NURS 7520 Psychiatric Mental Health Practicum III: 175 hours with patients and families

Updated September 26, 2026 · Reviewed by the Concordia Preceptor placement team

NURS 7520 Psychiatric Mental Health Practicum III closes the psychiatric sequence in the three Concordia University Wisconsin programs that train psychiatric NPs: the MSN PMHNP, the PMHNP DNP and the PMHNP certificate. CUW's 2023 certificate plan gives it 175 hours in summer, which completes the 500-hour minimum. The catalog centers the course on patients and families with complex needs, and NURS 7515 must be finished first.

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175hours in NURS 7520, per CUW's 2023 PMHNP certificate plan

500psychiatric practicum hours complete after this course

Patients and families: what changes in Practicum III

The first two practicums build individual skills: assessment first, then diagnosis and treatment of complex disorders. The catalog widens the frame for the last one to patients and families with complex needs, so the unit of care grows to include the people around the patient.

In a site search, that points to settings where family members regularly take part in care: practices that see children and adolescents with a parent in the room, clinics that involve the caregivers of older adults, or programs that hold family sessions. CUW's catalog places patients of all ages inside PMHNP scope, so any of these can fit, provided faculty agree the site meets the course objectives. Ask a prospective preceptor how often families join visits before you propose the site.

A summer finish in the certificate plan

The 2023 PMHNP certificate plan runs the practicums fall, spring, summer, so certificate students finish with Practicum III in summer. CUW's summer calendar offers a 14-week session plus shorter 8- and 6-week sessions. CUW has not published which length the practicum uses, or where the MSN PMHNP and PMHNP DNP schedule it. If your program places NURS 7520 in another term, the same arithmetic applies to that term's length.

175 hours across CUW's summer 2027 session lengths (arithmetic only)
Session	Dates in 2027	Hours a week for 175
14-week session	May 17 to August 22	12.5
First 8 weeks	May 17 to July 11	About 21.9
First 6 weeks	May 17 to June 27	About 29.2

Summer is also vacation season at clinics. Ask your preceptor about planned time off before you settle on a session length, since a two-week absence inside a 6-week session removes a third of your time.

Counting back from a May start

CUW's current pages give no proposal due date or contract lead time; the Graduate Clinical Coordinator has today's answers. Applying the archived NP lead times to a May 17, 2027 start shows how early the work begins:

February 22, 2027: twelve weeks out, the longest contract time on CUW's archived proposal form, and only six weeks into the spring semester
March 22, 2027: eight weeks out, the short end of the 2014-15 handbook's contract range
April 19, 2027: four weeks out, the archived floor for filing the proposal form
May 17, 2027: the earliest possible start, once the contract and your documents are cleared

In other words, a new Practicum III site has to be found while Practicum II is only weeks old. If both courses share a site, most of that clock falls away, which is a strong reason to ask your spring preceptor about summer early. The semester calendar page lists every 2026-27 session date.

Completing the 500 hours

Practicum III finishes the 500 psychiatric hours in all three programs. CUW's catalog entry for the certificate adds that a student may need to complete additional hours based on performance, so treat 175 as a floor and leave room in your schedule in case faculty ask for more time. CUW ties success in the course to performance, not the hour count alone.

If an earlier practicum ended short, settle it before summer. CUW's grading policy gives an incomplete three weeks after the term, up to six weeks in some cases, and NURS 7515 must be complete before NURS 7520 begins. The behind on hours page covers catching up.

CUW's psychiatric practicum sequence (hours per the 2023 PMHNP certificate plan)
Course	Credits	Hours	Catalog focus
NURS 7510 Practicum I	2	125	Advanced assessment and management of patients with psychiatric disorders
NURS 7515 Practicum II	2	200	Diagnosis and treatment of complex psychiatric disorders
NURS 7520 Practicum III	2	175	Patients and families with complex needs
Total	6	500	CUW's minimum in every PMHNP program

After the last practicum, by program

What follows Practicum III depends on which PMHNP program you are in:

PMHNP certificate: an 18-credit, one-year certificate for NPs who already hold prescriptive authority. In the 2023 plan, summer's Practicum III is the final term.
MSN PMHNP: a two-year, six-semester program for RNs. Graduates who will practice in Wisconsin apply for the state's new APRN license under 2025 Wisconsin Act 17, covered on the Wisconsin practice page.
PMHNP DNP: the psychiatric hours sit beside at least 200 leadership hours, and the DNP Project courses, NURS 9040 and NURS 9041, lead to a final project presented at an on-campus cohort meeting held at graduation. See the DNP project practicum page.

