PMHNP Practice I, II and III: prerequisites, groups and supervision
Augusta University's DNP-PMHNP is the only nurse practitioner track whose practice courses carry catalog prerequisites, and its last two add a requirement no other track has: at least one child or adolescent group and one adult psychotherapy group, plus individual and peer supervision. Those rules decide which psychiatric preceptor and site can carry each course. We find psychiatric preceptors in Georgia and South Carolina who can support all of it, whatever role your program plays in arranging clinicals.
Plan your PMHNP placements
Tell us which PMHNP course is next, your term and your county, and whether you need a group setting.
A chain of prerequisites, not just a sequence
The Fall 2026 plan runs the PMHNP practice courses in the spring and summer of year two and the fall of year three, followed by NURS 9192 in the final spring. What sets the track apart is the catalog: Practice II and Practice III each name the course before them as a prerequisite, and Practice II also requires a B or better in NURS 8341.
| Course | Full-time term | Hours | Prerequisite (catalog) | Corequisite or pairing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NURS 8342 Practice I | Spring, year 2 | 180 clinical + 45 lab | None listed | Taken with NURS 8341 in the plan |
NURS 8345 Practice II | Summer, year 2 | 180 clinical | NURS 8341 at B or better and NURS 8342 at S | NURS 8344 (catalog corequisite) |
NURS 8348 Practice III | Fall, year 3 | 240 clinical | NURS 8345 at S | None listed |
In practice, an Unsatisfactory in Practice I or a grade below B in NURS 8341 keeps you out of Practice II, and College of Nursing progression rules add weight: a C in any nursing course means probation and a repeat, and under the DNP policy a single U in a DNP course means dismissal. The grades and time limits guide explains both. Two catalog entries also cite courses missing from the 2026-27 catalog, NURS 7348 in Practice I and NURS 7352 in Practice III, so ask faculty which current courses fill those roles. Hour totals for the track sit on the 840-hour page.
The group requirement in Practice II and III
The catalog entries for NURS 8345 and NURS 8348 share one requirement: students take part in at least one group for children or adolescents and at least one psychotherapy group for adults. Augusta University does not publish how many sessions count, whether you observe or co-lead, or whether a group may meet at a site other than your main preceptor's.
That matters because a medication-management practice may not run groups at all. Our suggestion is to settle, with your course faculty and before the term starts, where each group will happen, rather than hoping the main site offers both.
Places that often run groups, in our experience: community mental health programs, intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs, and adolescent residential or school-linked services. In Georgia, community service boards are the public mental health providers named in many low-income shortage designations, among them the Community Service Board of East Central Georgia in the Augusta area.
Supervision sessions with faculty and preceptors
The same two catalog entries add individual and peer group supervision sessions, led by faculty, by preceptors or by both. The catalog does not spell out their format, frequency or length, and no PMHNP clinical handbook is public, so your syllabus and course faculty are the authority on how sessions run.
Our suggestion when weighing a preceptor: ask directly whether they will set aside regular one-to-one time to talk through your cases, and whether the practice schedule allows it. A preceptor who welcomes case discussion suits these courses better than one who can offer only shadowing.
Expect faculty to see the placement too. Augusta University ties its Georgia or South Carolina residence requirement to instructors visiting the student, the preceptor and the clinical site; faculty site visits covers what is and is not published about those visits.
Psychiatric preceptors and settings, course by course
These pairings are our suggestions. Augusta University publishes no setting rules for PMHNP courses, so confirm each one with your course faculty.
NURS 8342, spring, with 45 lab hours: an outpatient psychiatric practice with a steady mix of new evaluations and follow-up visits, a stable base for your first term.NURS 8345, summer: a site that also serves children or adolescents, or a pairing with a program that runs a youth group, because the group rule starts here and summer terms are short.NURS 8348, fall, 240 hours: a busier or higher-acuity setting, such as a community service board clinic, a crisis or inpatient unit, or an integrated primary care practice, to widen your range before the final practicum.
