Mental Health has become one of the most pressing challenges in healthcare, and Grand View University is leading the response. 23% of adults will experience a mental illness at some point or throughout their life, with 42 million adults suffering from anxiety alone. In the fall of 2025, the GVU nursing program became the first program in Iowa to earn NAMI certification, setting a new standard for mental health education in nursing programs statewide. This puts GVU at the forefront of growing mental health concerns.
As mental health challenges continue to rise across the country, healthcare professionals are increasingly expected to address not only physical needs, but emotional and psychological ones as well. Recognizing this growing demand, GVU has taken a significant step forward in its nursing program. In fall 2025, GVU’s nursing program became the first college in Iowa to integrate National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) certification directly into its Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) curriculum.
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The certification, the NAMI Provider Education Program, equips nursing students with mental health training focused on awareness, communication and support strategies for individuals experiencing mental health conditions. By embedding the program into required coursework, GVU is ensuring that all graduating nursing students leave campus prepared to respond to mental health concerns alongside clinical care.
NAMI is a national non-profit organization. According to their website, their mission is to, “serve as a catalyst for advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all Iowans affected by mental illness can lead better lives.”
They strive to educate people on mental health and well-being via education classes, both for people with mental health conditions and those without. These classes serve as a way for them to educate individuals about various conditions and as a place for those with those conditions to grow and heal among those with similar conditions.
According to the GVU nursing page, “Nurses represent the largest segment of the U.S. healthcare workforce. In some circumstances, nurses are the first line of contact with a health care provider, frequently spending the most time with people of diverse backgrounds seeking health care.”
Nurses are on the front line of some of the most major days of a person’s life, both physically and mentally. This training can help future nurses learn how to approach a person and their family members for almost any mental illness that the person is dealing with. Lisa Laughlin, the Department Chair for Nursing and Nursing Faculty, said, “Being comfortable, just talking with people and finding out what they want, how they can be supported.” This class gives them hands-on work with real patients with real illnesses and hearing from the family members walking along this journey with them. Telling students their experience and how they can be supported best, every patient is not alike in how they can be treated, so getting various training in multiple perspectives is key to being able to treat these patients.
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Ryan Crane, the Executive Director of NAMI, said, “There is no substitute for hearing first-hand accounts of an individual and or a family member living with mental illness. And since for many people it is admittedly their first time hearing that or their first time being exposed to some of that content. It’s a training, it’s formal, it’s evidence-based. There are outcomes from the training that are informed by surveys and large data sets for what works and what doesn’t for communicating.”
The NAMI Provider Education Program is designed specifically for healthcare professionals and students entering patient-facing roles. The curriculum focuses on understanding mental health conditions, reducing stigma and improving communication between providers and patients. Topics include recognizing warning signs, practicing empathetic listening and understanding how mental health impacts physical health outcomes. For nursing students, the certification adds a practical and meaningful dimension to their education. Many students enter the field knowing they want to help others but may feel uncertain about addressing mental health concerns.
The NAMI program provides language, tools and confidence that students can carry into their professional careers.
“One of the activities in the training is called hearing voices. It simulates what it’s like to be a schizophrenic or have a diagnosis of schizophrenia.” Laughlin said, “You are given a task, and then there’s people surrounding you in the room, or there’s headsets that you can get, that have people talking in weird ways, and you have to try and complete this task, and just how challenging those can be, um, getting a good understanding of what that looks like within that person’s head and environment, can help us as healthcare providers.”
GVU’s nursing program is the first in Iowa to receive NAMI certification, setting it apart from other institutions across the state. Being first in the state not only enhances GVU’s academic reputation but also strengthens its appeal to prospective nursing students.
“Our partnership with GVU in that regard, where it was a leap of faith for Grand View to work with us on this, and we appreciate that a lot. I think that there is a documented need, really, and the excitement that we have for Grand View for understanding that need and for going through the process to set the provider up on campus, which shows that Grand View is serious about mental health, too,” Crane said.
As healthcare continues to evolve, programs that prioritize mental health training are increasingly viewed as forward-thinking and comprehensive. The integration opens the door for future initiatives focused on mental health advocacy, community outreach and interdisciplinary collaboration.
For students entering the program, the certification represents an added layer of preparation, one that acknowledges the complexity of modern healthcare and the importance of empathy in clinical practice. By becoming the first college in Iowa to offer NAMI certification within a BSN curriculum, GVU has positioned itself at the forefront of mental health education in nursing. As healthcare challenges continue to grow, the program serves as a model for how academic institutions can respond with innovation, compassion and leadership.
