NURS 6930 Psychiatric/Mental Health III, and NURS 6970 for certificate students
NURS 6930 closes the PMHNP clinical sequence at Southeastern Louisiana University with 275 practicum hours and an emphasis on the older adult. Post-master's certificate students take NURS 6970 in its place, a four-credit version with 120 practicum hours. Both require NURS 6920, and for NURS 6930 the preceptor to look for is a psychiatric clinician with a solid caseload of older patients.
Line up your last psychiatric course
Tell us whether you take NURS 6930 or NURS 6970, your term and your parish. A placement advisor replies with psychiatric preceptor options near you.
What NURS 6930 covers
The 2026-27 catalog describes NURS 6930 as psychiatric care across the lifespan that reaches the family and the community, with the emphasis on the older adult. It carries five credits, three didactic hours a week and 275 practicum hours in the semester, and it requires NURS 6920. A laboratory fee applies; the catalog prints no amount.
In the MSN it is the only course in semester six, tagged spring only. In the BSN to DNP PMHNP plan it lands in semester eight, a fall, beside Residency II (NURS 8220) and NURS 8070, which puts 275 psychiatric hours and 180 residency hours in the same term. By our count that fall is the heaviest practicum semester in the doctoral plan.
| Item | NURS 6930 | NURS 6970 |
|---|---|---|
| Full title | Advanced Practice Nursing: Psychiatric/Mental Health III | Advanced Practice Nursing: Psychiatric/Mental Health III for Post-Master's Certificate Students |
| Credits | 5 | 4 |
| Hours | Three didactic hours a week and 275 practicum hours per semester | 120 practicum hours per semester |
| Prerequisite | NURS 6920 | NURS 6920 |
| Population emphasis | The older adult | Confirm with course faculty |
| Term | Spring only in the MSN plan; fall in the BSN to DNP PMHNP plan | Description: fall and spring. Certificate plan: spring of year two. Post-master's DNP with PMHNP: summer |
| Who takes it | MSN and BSN to DNP PMHNP students | Post-master's PMHNP certificate students |
Preceptors and settings for older-adult psychiatric care
The emphasis points you toward a PMHNP or psychiatrist whose panel includes many patients in later life. Outpatient psychiatric practices with an aging caseload, inpatient psychiatric units that admit older adults and practices that consult to long-term care all see that population; which one suits the course is for your course faculty to approve.
Louisiana's preceptor rules run the same as in the earlier courses: a Louisiana license for the preceptor and most hours with an APRN certified in psychiatric-mental health. A preceptor from Psych/MH I who sees a good share of older patients can sometimes return for this course, bringing a practice your faculty have already approved once and a facility contract already checked. For preceptors explains what a Southeastern preceptor takes on.
Where older psychiatric patients are seen in Louisiana
The research behind this guide turned up no Louisiana program that publishes a geriatric psychiatry route for PMHNP students, so these are places to ask about rather than open doors. The state runs two psychiatric hospitals, Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System in Jackson and Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville, and federal hospital data list private behavioral hospitals in and around Hammond, Mandeville, Covington, Lacombe and Kentwood.
Veterans care is another natural place to find older patients. The Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System runs the New Orleans VA Medical Center and clinics in Hammond, Slidell, Bogalusa and Baton Rouge, among others. Its training page shows no NP student process, and VA trainees come through a VA affiliation agreement with the school, so ask your course faculty before pursuing it. The Northshore guide lists the region's systems and their student rules.
NURS 6970: the certificate's shorter Psych/MH III
Post-master's PMHNP certificate students finish with NURS 6970 in the spring of their second year: four credits, 120 practicum hours, with NURS 6920 required first. The description lists fall and spring offerings, while the post-master's DNP with the PMHNP certificate schedules it in a summer, a mismatch to settle with your advisor early.
These 120 hours sit at the center of the certificate's hour dispute. The catalog totals the certificate at 510 clinical hours, yet 200 in NURS 6910, 275 in NURS 6920 and 120 here add to 595 by our sum. The PMHNP hours guide sets out every version. A preceptor who agrees to 120 hours for this course matches its description.
