Bradley MSN PMHNP: simulation first, then three psychiatric practicums
Bradley University's online MSN in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner sets 750 clinical hours for BSN-entry students and 800 for RN entry. The first 150 come in NUR 684, which the catalog lists as simulation; the rest are precepted in mental health settings across NUR 685, NUR 686 and NUR 687. We find psychiatric preceptors near you and have each packet ready a semester ahead.
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The MSN PMHNP in outline
Bradley launched its online PMHNP programs in fall 2021. The MSN comes in two versions: 51 credits for BSN holders and 60.5 credits for nurses whose RN came through an ADN or diploma program, or who hold a bachelor's in another field. That longer route opens with bridge coursework and a community health practicum worth 50 hours, NUR 407, which is why its clinical total is 800.
Around the clinical courses sit three PMHNP seminars: a 1-credit roles course (NUR 680), psychopharmacology and neurophysiology (NUR 682), and NUR 688, whose exit exam is the MSN's comprehensive assessment. The online page estimates 2.7 years over 8 semesters for BSN entry and 3.3 years over 10 for RN entry, and describes the program as fully online with no campus residency.
The catalog lists two boards for the psychiatric NP credential, the ANCC and the AANP. To be admitted you show an unencumbered RN license and a nursing GPA of at least 3.0, and you talk about the clinicians who might mentor you.
Four clinical courses and what each one needs
Going by the catalog, three of the four clinical courses need a preceptor. That puts 600 precepted hours in front of a BSN-entry student, spread across courses that must be taken in order.
| Course | Hours | Who guides you | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|
NUR 684 Advanced Psychiatric Interviewing and Differential Diagnosis | 150 | Practicum instructor (catalog) | Clinical simulation |
NUR 685 PMHNP Continuum of Care Across the Lifespan and Practicum I | 200 | Clinical preceptor | Acute and chronic psychiatric care |
NUR 686 PMHNP Continuum of Care Across the Lifespan and Practicum II | 250 | Clinical preceptor | Acute and chronic psychiatric care |
NUR 687 PMHNP Sub-Specialty Focus and Practicum III | 150 | Clinical preceptor | A sub-specialty such as forensics, consult liaison, child and adolescent or geriatric psychiatry |
NUR 684 runs alongside the roles and psychopharmacology courses once the three graduate core courses are done. NUR 685 follows NUR 684, and each later practicum requires the one before it. See the NUR 687 page for sub-specialty planning.
Is NUR 684 simulation or precepted? Check first
Bradley's sources disagree on the first clinical course. The 2026-27 catalog calls its 150 hours clinical simulation hours guided by the practicum instructor. Bradley's online PMHNP page describes the same 150 hours as clinical time at selected facilities under a clinical preceptor.
The difference moves your first deadline. If the online description governs your cohort, you need a psychiatric preceptor and an approved packet one full semester before NUR 684. If the catalog governs, your first preceptor is for NUR 685, and that paperwork has to be in while you are halfway through NUR 684.
Ask your academic advisor which applies, and read the NUR 684 clinical packet in MyOnline. Our NUR 684 page tracks this conflict as Bradley updates its pages.
Confirm how your cohort completes NUR 684 before your first semester ends; the answer moves your first preceptor deadline by a full semester.
Why the total rose from 600 to 750
Older Bradley material shows smaller numbers. Two catalogs ago, in 2024-25, the PMHNP required 600 hours (650 for RN entry), with NUR 684 at 3 credits and 50 simulation hours. The 2026-27 catalog raised NUR 684 to 5 credits and 150 simulation hours, raised NUR 685 to 200 hours and cut NUR 680 to 1 credit, for a total of 750 (800 for RN entry).
Bradley's online page now agrees with the 750 figure. Which catalog governs you depends on when you entered, so confirm it with your advisor before you tell a preceptor how many hours you need. The 750-hour change page compares the catalog years across every NP track.
Most of the increase came through NUR 684, whose simulation hours tripled, with NUR 685 also growing to 200. NUR 686, at 250 hours, is the largest single precepted block, so line up its preceptor with the whole term's schedule in view.
