Adult Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Post-Graduate Adult Psychiatry Fellowship Program is designed to build on knowledge and skills gained in PMHNP graduate programs. The program caters to adults 18 and older with moderate to severe mental illness in underserved communities. Training sites will be throughout San Diego County, with a particular focus on high-risk populations in the Central San Diego region. The ideal fellow will have an ongoing desire to work with vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in San Diego after program completion. 

The program will span 12 months and will include didactics, supervision from faculty, and clinical experience at continuity care clinics and specialty rotational sites. Year-long continuity care clinics will allow fellows to become proficient in psychiatric care in outpatient community clinics. Program participants will also be engaged at rotational sites such as consult liaison, emergency care, and urgent care clinics. For the didactic aspects of the program, fellows will participate in mandatory weekly sessions led by psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and psychologists. The program will focus on optimizing skills in psychiatric assessment and diagnosis, evidence-based pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, and collaboration with multidisciplinary professionals. 

The program is accredited as a Practice Transition Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Graduates from this program are prepared to provide high-quality, collaborative care to adult patients seeking mental health services in a variety of community health settings.