PMHS™ Exam Eligibility

Requirements:

As a specialty exam, it is required that candidates:

• provide an official transcript documenting completion of all of the requirements for a Master's, Post-Master's or Doctorate in nursing graduate program in one of the below population foci:
• Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
• Child/Adolescent Psychiatric CNS
• Child/Adolescent Mental Health CNS
• demonstrate current licensure and certification in one of the following Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) roles and population foci:
• Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (CPNP or PNP-BC)
• Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC or FNP-C)
• Child / Adolescent Psychiatric & Mental Health CNS (PMHCNS-BC)
• Family Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC)

PMHS specialty certification does not replace basic advanced practice nursing certification linked to licensure. You must maintain your primary certification (CPNP-PC, PNP-BC, FNP-BC, FNP-C, PMHCNS-BC, or PMHNP-BC) according to your state board regulations to be able to practice as an advanced practice nurse and to maintain PMHS certification.

Recommendations:

Additionally, it is recommended that exam candidates have clinical practice experience and continuing education or preparation in pediatric behavioral mental health. While these additional areas are not required, the PNCB recommends that candidates have experience in the following areas. The recommendations do not replace the above requirements.

• A minimum of 1,000 hours of APRN primary care behavioral / mental health clinical practice experience within the past 2-3 years
• Earned APRN continuing education / contact hours in pediatric behavioral mental health
• Earned APRN pediatric psychopharmacology contact hours / CEUs
• Earned continuing education (contact hours / CEUs) in a variety of APRN mental health content

A Profile of Successful Candidates:

The final beta testing analysis, which laid the foundation for this new exam, included results from 218 APRNs who completed the exam. Four variables were statistically significant and related to success in earning the credential:

• Years of APRN experience (those with more years of APRN experience tended to score higher)
• Prescriptive privileges (those with full prescriptive privileges scored higher than those with no prescriptive privileges)
• Employment setting (those scoring highest worked in mental health services, primary care, or school settings)
• Completion of behavioral mental health continuing education (CE)