dispensation of products containing buprenorphine while a nurse
practice under the collaborative relationship can get a similar waiver having undergone proper
training and acquired necessary experience as long as the collaborating physician of the NP is
trained, certified or allowed to provide treatment and management among opioid-disorder
patients.
Nurse practice in the state of Delaware is somewhat similar to that of Maryland with few
differences. Firstly, in Delaware, nurse practitioners must practice have a collaborative
agreement and practice under a licensed doctor for at least 4,000 hours in two years of
collaborative practice. The collaborative agreement must demonstrate the cooperation between
the nurse practitioner and the supervising physician, their coordination and areas demanding
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PMHNP CERTIFICATION PLAN
consultancy (Dyess & Sherman, 2015). After the two years of collaborative practice, the NP may
apply for prescription authority and independent practice to the state to enable the NP practice
without the collaborative agreement. Just like the case of Maryland, NPs in Delaware are
considered primary care providers.
As such, NPs in Delaware have the authority to prescribe controlled substances from
Schedule I-V. After the licensure, a nurse practitioner can only prescribe under a documented
collaborative contract with a doctor for a period of two years (Stewart & Dennert, 2016). Upon
the completion of the two years of collaborative practice the nurse practitioner can enjoy
independent practice. Additionally, with the required training and experience a nurse practitioner
may acquire federal waiver for the dispensation of drugs containing buprenorphine. On the other
hand, a nurse practitioner prescribing under supervision of a physician in a collaborative
practice, he or she may, with sufficient experience and training get a federal waiver if the
physician is trained, certified or allowed to give treatment and management among opioiddisorder patients.
One of the professional issues cutting across the nurse practitioners in Advanced Practice
Registered Nurse and other fields is the leadership and management aspect. It is apparent that
failed leadership and management influence non-coordinated structure and failure of the entire
practice (Harmon, Clark, Dyck & Moran, 2016). Therefore, it is important for the PMHNP
practitioners to understand and practice best management and leadership styles while adhering to
professional ethics to ensure effective collaboration with other practitioners.
It is notable that all the 50 states use a standardized examination for the licensure, NCLEXRN and thus similar passing code of pass or fail. Both Delaware and Maryland are nurse licensure
compact states and thus the examination application is valid from either of the states. As such, it
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PMHNP CERTIFICATION PLAN
will be easier to apply for the examination through the Maryland board of nursing. Before applying
for the examination, it is important to undertake various actions as below.
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Set adequate time for course and book reviews as well as forming a study group
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Conduct a thorough review of books such as Family Nurse Practitioner intensive review
by Maria Codina
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Online resource reviews and assessments including practical tests
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Contacting the Advance Practice Education Associates to access adequate practical tests
for not less than 6 months.
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In Maryland one has to complete at least one program as per the regulations
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Conduct a Fitzgerald Health NP course review
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Ensure adequate funds for the purchase of all the course materials and application fee.
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In Maryland one need to submit a non-refundable fee of $50.
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After a thorough review and financial preparation, the last part is to apply for the
examination in Maryland
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PMHNP CERTIFICATION PLAN
References
Dyess, S. M., & Sherman, R. O. (2015). The first year of practice: New graduate nurses’
transition and learning needs. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 40(9),
403-410.
Harmon, K. C., Clark, J. A., Dyck, J. M., & Moran, V. (2016). Issues and Trends in Nursing
Education. In Nurse Educator's Guide to Best Teaching Practice (pp. 1-15). Springer,
Cham.
Keltner, N. L., & Steele, D. (2018). Psychiatric Nursing-eBook. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Stewart, J. G., & Dennert, N. (2016). Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Review. Jones &
Bartlett Publishers.
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