What is a mental health nurse?
A mental health nurse is someone who provides care for patients with behavioural problems, mental health disorders, and the like. They are also equipped with knowledge and training to handle these patients. Mental health nurses work with professionals to help the patient be ready.
Why are mental health nurses important?
Mental health nurses are important because they help patients receive their needed care. Not many people are equipped to provide care. And some may still have a stigma against mental health. These nurses are also capable of educating loved ones about mental health.
They also help patients build their coping skills. The focus on building therapeutic relationships, it gives better care for the patients. Furthermore, it allows the patients to stimulate their minds.
Can a mental health nurse prescribe medication?
In general, they could, for advanced ones. What they can do is give care and connect with the patient. They also handle the development of care plans. Additionally, they do psychotherapy and assessment of a patient's mental health. These are a few of their responsibilities. If they wish to do more, they can go for specialisations.
How to become a mental health nurse
The first step is to have a degree in nursing. A bachelor's degree in nursing is most common and after that, gain job experience as a registered nurse and then get relevant training and certificates. In some cases, some go for an associate's degree. To add, even a graduate or master's degree is one requirement for some.
To add, some can go for a doctorate. But it's most important to gain certificates and training. This is to increase competency and prepare you more.
Mental health nurse or psychologist, the difference
Although there are a few similarities, both careers have their differences. Especially from the process to the way they work. Mental health nurses primarily care for the patients while it is the psychologists who treat them.
Mental health nurse practitioner
This is what they do, a few of their responsibilities:
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- Diagnosing and treating psychiatric conditions
- Providing individual or group psychotherapy
- Counselling patients as they experience mental health crises
- Educating patients on how to safeguard their mental and emotional health
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Psychologist
Meanwhile, for psychologists, this is what they do:
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- Studying patient behaviours to help identify and diagnose problems
- Counselling patients who are experiencing mental health crises
- Conducting individual or group psychotherapy
- Referring patients to other mental health providers as needed
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Psychologists do a deeper run because mental health nurses also collaborate with them. Despite some similarities, the responsibilities are limited.
When did mental health nursing begin?
The profession starts back with the first trained nurse from the United States. Her name is Linda Richards. She is responsible for opening the school for psychiatric-mental health nurses during (PMHNS) 1882.
Another fact is that the mother of psychiatric nursing is Hildegarde E. Peplau. She is responsible for the graduate psychiatric nursing programmer from 1954 at Rutgers University. She puts heavy emphasis on the nurse-patient relationship.
Mental health nurse salary
The average salary of a mental health nurse can go between £28,000 for starting ones to £43,000 for those with experience. Work hours can be between 37 to 38 hours a week. Additionally, you will likely go to work in the evenings, on bank holidays, and on weekends.
Why choose the profession?
For many reasons with the care and passion for mental health being one of them. Other reasons can be personal reasons. And even more with the idaea of advocating. Overall, there can be many reasons that contribute to the reason to choose this job.
I want to be aware of mental health first
Many courses and programmes steadily discuss mental health. This is not just for learning but to bring awareness as well. Educating yourself is always a good start. Because when you educate yourself, you gain more knowledge and understand mental health better.
Mental health is always going through new things as well. This includes the way people will treat others and treatment constantly progresses. With the College of Contract Management, you can learn more. Join the CCM for a new journey into mental health awareness.
