NU 509 Advanced Psychopharmacology: the course that opens PMHNP clinicals
NU 509 Advanced Psychopharmacology for the PMHNP is a 3-credit course with no clinical hours of its own, yet it sets the clock for Sacred Heart University's PMHNP clinicals. It is a prerequisite for NU 571, and for post-master's PMHNP certificate students its week 10 is the compliance deadline. The weeks you spend in it are the natural window to secure your first psychiatric placement.
Starting NU 509 soon?
Tell us your program and first clinical term so we can plan the NU 571 search.
Where NU 509 sits in each PMHNP path
The same course plays two roles depending on how you entered the program. In the online MSN it is one of the specialty courses; in the post-master's certificate it is the first of four courses and the last one before clinicals.
| MSN PMHNP | Post-master's PMHNP certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| Program credits | 42 | 21 on the SHU Online page; the catalog page gives no total |
| Role of NU 509 | Specialty course; listed prerequisite for NU 571, NU 572 and NU 573 | First course, followed by NU 571, NU 572 and NU 573 |
| Compliance due | Week 10 of NU 552 | Week 10 of NU 509 |
| Clinical hours after it | 540 across three practicums | 540 across three practicums |
| Residency wording | Catalog: a yearly daylong residency; two onsite competency residencies | FAQ: one in-person residency per year; catalog: all course work online |
| Program length | 2.5 years | 15 months, four semesters |
The catalog also offers certificate students another route into NU 571: admission to the post-master's PMHNP certificate with program director approval can stand in for the MSN prerequisite list. The SHU Online curriculum still places NU 509 first.
The course itself
The catalog title is Advanced Psychopharmacology for the PMHNP, at 3 credits. Sacred Heart's program listings attach no clinical hours to it; all 540 PMHNP hours sit in the three practicums that follow. The full catalog description is on the NU 509 course page of the 2026-27 graduate catalog, and your syllabus sets the assignments.
NU 509 is one of the NP courses under Sacred Heart's exam rule: the weighted average of all exams must reach 75, or the course grade becomes the exam average alone. The usual MSN minimum of B- (80) applies as well. What you learn here feeds straight into NU 571, whose catalog description includes psychopharmacologic treatment of adults alongside psychotherapeutic care, so medication reasoning from this course becomes daily clinical work one term later.
Compliance by week 10 of NU 509
Sacred Heart's guide sets compliance for post-master's certificate students by week 10 of the course taken just before the first clinical course, and for the PMHNP certificate that course is NU 509. MSN PMHNP students met the same standard earlier, by week 10 of NU 552. Missing a published compliance date removes a student from the clinical course and rotation, so treat it as a hard stop.
- Open your Health AccountUpload the provider-approved physical, the TB test, a CPR or BLS card from an accepted course, the allergy form and the statement of responsibility.
- Add license and insuranceInclude the RN license for the state where your clinicals will happen and Nurse Practitioner Student Liability Insurance, due before the first clinical course.
- Cover the state extrasClinicals in Connecticut require the CHA Health & Safety Test, passed with 85 or better.
- Watch the seasonal itemThe influenza vaccine is due by November 1, or earlier if your site asks.
Every item and vendor detail is on the Health Account page.
Use NU 509 to secure the NU 571 placement
Registration for an MSN NP clinical course opens only after your site and preceptor are approved by the academic advisor and documented by the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator. PMHNP placement deadlines come from the Clinical Placement Team's published schedule rather than a fixed week number; the deadline page explains how that differs from the FNP week-10 rule.
That makes the weeks of NU 509 the working window for the NU 571 search. Contracting is the slow part: Sacred Heart allows up to nine months for a first-time site's affiliation agreement, so for many students the search belongs before NU 509 even starts. Steps and forms sit in the Grad Cert: Psych Mental Hlth Nurse Prac Clinical Requirements organization in Blackboard.
