The nursing field covers many different disciplines of health, including mental health. It is true that the medical and mental health fields are different — but the concept of nursing remains the same. In this guide, we will discuss how nursing impacts the psychiatric field. It takes skill, understanding, and compassion to excel in the field of psychiatric nursing. If one intends to work as a nurse in this challenging field, this guide will cover what one needs to know. Let’s dive in right now.

The right education is the driving force

For nurses seeking career advancement and specialization, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) can open doors to exciting opportunities. Online Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner programs, like the Online MSN-PMHNP program from Wilkes University, provide the pathway for registered nurses to become Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs).

This specialization is in high demand as PMHNPs play a vital role in tackling the rise in mental health challenges. The program equips students with the necessary skills through a fully online format, allowing for flexible study. Graduates gain expertise in areas like diagnostic reasoning, psychopharmacology, and communication across cultural backgrounds. Importantly, the program also emphasizes understanding the needs of rural and underserved populations. This combination of online convenience, in-depth knowledge, and practical experience prepares nurses to effectively serve patients in the growing field of psychiatric-mental health care.

What is the importance and role of psychiatric nurses?

Typically, nurses are known for assisting physicians regarding healthcare. This includes taking the vital signs, administering medication, and handling other tasks. In the psychiatric field, they still perform these tasks and beyond. Their key responsibilities also include the following:

Evaluating the needs of the patient

Psychiatric nurses work with patients who are dealing with various mental health disorders. They include conditions such as severe forms of depression and schizophrenia. Nurses understand that these patients each have their own needs that can be addressed through their treatment plans.

They create treatment plans for patients

Nurses know that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ treatment plan for every patient. They assist the doctors in the psychiatric field by assessing each patient’s situation regarding their condition. This includes the necessary medications they need and in-person therapy (i.e. talk therapy). Some psychiatric patients may also require additional treatments for addiction (assuming a patient has a dual diagnosis).

Provide counseling

Psychiatric nurses also can connect patients with counseling services. Especially in emergency situations when the patient urgently needs someone to talk to, nurses can take note of what’s going on and relay it to the necessary doctors and therapists. While nurses aren’t therapists themselves, they can use their counseling abilities to gather the necessary insights that will be passed along to therapists.

Administer medication

As is customary in other fields, nurses will administer medication to patients based on their treatment plans. They will also keep track of each patient’s doses based on their regular schedule.

What are the common practices of psychiatric nurses?

Though we have touched on the role of psychiatric nurses in the previous section, we will go a bit more in-depth with what they can do in practice. Here is a list of the following tasks they perform and why they are important:

Diagnostic assessments

Psychiatric nurses will perform diagnostic assessments using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). They will use it as a primary source for the diagnosis of mental health disorders. Nurses can also utilize other assessment tools to gather as much information as possible regarding a patient’s mental health status, the symptoms, and the impairments they experience.

Those tools include, but are not limited to, the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, to name a few. Nurses can collect insights and data on patients that will be relayed to a doctor or mental health therapist to create a customized treatment plan.

Therapeutic interventions

This practice includes assessing the medication needs of a client. In addition, they educate their patients about the psychotropic medications they are taking as part of their treatment. They also monitor the treatment on a regular basis to ensure that it is responding properly.

Nurses in psychiatry are also trained to work with various forms of psychotherapy. They can work in individual, group, or family therapy sessions. By using evidence-based techniques, nurses will be able to address the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral needs of the patients they work with.

They are also trained in understanding modalities like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and interpersonal therapy (IPT). A patient will undergo one of these based on the treatment plan that is made for them.

Crisis intervention

It is common in the psychiatric field for nurses to handle crisis intervention and stabilization for patients. This normally occurs in situations where the patients are actively dealing with a psychiatric crisis. They include but are not limited to severe disturbances in mood, psychotic episodes, and thoughts and ideations of suicide.

Nurses must employ a range of skills including de-escalation techniques, safety planning, and supportive counseling. This will allow them the ability to help the client prevent harming themselves and others while regaining the stability they need. It is one of the high-pressure situations that nurses face regularly in the psychiatric field.

Challenges and opportunities for psychiatric nurses

Nurses face challenges in the psychiatric field. At the same time, they see them as opportunities to make changes for the better. Let’s look at the following:

Challenging the mental health stigma

In recent years, the mental health stigma has reached lower levels, yet it still exists in society today. Nurses will hear negativity from others about individuals with mental health issues. Therefore, it is important for nurses to go beyond their regular duties as healthcare practitioners and become advocates for patients.

As such, it is important for nurses to challenge the stigma continuously. They speak on behalf of the patients who don’t have a ‘voice’. Nurses also use their role and experience in the psychiatric field to address the stigma and bias that still exists. In a way, they are seen as one of the frontline advocates for those struggling with mental health issues.

