GRN 7221 to GRN 7224: WilmU's four PMHNP practicums
Wilmington University's Psychiatric Mental Health NP practicums are four 4-credit courses, GRN 7221 to GRN 7224, worth 750 clinical hours between them: 175 apiece for the first three courses and 225 for the final one. The first three share a semester with a matching didactic course, so every practicum term until the last carries two courses side by side. This guide lays out the order, the pairings, the arithmetic behind the credits and the questions to settle before each course begins.
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Tell us your WilmU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your WilmU course.
The four practicums in catalog order
WilmU's 2026-27 graduate catalog lists the PMHNP practicums as a fixed ladder. Each one builds on the one before it, and the published sequence pairs the first three with a didactic course taken in the same semester. GRN 7224 closes the run by itself with the largest block of hours.
| Course | Credits | Clinical hours | Taken with |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRN 7221 Psychiatric Mental Health Practicum I | 4 | 175 | GRN 7203, after GRN 7201 and GRN 7202 |
| GRN 7222 Practicum II | 4 | 175 | GRN 7204 |
| GRN 7223 Practicum III | 4 | 175 | GRN 7205 |
| GRN 7224 Practicum IV | 4 | 225 | No paired course in the published sequence |
| Total | 16 | 750 |
Those 750 hours line up exactly with the minimum Delaware's Board of Nursing requires of each APRN track, explained on our Delaware APRN practice and preceptor rules page. The identical four courses appear inside the BSN to DNP PMHNP track and the PMHNP-plus-DNP combination, so students on those routes can read everything below as written for them.
How the credits add up, and where WilmU's pages differ
Practicums account for 16 credits. Add the five 3-credit didactic courses, GRN 7201 to GRN 7205, for 15 more, and you reach 31, the certificate total shown on its curriculum page and in the catalog alike.
WilmU's page for the combined PMHNP certificate and DNP gives the certificate 27 credits instead, and it quotes a separate 72-credit total for students who are not APRNs. The state licensure table frames the post-master's PMHNP around nurses who already hold an NP master's. Those readings can change your course list, and the Assistant Chair of the PMHNP program is the person who can say which one governs your admission.
The prerequisite block has a mismatch of its own. The certificate labels GRN 7101 to GRN 7104 as 12 credits, yet the catalog assigns them 4, 3, 4 and 4, which totals 15, the number the FNP certificate prints for the same block. Whichever label is right, all four need a B or higher before you enroll; the advanced health assessment course is among them.
Why each pairing matters for your site
Since GRN 7221, GRN 7222 and GRN 7223 each share a term with a didactic course, clinical hours and classroom work move in step. Read the catalog entry and syllabus for the paired course before you settle on a site, so the patients and services you meet that term match what the course is asking of you.
The pairing also means the practicum is never your only commitment. Someone in GRN 7222 is logging 175 clinical hours while keeping pace with GRN 7204, so a workable preceptor schedule leaves room for coursework instead of simply filling the hours.
GRN 7224 works differently. With 225 hours and nothing paired beside it in the published sequence, it asks for more clinical time than any other PMHNP course. It is also the final one, which makes it the costliest point to discover a preceptor gap, because no later practicum can absorb the delay.
Semester or block: the weekly load depends on it
WilmU's calendar runs 15-week semesters and 7-week blocks side by side, and the catalog is silent on which format the PMHNP practicums use. The difference is large once you divide the hours by the weeks available.
| Course hours | Over a 15-week semester | Over a 7-week block |
|---|---|---|
| 175 (GRN 7221, GRN 7222, GRN 7223) | About 12 | About 25 |
| 225 (GRN 7224) | 15 | About 32 |
Pin down the format for each practicum with your course faculty, or with the PMHNP program's Assistant Chair, before any hours conversation with a preceptor. A clinician who can spare one day a week suits a semester-long course far better than a 7-week one. Our academic calendar page lists the 2026-27 semester and block dates.
What to have in place before GRN 7221
- Finish GRN 7201 and GRN 7202The catalog makes both prerequisites for the first practicum, which then runs next to
GRN 7203. - Clear clinical credentialingYour background check and drug screen go through the College's designated credentialing system, with timing fixed by the program handbook. Our clinical credentialing clearance guide sets out WilmU's own description.
- Keep CPR currentWilmU's NP pages list current cardiopulmonary certification among the conditions for clinical experiences.
