NURS 768, 769 and 770: Liberty's PMHNP practicums
Both of Liberty's PMHNP doctorates, Post-BSN and Post-MSN, run the same three psychiatric practicums: NURS 768 and NURS 769 at 3 credits and NURS 770 at 4. Together they carry 750 direct care hours, with 300 more in the DNP practicums. Up to half of PMHNP practicum hours may be at telehealth sites.
Lining up NURS 768 or 769?
Tell us your entry route, your start term and whether you want in-person, telehealth or both.
The three PMHNP practicums, as published
The 2026-27 catalog uses the same trio in the Post-BSN plan (66 credits) and the Post-MSN plan (55 credits). The course list allows a credit range for the first two courses; both program plans fix them at 3.
| Course | Title | Credits (plan / course list) | What the catalog describes |
|---|---|---|---|
NURS 768 | Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Practicum I | 3 / 3–4 | Interviewing, screening, diagnostics and episodic, acute and chronic care across the lifespan, planned with a preceptor |
NURS 769 | Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Practicum II | 3 / 3–5 | The same lifespan scope, built on Practicum I |
NURS 770 | Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Practicum III | 4 / 4 | Supervised placements across diverse settings while you keep "accumulating the required 750 direct care hours" |
Two quirks are worth knowing. The program's course table leaves the title of NURS 770 blank, though the course list names it Practicum III. And Liberty's online pages give different credit totals: 65 for Post-BSN against the catalog's 66, and 54 for Post-MSN against 55, with an undated FAQ saying 58.
How the 1,050 hours break down
Each PMHNP doctorate requires 1,050 practicum hours: 750 NP hours in the psychiatric practicums and 300 DNP hours in NURS 840–843. The Post-BSN online page rounds this to "over 1,000 practicum hours." The catalog does not assign a number to NURS 768, 769 or 770 on its own.
An earlier plan for the Post-BSN track used different labels and a different total. It called NURS 768 "Practicum I: Adult/Gero" at 4 credits and NURS 769 "Practicum II: Pediatrics/Family" at 5, with 1,064 practicum hours in all. If you started under that plan, your targets may not match a fall 2026 starter's, so confirm with your advisor which plan you follow.
For the DNP half of the hours, see the DNP practicum page.
Prerequisites and Gate timing
NURS 768 requires the three PMHNP didactic courses, NURS 751 Neurobiology and Differential Diagnosis of Mental Disorders, NURS 752 Clinical Psychopharmacology and NURS 753 Psychotherapeutic Theories, Frameworks, and Modalities, plus NURS 756, the Post-BSN Gate 1. NURS 769 adds Gate 2, NURS 757, and a pass in NURS 768.
NURS 770 is where the NP foundations appear by number: NURS 711, NURS 712 and NURS 713, plus NURS 769. Post-MSN students meet the same bar another way. Their plan says NP-level pharmacology, pathophysiology and health assessment must be completed before any PMHNP didactic or clinical course.
Gate courses differ by entry route. Post-BSN students take NURS 756, 757 and 758; Post-MSN students take NURS 745, 746 and 758; both take NURS 828 before the DNP practicums. In the Post-BSN plan, Gate 1 falls in semester 5 and Practicum I in semester 6. The Gate course page explains what each collects.
Who precepts, and the telehealth limit
Liberty's current PMHNP pages do not list preceptor credentials. Liberty's older PMHNP FAQ limits approved preceptors to PMHNPs and psychiatrists, and it wants half of every practicum's hours logged with a prescriber, whether a psychiatrist, a PMHNP or a mix of the two. Use that as a starting point and confirm it with the practicum team, since the FAQ predates the current course numbers.
Liberty caps telehealth sites at half of PMHNP practicum hours, which leaves the rest, at least 50%, for in-person care. Liberty does not spell out whether that half is counted per course or across the 750 hours; ask before you build a term around a telehealth preceptor. The telehealth hours page goes deeper.
