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PMHNP Psychopharmacology: SSRIs and SNRIs
New
21 students
PMHNP Psychopharmacology: SSRIs and SNRIs
Led by a Psychiatrist. Prescribing, dosing, side effects, interactions, and interactive field guides for PMHNPs.
Created byDr. Gerald Day Richardson
Last updated 10/2026
English
What you'll learn
- Compare SSRIs and SNRIs by mechanism of action, clinical indications, and practical prescribing differences.
- Differentiate individual SSRIs based on their clinical advantages, side effect profiles, and patient-specific considerations.
- Compare individual SNRIs, including differences in noradrenergic activity, pain indications, and clinical applications.
- Identify appropriate starting doses, titration strategies, therapeutic dose ranges, and important dosing adjustments.
- Recognize common adverse effects, serious safety concerns, and essential monitoring considerations for SSRIs and SNRIs.
- Identify clinically significant drug interactions, contraindications, and patient factors that influence antidepressant selection.
- Distinguish antidepressant discontinuation symptoms from relapse and understand important tapering and switching precautions.
- Apply psychopharmacology principles to clinical scenarios using interactive SSRI and SNRI field guides and practice questions.
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Course content
4 sections • 6 lectures • 1h 46m total length
Requirements
- Designed for PMHNP students, practicing PMHNPs, and other healthcare professionals with a basic understanding of psychiatric diagnoses and pharmacology.
- No advanced psychopharmacology knowledge is required. A computer, tablet, or smartphone with internet access is all you need to follow along.
Description
SSRIs and SNRIs are among the antidepressants psychiatric clinicians use most often. But knowing the drug class is not the same as knowing how to choose between individual medications. This free, clinically focused course is taught by a psychiatrist and designed especially for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners including PMHNP students, new PMHNPs, and practicing prescribers seeking a practical refresher.
Across two focused video walkthroughs, we compare all SSRIs and SNRIs through the lens of real-world prescribing. The emphasis is on choosing among medications, understanding starting doses and titration, anticipating adverse effects, recognizing meaningful drug interactions, and approaching discontinuation thoughtfully.
What you'll learn:
Compare individual SSRIs and SNRIs based on clinically important differences.
Understand starting doses, titration strategies, and important dose adjustments.
Recognize adverse effects, drug interactions, and prescribing precautions.
Distinguish discontinuation symptoms from relapse and review tapering considerations.
Apply these concepts using interactive learning activities and practice questions.
The SSRI Field Guide
Examine clinically important differences among fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, citalopram, escitalopram, and fluvoxamine. Topics include tolerability, medication interactions, QT-related precautions, and differing risks of discontinuation symptoms.
The SNRI Field Guide
Compare venlafaxine, desvenlafaxine, duloxetine, and levomilnacipran, with attention to noradrenergic effects, pain-related indications, blood pressure and heart rate, renal and hepatic considerations, and withdrawal risk.
Interactive learning resources
Students also receive access to free interactive SSRI and SNRI field guides. These educational resources include drug comparison tools, dosing activities, clinical scenarios, and practice questions so learners can actively test and reinforce what they have reviewed.
Who should enroll?
This course is intended for PMHNP students, practicing PMHNPs, and other healthcare professionals with basic familiarity with psychiatric diagnoses and pharmacology.
The material is for professional education and is not individualized medical advice or a substitute for current prescribing information, clinical guidelines, or professional judgment. Verify medication-specific information against current authoritative references before applying it to patient care.
Who this course is for:
- Practicing psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) seeking to strengthen their practical SSRI and SNRI prescribing knowledge.
- PMHNP students and new psychiatric nurse practitioners building confidence in antidepressant selection, dosing, and monitoring.
- Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other prescribing clinicians who manage depression, anxiety, and related psychiatric conditions.
- Psychiatry residents and healthcare professionals seeking a clinically focused psychopharmacology refresher with interactive field guides and practice questions.