Whichever program you are in, keep your own copies of signed hour records and evaluations. CUW does not publish its current tracking system for any track; the logs and evaluations page explains what is known.

How we finish the PMHNP sequence with CUW students

We plan Practicum III while Practicum II is underway, so a summer placement is settled before contract lead times turn into a problem. Where your spring site sees families as part of care, we explore extending there first; where it does not, we look for a family-focused mental health setting near home and prepare a proposal for CUW's graduate faculty that carries the preceptor's license, certification and CV together with the practice details.

We also pin down the summer session length and the preceptor's time off before anyone commits, and we check that the site's family sessions fall on days you can attend. We stay reachable until your last hour is logged. If a preceptor withdraws, your placement advisor starts a replacement search right away. Fill in the form below to begin.

Questions CUW students ask

Can I finish NURS 7520 in a 6-week summer session?

The arithmetic allows it at about 29 hours a week, but CUW has not published which summer session length the practicum uses. Ask your course faculty before you plan a compressed schedule, and make sure your preceptor can offer that many clinic hours every week with no vacation gap.

What if my Practicum II site does not see families?

Then Practicum III is a natural point to add or switch sites. Look for a mental health setting where family members join visits or care planning, and propose it early, because a new site may need a new contract. Faculty decide whether a site fits the course's patients-and-families focus.

Does NURS 7520 count toward the PMHNP DNP's 1,000 hours?

Yes, as part of the 500 psychiatric clinical hours. CUW's PMHNP DNP page describes 1,000 total residency hours made up of those 500, at least 200 leadership hours, and verified clinical hours from a prior advanced practice degree. The catalog lists only the 500 and the 200, so confirm your total with the program.

Will CUW place me for Practicum III if I cannot find a site?

CUW's model in every PMHNP program is that the student secures the preceptor and site, with the Graduate Clinical Coordinator available to assist and graduate faculty approving the choice. The certificate page is explicit that finding the placement rests with you. Contact the coordinator early, and see can't find a preceptor for options.

Do I need a new proposal if I stay at my Practicum II site?

In CUW's archived NP process, yes: the proposal form was filed once per preceptor and site each semester, so a returning preceptor still needed a fresh one for the new term. Current requirements come from the Graduate Clinical Coordinator. A returning site tends to move faster, since its contract should already exist.

PMHNPNURS 7515 PMHNP Practicum IICUW's largest psychiatric practicum: 200 hours on complex disorders, a spring start in the certificate plan, and a placement to plan during Practicum I.PMHNPNURS 7510 PMHNP Practicum ICUW's first psychiatric practicum, shared by the MSN PMHNP, PMHNP DNP and certificate: 125 hours, assessment first, and preceptor rules to confirm.PMHNP CAGEPMHNP CAGE certificateCUW's PMHNP CAGE certificate for NPs: 18 credits, fully online, 500 practicum hours in three back-to-back terms, and lining up psychiatric preceptors in time.PMHNPMSN Psychiatric Mental Health NPCUW's new online MSN PMHNP: 41 credits over six semesters, 500 practicum hours in NURS 7510, 7515 and 7520, the 3-day workshop, and mental health preceptors.PMHNP DNPPMHNP DNP for certified NPsCUW's PMHNP DNP for certified NPs: 51 credits, 500 psychiatric clinical hours plus 200 leadership hours, and why the program page counts to 1,000.HoursBehind on clinical hoursBehind on hours in a Concordia University Wisconsin clinical course? Find your weekly pace, the archived rules on spreading hours, and safe ways to add more.

Last checked 2026-09-26

We check these pages against CUW's own academic catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.

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