Finding preceptors in mental health settings
Catalog language is brief, asking only for qualified preceptors in mental health settings, and the details live in the PMHNP clinical packet in MyOnline. Public Bradley material does not say whether a psychiatrist can supervise PMHNP hours, how many hours must be with a psychiatric NP, or whether counseling time counts. The best-known rule set, from Bradley's 2017 webinar, was written for FNP students: NPs, MDs and DOs allowed, most hours with NPs, and no physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists or clinical nurse leaders.
Two rules hold for every track: Bradley approves only preceptors whose licenses are current and carry no discipline, and no relative of yours may serve. Beyond that, ask course faculty before you commit, and see who can precept you.
For NUR 685 and NUR 686, which run across the lifespan, look for a practice with a broad age range and both acute and chronic presentations. NUR 687 then narrows to one sub-specialty, so its site may differ from your first two.
States, licenses and the 2025 changes
In the psychiatric column of Bradley's state table, 46 states get a yes and four get a no: California, Maryland, New Hampshire and Tennessee. Nine of today's yes states were still marked no in the March 2025 version: Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington.
New York students cannot do clinical rotations in New York, and the District of Columbia carries the same restriction. Your hours are expected in the approved state where you live or were admitted, under an RN license valid in that state. Read the state disclosures page before a move or a cross-border rotation.
If you live near a state line, the neighbor's status matters as much as your own. Missouri, Iowa and Kentucky joined the yes column only in the latest table, so older advice from classmates may be out of date.
Why PMHNP students choose us
We search the settings the PMHNP courses call for: outpatient psychiatric practices, inpatient behavioral health units, community mental health centers and, for NUR 687, a focused service such as a forensic unit, a hospital consult team, a youth program or a geriatric psychiatry practice. For each confirmed preceptor we collect the credentials and practice details Bradley's packet requires, then review everything before it goes out through DocuSign.
We time your first packet to your cohort's answer on NUR 684, line up NUR 686 while NUR 685 runs, and start looking for a substitute the day a preceptor has to withdraw. Your placement advisor stays your single contact from the first packet to the last hour logged. Share your entry route and state through the form below, or read about our step-by-step process.
Questions Bradley students ask
Does the Bradley PMHNP have an on-campus requirement?
None is published. Bradley markets the PMHNP as a fully online degree without a residency, and no psychiatric bootcamp appears in the catalog. The October bootcamp in Peoria, built for FNP students, welcomes other NP specialties, so a PMHNP student could attend by choice, but Bradley's material sets no requirement.
Does the RN-entry PMHNP include NUR 655 Diagnostic Reasoning?
Only the online page does: its RN-entry PMHNP list shows NUR 655, which carries 3 credits and 50 practicum hours in the catalog, but the catalog's own PMHNP requirements leave it out. If it appears in your plan of study, you will need a clinical setting for those hours, so check with your advisor early.
Can PMHNP hours be completed through telehealth?
The handbook's telemedicine guidelines are named for FNP, AGACNP and AGPCNP students, and public Bradley material says nothing about telehealth for PMHNP hours. Ask course faculty before accepting a preceptor who sees patients mostly by video, and keep their answer in writing.
What certification can I sit for after the MSN PMHNP?
The catalog names the PMHNP exam from the ANCC or the AANP, while Bradley's online PMHNP page mentions only the ANCC in its headline. The handbook also cautions that graduating by itself does not secure a license or a board credential, which is why the state table matters.
How early should I look for a PMHNP preceptor?
Count back from your first precepted course. If NUR 685 is your first, that packet falls due in the middle of your NUR 684 term; if your cohort's NUR 684 is precepted, the deadline moves a semester earlier. Either way, the search should be under way in your first year.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Bradley's own catalog, online program pages and Graduate Student Handbook. Your clinical packet, course faculty and academic advisor have the final word.
Bradley lets you choose your preceptors. We find the ones worth choosing.
Tell us your Bradley track, your city and your next practicum course. We line up preceptors who fit the NUR course and gather the license, CV and malpractice details the DocuSign packet asks for, well before the midterm of the semester before you start.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP and AGPCNP, acute care teams for AGACNP, mental health settings for PMHNP
- Preceptor license, CV, malpractice coverage and the site address ready for the packet
- Every practicum in your sequence planned together, close to home in your approved state
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