Certificate students already practice as nurse practitioners, so your own professional contacts are a natural first place to look. A colleague certified in psychiatric-mental health can be a candidate, provided the hours stay outside your paid work and course faculty approve. The certificate guide covers the rest of the program.
Finishing well: evaluations and graduation timing
For most students this is the last psychiatric course, so the calendar matters. The catalog asks you to apply for graduation in the semester before the one in which you expect to finish, while the 2026-27 registrar calendar lists spring 2027 filing deadlines of February 15 without a late fee and April 1 with one. Ask your advisor which timing applies to you, and see the calendar guide.
The course also ends with evaluations. The consortium's faculty handbook has each preceptor complete a clinical evaluation form at the end of the semester, and the student handbook says an unsatisfactory final evaluation from a preceptor or faculty member means an F. Log hours as you go and ask for feedback midway so the final evaluation holds no surprises; grades and time limits covers the rest.
How we line up your final psychiatric preceptor
Your placement advisor starts on Psych/MH III while you are still in Psych/MH II. For NURS 6930 we look for Louisiana psychiatric clinicians near you with a real older-adult caseload; for NURS 6970 we match 120 hours to the term your plan shows. Every candidate is checked for a Louisiana license and psychiatric-mental health certification, the facility's contract status with Southeastern is confirmed, and your faculty packet is ready before the term.
A late gap in the final course can move a graduation date, so if a preceptor steps away, we reopen the search and keep you informed at each step. For certificate students who already work as nurse practitioners, we also make sure the proposed hours sit outside paid time before anything goes to faculty. Tell us your term and parish.
Questions Southeastern students ask
Can I take NURS 6930 in the same semester as a DNP residency?
In the BSN to DNP PMHNP plan you do: semester eight pairs NURS 6930 with NURS 8220 Residency II and NURS 8070. That is 275 psychiatric hours plus 180 residency hours in one fall, by the catalog's figures. Your psychiatric preceptor and your residency site can be different places, so plan both a semester ahead.
Why does NURS 6970 have fewer hours than NURS 6930?
The catalog gives no reason. NURS 6970 is written for post-master's certificate students, who arrive already nationally certified as nurse practitioners in another population, and it carries four credits and 120 practicum hours against five credits and 275 hours in NURS 6930. Ask course faculty what the 120 hours should include.
Can my NURS 6910 preceptor also precept NURS 6930?
Nothing in the catalog or the consortium handbook rules it out, and a returning preceptor comes with a facility contract already checked. The course emphasis differs, though, so faculty will look at whether the practice sees enough older adults. Raise it early with the faculty member assigned to NURS 6930 rather than assuming approval.
Must my NURS 6930 preceptor be a geriatric specialist?
The catalog asks for an emphasis on the older adult, not a geriatric-only practice, and Louisiana's rules center on an APRN certified in your population focus, psychiatric-mental health. A PMHNP or psychiatrist whose panel includes many older patients fits the description; your course faculty make the final call when they approve the preceptor.
Is NURS 6930 the last course before graduation?
For MSN PMHNP students it is the final course in the plan, alone in semester six. BSN to DNP students still have Residency III and NURS 8060 in semester nine, and certificate students finish with NURS 6970. Check the graduation application deadline for your final term with the registrar well before it opens.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Southeastern's own catalog, program pages and consortium handbook, and Louisiana rules. Your course faculty, the graduate coordinator and your advisor have the final word.
Southeastern asks you to choose your preceptor. We find one near you.
Tell us your Southeastern track, where in Louisiana you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find Louisiana-licensed preceptors who fit the course, confirm whether the facility is already under contract with the university, and hand you what your course faculty need to approve it before the semester.
- Pediatric and women's health preceptors for
NURS 6820, adult and older-adult primary care forNURS 6830andNURS 6840 - Psychiatric preceptors for
NURS 6910toNURS 6930, with the child and older-adult focus each course sets - Across Louisiana, from the Northshore to Shreveport
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.