NRS 858: complex psychiatric care in Clarkson College's PMHNP track
NRS 858 Complex Psychiatric-Mental Health Concepts is the third psychiatric clinical in Clarkson College's PMHNP track: 160 hours on the MSN and certificate plan, 200 on the BSN to DNP. The catalog raises the complexity again, which makes higher-acuity settings a natural fit, and the course sits well for finishing the hours with adults 60 and over that Clarkson's PMHNP sheet asks for.
Plan NRS 858 and NRS 859 together
Tell us your Typhon totals by age group. We find the preceptor who closes the gap.
NRS 858 at a glance
The 2026-27 catalog lists NRS 858 at 160 hours in the MSN and certificate and 200 in the BSN to DNP. The count matches NRS 857, so the weekly load will feel familiar. What shifts is the kind of patient the course expects you to manage.
| Item | MSN or certificate | BSN to DNP |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical hours | 160 | 200 |
| Hours a week over 15 weeks | About 10.7 | About 13.3 |
| Hours a week over the 12-week summer | About 13.3 | About 16.7 |
| Half the hours, by midterm | 80 | 100 |
| Comes after | NRS 857 | NRS 857 |
| Leads to | NRS 859 | NRS 859 |
| Preceptor | Psychiatrist or PMHNP | Psychiatrist or PMHNP |
What complex means for your choice of preceptor
The catalog describes NRS 858 as work with increasingly complex psychiatric-mental health problems across the lifespan. A preceptor whose days are mostly stable medication checks may not give you enough of that. Aim for a caseload with layered presentations: several diagnoses at once, substance use alongside a mood or psychotic disorder, patients just out of a crisis or a hospital stay.
The qualifications stay where they were. Clarkson's November 2023 PMHNP sheet calls for a psychiatrist or a PMHNP, and the general rules add a license in the state of your clinical, two years or more in practice, a related specialty and no family connection to you. A physician assistant does not qualify for any of the four psychiatric courses. The preceptor requirements page has the complete list.
Settings with more acuity
Two of the site types on Clarkson's PMHNP sheet bring acuity by design: inpatient psychiatric facilities and psychiatric emergency or crisis units. Admissions, safety assessments and fast medication changes are the daily work there, which suits a course built around complexity.
You do not have to move the whole course to a hospital. Up to two preceptors per course were allowed without written faculty approval, so one workable pattern is an outpatient psychiatrist or PMHNP for most of the hours and an inpatient or crisis-unit provider for a block of shifts. Each needs a separate agreement, and a hospital site may need its own affiliation agreement through the Compliance office, which Clarkson warned can take up to two months. The affiliation agreements page explains that step.
Closing the 60-and-over minimum
Alongside 100 hours with adults 18 to 59 and 50 with patients under 18, Clarkson's PMHNP sheet asks for at least 50 hours with patients aged 60 or older. If your first two psychiatric courses were in a clinic that skews young, NRS 858 is the place to catch up, so NRS 859 can go to the independence the final course demands.
Providers who see many older adults include psychiatric practices that consult in long-term care, inpatient units that admit older patients, and community mental health centers with an older client base. Record each patient's age in Typhon as you go, so you and course faculty can see where all three minimums stand before the last course begins.
When you already work in psychiatric nursing
Clarkson's 2021-22 handbook made ongoing RN employment a condition for graduate nursing students, so if your RN job is on a psychiatric unit, the question of training there comes up quickly. Training at your own employer is possible under two conditions from the 2023 sheets and the handbook: the hours happen in a department other than yours, and your paid shifts and clinical hours sit in separate records.
So an RN on an adult inpatient unit might do NRS 858 hours with a PMHNP in the same system's outpatient clinic or crisis service, but not on the unit where they pick up shifts. The workplace practicum page covers the details.
Line up NRS 859 before NRS 858 ends
The final course carries the most hours, 180 in the MSN and 250 in the BSN to DNP, so its preceptor needs real room in their schedule. Its agreement falls due before the NRS 858 term is over. Using the deadlines in Clarkson's 2021-22 handbook and 2023 sheets:
- NRS 858 in Fall 2026Fall runs Aug. 20 to Dec. 9, 2026. NRS 859 would follow in Spring 2027, with the agreement due by Nov. 1, 2026.
- NRS 858 in Spring 2027Spring runs Jan. 7 to Apr. 28, 2027. NRS 859 would follow in Summer 2027, with the agreement due by Mar. 1, 2027, the first day of spring break.
- NRS 858 in Summer 2027Summer runs May 13 to Aug. 4, 2027. NRS 859 would follow in Fall 2027, with the agreement due by Jun. 1, 2027, less than three weeks into the term.
Those deadlines come from Clarkson's older documents; your Graduate Nursing advisor has the current ones. The NRS 859 guide covers what the final preceptor should offer.
How we support NRS 858
For NRS 858 our search starts from your Typhon totals. If the 60-and-over or under-18 hours are short, we look for a psychiatrist or PMHNP whose patients close that gap. If you want acuity, we find an inpatient or crisis-unit provider for a block of shifts next to your main preceptor. Every name meets Clarkson's rules before you see it, and we gather what each DocuSign form asks for.
We also start on NRS 859 early, looking for a preceptor with the capacity for 180 or 250 hours and the willingness to let you practice with growing independence, so the final agreement goes in well before its deadline. Share your term dates in the form below.
Questions Clarkson students ask
Can I do NRS 858 on the psychiatric unit where I work?
Not on your own unit. Clarkson's 2023 sheets and 2021-22 handbook had employed students train in a department other than their own and keep work and clinical hours apart. Another unit or clinic in the same health system can work, with its own agreement and faculty approval.
How many hours with older adults does the PMHNP track need?
At least 50 hours with patients 60 and over, under Clarkson's November 2023 PMHNP sheet, alongside 100 with adults 18 to 59 and 50 with patients under 18. Ask course faculty which course checks each minimum, since the current sheet is not on Clarkson's public site.
Is an inpatient psychiatric unit allowed for NRS 858?
Yes. Inpatient psychiatric facilities and psychiatric emergency or crisis units are both on the site list in Clarkson's November 2023 PMHNP sheet, next to outpatient psychiatric facilities, counseling centers and community health centers. The preceptor there must still be a psychiatrist or PMHNP with at least two years of experience.
Can a psychiatric physician assistant precept NRS 858?
No. PAs were an option for PMHNP students only in NRS 830; the sheet reserved all four psychiatric courses for psychiatrists and PMHNPs. It also ruled out PA preceptors entirely in Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona and Maryland.
Does NRS 858 need a different preceptor from NRS 857?
No rule requires a change. A preceptor who qualified for NRS 857 still qualifies here, with a new agreement for the new course and term. Consider a switch, or a second preceptor, only if the current caseload lacks the complexity or the age groups you still need.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Clarkson College's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and Graduate Nursing advisor have the final word.
Clarkson asks you to find your preceptor. We make the search the easy part.
Tell us your Clarkson track, your city and your next clinical course. We line up preceptors who fit the NRS course and Clarkson's rules, gather the details the site and preceptor agreement asks for, and flag early whether the site needs a new affiliation agreement.
- Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages primary care for FNP, acute care units for AGACNP, psychiatric providers for PMHNP
- License, experience and site details checked against Clarkson's rules before the agreement is filed
- Every clinical course planned in sequence, close to home in a state where Clarkson's graduate nursing meets requirements
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