Augusta University does not publish preceptor qualifications for PMHNP courses. In Georgia, the Board of Nursing expects APRN clinical instruction from a nurse with Georgia APRN authorization; the preceptor requirements page covers both states.
Mental health shortage areas in both states
HRSA's mid-2026 summary shows how stretched psychiatric care is. Georgia has 92 mental health shortage designations, with 45.33% of need met and 174 practitioners needed to remove them; South Carolina has 89, with 32.84% of need met and 232 practitioners needed.
Rural counties carry the heaviest load. Every county in South Carolina's Upstate is a whole-county geographic mental health shortage area, as are all 17 counties of the Heart of Georgia Altamaha region and all 18 in South Georgia. Aiken and Barnwell, across the river from Augusta, share a high-needs designation scored 19.
For a PMHNP student this cuts two ways, in our view: fewer psychiatric clinicians to approach, but practices with more patients than they can see and good reason to train the next clinician. Our Upstate guide shows what that looks like in one region.
How we set up a PMHNP placement
- Time the chain.We plan around the prerequisites, so the Practice II search lines up with the term you are eligible to take it.
- Find the main preceptor.A psychiatric clinician near your home in Georgia or South Carolina with the schedule and willingness to supervise.
- Plan the groups.For
NURS 8345andNURS 8348, we identify where the child or adolescent group and the adult psychotherapy group will happen, at the main site or a second one, for your faculty to review. - Prepare the paperwork.Faculty and each site receive complete preceptor and site details well before the term.
- Stay on call.If a preceptor or group program falls through mid-term, we begin on a replacement straight away.
Share your course, term and county through the placement form.
Questions Augusta University students ask
Can I take NURS 8345 if I earned a C in NURS 8341?
Not under the catalog prerequisite, which asks for a B or better in NURS 8341 and a Satisfactory in NURS 8342. The College of Nursing's DNP progression policy also places a student with a C on probation and requires the course to be repeated, so Practice II would move to a later term. Talk with your advisor about a revised plan.
Do PMHNP students attend MEGAI?
Augusta University's MEGAI description names FNP, AGACNP and PNP students and does not mention PMHNP. The skills it lists, such as suturing and casting, are procedural. PMHNP students should ask the College of Nursing whether any campus intensive applies to them; the face-to-face orientation and defense apply to all accepted DNP concentration students.
Does a PMHNP student need a child psychiatry preceptor?
The catalog requires at least one child or adolescent group in each of Practice II and III, but it does not say your main preceptor must treat young patients. A general psychiatric preceptor plus a youth group elsewhere may meet the rule. Confirm the arrangement with your course faculty before the term begins.
Can PMHNP clinical hours be done by telehealth?
Augusta University's public pages say nothing about telehealth clinical hours. The residence rule exists so instructors can visit you, your preceptor and your site, which points toward a placement faculty can reach in person. Ask your course faculty before counting any virtual visits toward a practice course.
Are the PMHNP certificate courses different?
Yes. Post-graduate certificate students take NURS 8350, NURS 8351 and NURS 8352, 180 clinical hours each for 540 in total, with up to 750 if a gap analysis calls for more. The PMHNP certificate guide covers that path and its spring start.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Augusta University's own catalog, program plans, DNP handbook and program pages, and Georgia and South Carolina rules. Your course faculty and the College of Nursing have the final word.
Whatever your program arranges, we find the preceptor who fits.
Tell us your Augusta University track, where in Georgia or South Carolina you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and Augusta University's rules, and hand you everything your faculty and the site need, well before the semester.
- Adult, pediatric and older-adult preceptors for
NURS 8312toNURS 8318, acute care forNURS 8332toNURS 8338 - Pediatric primary care for the PNP courses and psychiatric preceptors for
NURS 8342toNURS 8348 - Across Georgia and South Carolina, from the CSRA to Savannah, Atlanta and Columbia
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.