- Check your RN license against the site's stateWilmU ties clinical work to RN licensure in whichever state hosts the clinical, so a site over a state line calls for a license valid there.
- Bring the preceptor to facultyDelaware's Board gives faculty the approval decision for APRN program preceptors, and each preceptor's license must be active, unencumbered and in a practice focus comparable to yours. That decision at WilmU belongs to its faculty.
Planning all four practicums as one run
It pays to plan the four PMHNP courses together rather than one semester at a time. Whether a single preceptor may stay with you across courses, and whether faculty want a different setting as you climb the ladder, are questions WilmU's public pages leave open. Settle them with the PMHNP program's Assistant Chair before you commit a preceptor to the whole run.
Location matters from start to finish. If you live outside Delaware, look up the post-master's PMHNP column of WilmU's licensure table: seven states show Not Determined Yet for it, namely Wyoming, Tennessee, North Dakota, New York, New Hampshire, Louisiana and Idaho. Our state licensure by program guide explains what that status covers.
Questions to ask before GRN 7221
- Does each practicum run in a 15-week semester or a 7-week block?
- Can one preceptor cover more than one PMHNP practicum?
- Should the clinical setting change between
GRN 7221andGRN 7224? - How are clinical hours recorded and signed off each term?
- Which credit total, 31 or 27, appears on my plan in MyWilmU Degree Works?
How we find PMHNP preceptors for these courses
However your placement begins, with help from WilmU faculty or with outreach you have started, our team looks for psychiatric mental health clinicians whose practice suits the course ahead of you, close to home and in a state your RN license covers. We test each candidate against Delaware's comparable-focus standard and assemble the license, credentials and contact details into one tidy file.
We plan around the pairings: a site that suits the GRN 7203 term for your first practicum, and a preceptor with enough weekly capacity for the 225 hours of GRN 7224. Faculty decide on every preceptor and site, and the file we hand them is built to need no second round. Should a preceptor withdraw mid-course, we remain available and source a new one. Our PMHNP preceptor search guide explains the matching, or send your practicum term through the contact form.
Questions WilmU students ask
How many clinical hours are in WilmU's PMHNP certificate?
750, spread across four practicums: 175 hours each in GRN 7221, GRN 7222 and GRN 7223, then 225 in the capstone practicum. BSN to DNP students on the PMHNP track complete these same hours before their DNP Project courses, and the PMHNP-plus-DNP combination lists 750 plus 500.
Which course is taken with GRN 7221 at WilmU?
GRN 7203. The catalog lists GRN 7201 and GRN 7202 as prerequisites for the first practicum and places it in the same semester as GRN 7203. The next two follow the same pattern, with GRN 7222 alongside GRN 7204 and GRN 7223 alongside GRN 7205.
Is there a part-time plan for WilmU's PMHNP practicums?
WilmU's public pages show no part-time or term-by-term plan for the PMHNP certificate. Your own course plan lives in MyWilmU Degree Works, and the PMHNP program's Assistant Chair can confirm the term each practicum falls in and whether any of them can be spread out.
What license does a WilmU PMHNP preceptor need?
WilmU publishes no NP preceptor credential list. Delaware's Board lets APRNs, PAs, pharmacists and physicians precept APRN students, provided the license is active and unencumbered and the practice focus is comparable, with faculty signing off on each one. For a PMHNP practicum, that points to clinicians whose work centers on psychiatric mental health care.
Does GRN 7224 have a paired didactic course?
The published sequence pairs GRN 7203, GRN 7204 and GRN 7205 with the first three practicums and then lists GRN 7224 by itself. At 225 hours it is the longest PMHNP practicum, so confirm its term format early and make sure your preceptor can offer the weekly time it needs.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Wilmington University's own program and curriculum pages, the 2026-27 graduate catalog, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences policies and the State Licensures by Program page. Your NP Program Chair, your course faculty and the College have the final word.
A WilmU practicum coming up? Your preceptor search starts here.
Tell us your WilmU program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. Whether WilmU's faculty help with your placement or you are starting the search yourself, we find preceptors who fit the course, check the health system's own intake steps, and organize the preceptor's license and credentials well before the first day.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan for
GRN 7121toGRN 7124, psychiatric mental health forGRN 7221toGRN 7224, doctorally prepared for the DNP - Clinicians who meet Delaware's rule for APRN program preceptors: an active APRN, PA, pharmacist or physician license in a comparable focus
- Close to home, in a state where you hold an RN license, with each system's onboarding mapped out early
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