By sharing their frontline experience, they use their ability to generate awareness and share the stories of struggle. Even people suffering from mental health disorders themselves are taking the opportunity to share their own stories. Nurses who have treated these people can also share their second-hand experience while playing the role as their personal advocate.

The demand for mental health services

Today, the number of those with mental health needs continues to grow. This is due to factors such as an aging population, an increased prevalence of mental health disorders, and attrition in the workforce. As such, nursing programs have an opportunity to expand their capacity while developing strategies to recruit and retain more students. In turn, more nursing students that graduate will soon be able to fulfill those demands in nursing — especially in the psychiatric field.

Use of telepsychiatry

The digital world has also paved the way for telepsychiatry services. It is a form of telehealth blended in with mental health services that can be accessed anywhere. This includes remote and rural areas, which are vastly underserved when it comes to the resources for mental health that can meet one’s needs. Psychiatric nursing programs should consider implementing training courses for students who want to harness the power of telehealth technology.

By leveraging this technology, nursing students can get the best hands-on experience while preparing themselves for real-world applications. This includes virtual simulations, teleconferences, and case studies that will allow them to develop the necessary skills they need in the field of psychiatric nursing. However, it is important to take into consideration the ethical and legal aspects of telepsychiatry.

It is important to make sure that patient privacy and confidentiality is addressed. At the same time, nursing students should also be aware of any licensure requirements that need to be met. It is done in a similar manner to how nurses are licensed to practice in general.

The importance of diversity and cultural competence

Nurses in any field (including psychiatry) will work with numerous patients over the course of their career. They include people from different races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Needless to say, mental health disorders do not discriminate, and can affect anyone. It is important for nurses to provide effective care to those who come from any background.

At the same time, they must also be aware of the different cultures of their patients. One opportunity is for nursing programs to incorporate certain courses and studies pertaining to developing cultural competence. This will give students the opportunity to understand the values, beliefs, and health practices that could influence the mental health care of a certain patient. By being aware of these cultural aspects, nurses will have the ability to accommodate the patients in the best way possible.

A career in psychiatric nursing — things to consider

Now that we have covered the roles, practices, and challenges of psychiatric nurses, we’ll dive into some of the frequently asked questions and considerations. If you intend on pursuing this specialized field, it’s good to know what may be expected. Let’s take a look at the following:

The difference between psychiatric nursing and regular nursing

To put it in plain English, psychiatric nurses focus on the mental health aspect of a patient, whereas general nurses focus on the physical health. Another major difference is the treatment methods for certain conditions (i.e. treating episodes of schizophrenia vs treating a broken leg).

The challenge of psychiatric nursing vs. regular nursing

Psychiatric nurses need to deal with physical patients just as much as regular nurses, however there can be a few more challenges to psychiatric nursing in that they need to build a certain trust with their patients that will enable the patients to open and communicate what is wrong as opposed to regular nurses being able to physically check their patients’ vital signs and check their physical symptoms. Whilst both types of nursing require some degree of trust from patients, it is evident that psychiatric nurses require more trust from their patients.

Other challenges can include encouraging psychiatric patients to attend their appointments, which can be a challenge for mental health patients who are struggling to cope with their mental health concerns. Patients that require physical medical attention don’t often need much persuading to attend their appointments as they normally make these appointments because they need to deal with physical illness, and they often want to be cured.

The importance of de-escalation techniques in psychiatric nursing

Psychiatric nurses have a high chance they’ll encounter patients who display aggression and violence. In turn, these could turn into a situation where a physical confrontation may arise. Therefore, it is important for nurses to learn de-escalation techniques and deploy them as soon as possible. This way, they make sure that patients do not harm themselves, nurses, and other staff members as well.

The role of psychiatric nurses in diagnosing mental health disorders

A psychiatrist and nurse practitioners can be able to diagnose patients with mental health conditions. This includes assessing, diagnosis, and proper treatment. In addition, nurses can administer medication to patients based on their treatment plan.

Dual diagnosis

A dual diagnosis is a situation where a patient is diagnosed with both a mental health disorder and a substance disorder simultaneously. One of the most common patterns is a patient developing an addiction to self-medicate a mental health condition that was never diagnosed previously. As such, it is important for psychiatric nurses to collaborate with addiction counselors and medical personnel regarding a patient’s treatment plan. However, psychiatric nurses can only focus on mental health treatment alone.

Psychiatric nursing — improving one’s mental wellbeing

Those who aspire to be in psychiatric nursing have an opportunity. That is, to help patients handle their mental disorders properly while being able to allow them to live a normal life. In a time when mental health is increasing in conversation, more people are becoming aware of the struggles people are facing.

This also includes the increased demand for mental health services. As a psychiatric nurse, you can do your part to help those who have struggled, even for a long time. Get involved and become not only a caregiver but an advocate for those who handle these lifelong disorders.