Check your state first as well. Sacred Heart's licensure disclosures mark the PMHNP "No" in Washington, where the FNP is "Yes"; the licensure disclosures page lists every state.
The preceptor NU 571 will need
NU 571 centers on late adolescents and adults in behavioral health settings. The student guide's approval list for PMHNP preceptors is MD, DO or APRN, with board certification where appropriate. Sacred Heart's PMHNP inquiry form, which recruits volunteer preceptors, also lists licensed clinical social workers with an MSW and licensed mental health counselors, and asks for at least a year of clinical experience.
Immediate relatives, spouses and anyone with an evident conflict of interest are excluded. Because the first practicum involves prescribing decisions, a PMHNP or a psychiatrist is the clearest match with the guide. The sources and their differences are compared on preceptor requirements. If you already know a psychiatric clinician who might precept, check the credential against the guide's list before asking the practice to commit time.
Why PMHNP students start with us during NU 509
Starting during NU 509, or before it, gives the search, the approvals and any new affiliation agreement the most room. We look for psychiatric preceptors in your community, check each credential against Sacred Heart's PMHNP wording, and deliver the CV, license, board certification and site contract contact your advisor and the NP clinical coordinator review.
We also plan past the first practicum. NU 572 needs at least 100 hours with patients under 18, so we note which candidates see children and adolescents and keep them in view for the next placement. Your placement advisor tracks the Clinical Placement Team's published dates with you, so each file reaches Sacred Heart ahead of them. Contact us with your program and first clinical term.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Does NU 509 have clinical hours?
Sacred Heart's program listings attach no clinical hours to NU 509. All 540 PMHNP clinical hours sit in NU 571, NU 572 and NU 573, at 180 each. Your syllabus is the place to confirm any course activities, and the catalog course page carries the full description of the course.
When is compliance due for the post-master's PMHNP certificate?
By week 10 of NU 509, the course taken before the first clinical course. MSN PMHNP students have an earlier date, week 10 of NU 552. In both cases the Health Account has to be complete, and a missed published compliance date removes the student from the clinical course.
Is there a week-10 placement deadline in NU 509?
The week-10 placement rule belongs to the FNP. PMHNP placements are due by the deadline the Clinical Placement Team publishes, and those dates are not public. Registration for NU 571 still requires an approved site and preceptor, so ask your academic advisor for the date early in NU 509.
Do MSN PMHNP students take NU 509 too?
Yes. NU 509 is one of the 3-credit specialty courses in the 42-credit MSN PMHNP, and the catalog lists it among the prerequisites for all three practicums. MSN students fit it into their plan of study ahead of NU 571, while certificate students begin the program with it.
Can I look for a PMHNP preceptor before NU 509 begins?
Yes, and early starts help. Identifying the site and preceptor is the student's job under the student guide, and a new site's affiliation agreement can take up to nine months. Approval still runs through your academic advisor and the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator before you can register.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Sacred Heart's own catalog, program pages and 2026-27 student guides. Your student guide, your academic advisor and your course faculty have the final word.
- Sacred Heart University 2026-27 Graduate Catalog: NU 509
- Sacred Heart University MSN and Post-MSN Certificate Online Student Guide 2026-27
- SHU Online: Post-Master's PMHNP Certificate
- Sacred Heart University 2026-27 Graduate Catalog: Post-Master's Certificate, PMHNP
- Sacred Heart University 2026-27 Graduate Catalog: Master of Science in Nursing
Sacred Heart asks you to secure your clinical placement. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Sacred Heart program, your city and your next clinical course. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare what your advisor, the NP clinical coordinator and the Contract Request Form ask for, early enough for the affiliation agreement.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care of adults, women and children for FNP, psychiatric care across the lifespan for PMHNP
- Preceptor CV, license, board certification and the site's contract contact ready before your week-10 deadline
- Close to home in any state where Sacred Heart's program meets licensure requirements, with New York's rule planned around
Start your placement plan
Program, city and clinical start is all we need to begin.