On setting, the catalog says psychiatric care across the lifespan and, by NURS 770, "diverse settings." It names no setting types beyond that, so ask the practicum team whether a particular clinic fits before you commit to it.
Clearance before your first PMHNP hour
Liberty requires every placement step to be finished and every requirement met before practicum starts. For the PMHNP doctorates, that list includes:
- AHA BLS for Healthcare Providers with AED
- A background check, drug screen and the Immunization/Physical Exam Form
- A physical exam, immunizations, OSHA and HIPAA training, plus any onboarding the site adds
- An RN license valid where you will train, either that state's own or a multistate license the state recognizes
- One year of professional nursing experience before
NURS 768orNURS 769 - Approved Gate course submissions, and any state board notice the School of Nursing must file
Where you train matters as much as what you file. Liberty will not place PMHNP practicums in California, New York, Washington, DC or the U.S. territories. Liberty's Arizona page says PMHNP students training there need an Arizona APRN license plus an Arizona RN license or a multistate RN license. See state restrictions.
Your year of nursing experience is checked before the practicum: Liberty may contact recent employers to verify it.
A parallel search built for PMHNP hours
Liberty's practicum team is committed to helping PMHNP students identify preceptors and sites, and the Post-BSN page says practicum coordinators can help you gain placement. We add a parallel search: psychiatric preceptors near you, and telehealth options that keep you inside the 50% limit. When a telehealth option turns up, we look for an in-person preceptor to sit beside it, so the split is planned from week one. We also help you gather the preceptor's CV, license information and site details for the Gate course.
If a preceptor leaves partway through NURS 769 or NURS 770, we keep looking so the gap stays short. Liberty approves every preceptor and site, and the split we plan with you is one its telehealth rule allows. Ask about a PMHNP search when you know your term.
Questions Liberty students ask
How many hours is each Liberty PMHNP practicum?
The 2026-27 catalog gives no per-course number for NURS 768, 769 or 770. It sets 750 direct care hours across the three, plus 300 DNP hours in NURS 840–843. The certificate is different: its catalog plan lists 224 and 280 hours for NURS 754 and NURS 755. Ask your course faculty for your term's target.
Can a therapist or psychiatric RN precept NURS 768?
Liberty's older PMHNP FAQ names only PMHNPs and psychiatrists as approved preceptors, and it asks for half of each practicum's hours with a prescriber. A licensed therapist or a psychiatric RN does not appear on that list. The current rules are not public, so ask the practicum team before you plan around anyone else.
Do Post-MSN PMHNP students take the same practicums?
Yes. The Post-MSN plan uses NURS 768, NURS 769 and NURS 770 for the 750 NP hours and NURS 840–843 for the 300 DNP hours, the same as Post-BSN. What differs are the Gate courses (NURS 745 and 746 in place of 756 and 757), the 55-credit plan, and no required intensive on the Post-MSN page.
Is the PMHNP telehealth limit per course or for the whole program?
Liberty's wording is up to 50% of practicum hours, and it does not say whether that applies course by course or in total. Until the practicum team answers in writing, keeping each course at half telehealth or less is the cautious approach, because it satisfies either reading when your hours are reviewed.
Can I finish PMHNP hours at my own workplace?
No current Liberty rule covers employer sites for PMHNP hours. The only published workplace rule sits in the 2022-23 MSN handbook, and it is written for MSN students. Whether the practicum team applies anything like it to PMHNP placements is a question for APRN.DNPPracticum@liberty.edu before you raise it with your manager.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against Liberty's own published sources. The practicum team and Liberty's current handbook have the final word.
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Tell us your Liberty program, your county and when your practicum starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit Liberty's rules for your track, and help you get the Gate-course paperwork right.
- Matched to your track: FNP, PMHNP, DNP or MSN
- Paperwork ready for the Gate course and the site contract
- In person near you, or telehealth where your track allows it
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