The first graduates of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program are ready to help fill the area’s need for more providers.
According to a press release shared by the university, one of those students is Rona Balicas Divinagracia, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the Philippines seven years ago.
“Since we are the first cohort, we need to perform well,” she said. “We’re not just going out there working for our name, we’re also working for the name and reputation of the school.”
Divinagracia can now add a master’s degree in nursing to her list of accomplishments as she is among the 16 students who were part of the first cohort of the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program. She specialized in the field of mental health concerns and the shame attached to them.
“We are looking for more clinical sites and preceptors that will provide our students with more opportunities in terms of outpatient clinics, in-patient psychiatric agencies, substance disorder treatment facilities and others,” professor Reimund Serafica said. As a board-certified psych nurse practitioner, Serafica leads the clinical component of the program.
In 2021, the School of Nursing identified a void for a psychiatric nurse practitioner program in the Southern Nevada region that led to creation of the UNLV Psych NP program. The state has a shortage of psychiatrists to address patients that is particularly apparent in growing areas. The program seeks to address this need with psych nurse practitioners.
As part of their work, practitioners are specifically trained and licensed to identify, manage and treat serious mental health issues, which may involve conducting psychotherapy and issuing prescriptions for stronger psychiatric drugs, the news release said.
According to Serafica: “Some family nurse practitioners have also switched to the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner specialty because of the growing demand for more providers. This trend allows schools to offer this specialty program in addition to the existing ones.”
