NU 573: the final PMHNP practicum and capstone
NU 573 finishes Sacred Heart University's PMHNP clinical sequence with 180 more hours, the capstone and a push toward independent practice. The catalog titles it PMHNP III: The PMHNP in Complex Systems, while the SHU Online page uses a longer name. Its patients include older adults, couples and families, many living with medical and psychiatric conditions at the same time.
Planning your last PMHNP placement?
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How NU 573 differs from the two practicums before it
All three PMHNP practicums carry 6 credits and 180 clinical hours. What changes from one to the next is the population, and the titles differ between Sacred Heart's catalog and its SHU Online program page.
| Course | Catalog title | SHU Online title | Population emphasis |
|---|---|---|---|
| NU 571 | Role Development for the PMHNP I | PMHNP I: Role Development of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner | Late adolescence through adulthood |
| NU 572 | PMHNP II: Care of Children and Families | PMHNP II: The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner's Role with Children and their Families | Children and adolescents; at least 100 hours under 18 |
| NU 573 | PMHNP III: The PMHNP in Complex Systems | PMHNP III: Advanced Role Development of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Complex Systems | Individuals including older adults, couples and families |
The course number is what Sacred Heart's forms ask for, so the two naming schemes have no effect on your placement paperwork.
Complex systems, co-occurring conditions, more independence
The catalog describes care for "individuals, including older adults, couples, and families", with attention to co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions and increased independence within the PMHNP role. The capstone is built into the course, so no separate project course follows it.
In clinic terms, complex systems means patients whose depression complicates diabetes care, whose psychiatric medications interact with cardiac drugs, or whose treatment crosses primary care, psychiatry and family members at once. Couples and family sessions ask you to hold several perspectives in one room.
The independence goal shapes what you want from a preceptor. By this point you should be leading visits and proposing plans before your preceptor weighs in, so a preceptor comfortable stepping back fits this course better than one who prefers you observe.
Prerequisites and the road into NU 573
The catalog prerequisites are NU 501, NU 530, NU 550, NU 566, NU 552, NU 551, NU 603, NU 509 and NU 571, or certificate admission with approval. NU 572 is not on that list, even though the roman numerals present the courses as a I, II, III sequence. Your plan of study decides the order; if NU 573 comes before NU 572 for you, the two searches switch places as well.
What carries in: NU 571 supplies adult assessment and prescribing, and NU 572 adds family work and crisis management. NU 573 joins them, bringing couples and families back alongside older adults and medical complexity. Everything from NU 509's psychopharmacology gets tested hardest here, where drug interactions with medical treatment are part of routine care.
Choosing a preceptor for the last 180 hours
The student guide's PMHNP approval list is MD, DO or APRN, with board certification where appropriate, and the guide bars immediate relatives, spouses or anyone whose conflict of interest is evident. For NU 573, look for a preceptor whose caseload includes older adults and patients with medical comorbidity: a geriatric psychiatry service, a hospital consultation-liaison team, an integrated care clinic or an outpatient practice that treats couples and families.
Where the practice is part of a partnering health system, add time for the system's own approval, which comes before Sacred Heart's. Hours are in person, with occasional telehealth only when the preceptor directs it. The preceptor requirements page covers the full credential picture, including the inquiry form's non-prescriber options.
Residency, grades and finishing on time
Sacred Heart's catalog gives the PMHNP the same residency wording as the FNP, a yearly daylong residency in one paragraph and two onsite competency residencies in another, and the SHU Online FAQ gives certificate students "one in-person residency per year". Which residency, if any, falls during NU 573 is not stated on a public page for the PMHNP; check your student guide and course site. Residencies are pass/fail, and failing one fails any clinical course.
Passing NU 573 takes a B- (80) or better, a weighted exam average of 75, every clinical competency and the full 180 hours. With no later PMHNP practicum, the placement deadline no longer points forward; the pressure in this course is finishing the hours before the term closes. If your pace slips, see behind on clinical hours.
Each practicum needs its own Contract Request Form and clearance, even with a preceptor you have worked with before.
Why PMHNP students finish with us
For the final practicum we look for preceptors in your area who treat older adults, couples and families with co-occurring conditions, and who are ready to give a senior student room to lead. You receive the CV, license, board certification and contract details your advisor and the NP clinical coordinator need, organized so the file is complete the first time.
Bringing us in during the practicum before this one leaves room for contracting, since an affiliation agreement with a site Sacred Heart has never used can run as long as nine months. Your placement advisor stays on call through the term and starts a replacement search at once if a preceptor steps away. Reach us through the contact form.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
What is the full title of NU 573?
The 2026-27 catalog uses PMHNP III: The PMHNP in Complex Systems. The SHU Online program page uses PMHNP III: Advanced Role Development of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Complex Systems. Both describe the same 6-credit course with 180 clinical hours and the built-in capstone.
Is the PMHNP capstone a separate course?
No. The catalog places the PMHNP capstone inside NU 573 itself. Your final project therefore runs in parallel with the last 180 clinical hours, so agree on a clinic schedule that leaves room for project deadlines, and get the capstone timeline from course faculty in the opening weeks.
Do I need NU 572 before NU 573?
The catalog does not list NU 572 among NU 573's prerequisites; it lists NU 571, NU 509 and the shared foundation courses. The numbering and the program page present the three as a sequence. Your plan of study sets the actual order, so confirm it with your academic advisor before planning searches.
Can NU 573 hours take place in a hospital?
The catalog calls for care of individuals, couples and families with co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions and does not limit the setting. Sacred Heart's clinical affiliations include acute care hospitals, so a consultation-liaison service can fit. The site still needs advisor approval, an affiliation agreement and your clearance email.
Are my PMHNP clinical hours complete after NU 573?
Once the 180 hours in NU 573 are logged and approved, you reach the 540-hour minimum that the catalog, the student guide and the program page all state. The catalog also lists 10 lab hours, completed during the first residency. Confirm your totals in E*Value before the term closes.
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 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
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