The psychiatric mental health nurse is accountable for the care of people with mental health disorders and also helps these individuals to recover and improve their quality of life. Taking a career in psychiatric mental health nursing is a tough career that needs passion to go through; you can find several platforms where you can get an online masters psychiatric nurse practitioner degree.
Psychiatric mental health nurses treat post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that is triggered by a frightening incident; they also treat depression, a condition in which someone has persistent sadness and lack of pleasure in enjoyable activities. Some other conditions that psychiatric mental health nurses treat are bipolar disorder, drug abuse, and anxiety.
In the present times, a lot of people are going through tough times, the rise in economic hardships, widespread diseases, a lot of relationships in turmoil, and so much more; these people need someone to take their hands and talk to them to bring them back on track. This is where psychiatric mental health nurses come in to assist. We are going to look at their roles in depth on how they help in the psychiatric department.
Observe And Diagnose Patients
The role of a psychiatric mental health nurse is to observe and diagnose patients with mental health concerns. Unlike treating physical ailments, psychiatric diagnosis solely relies on the information provided by the patient themselves. The psychiatric mental health nurse goes a step in depth and talks with the family members and others close to the patient to assess their mental health needs.
Collaborative Treatment
After a patient has been diagnosed and found what they/he/she has going on, then the psychiatric mental health nurse comes together with other professionals, such as social workers and psychologists, in order to come up with a treatment plan for the patient.
Medication
Psychiatric mental health nurses also have the power to prescribe medication to their patients. The standards of prescribing medications apply when registered psychiatric mental health nurses prescribe a medication to be dispensed. Registered psychiatric mental health nurses use current evidence to support their decision-making when prescribing medications to their patients.
Counseling And Psychotherapy
If a mental health patient is left untreated, it can lead to interference with relationships and their daily work routine. Even after medication, the patients need to be treated for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of mental health and substances. What counseling exactly happens is that psychiatric mental health nurses talk to clients about their symptoms and discuss their treatment options. They even go forward to identify the stressors of their client’s lifestyles and then teach them healthy coping and problem-solving techniques.
Crisis Intervention
Crisis intervention is a short-term management technique that is designed to reduce any potential damage to a person affected by a crisis. Normally a successful intervention means that a psychiatric mental health nurse obtains background information on the patient, establishing a positive relationship, understanding the problem, discussing the events, confronting the emotions, exploring coping strategies, implementing a plan, and eventually providing emotional support.
Educate
Psychiatric mental health nurses make sure to educate their patients on their conditions; the information they provide to them will give them a full understanding of their illness and their role in the treatment. After this education, the patients will make their own choices which will ensure the best treatment effects and even propel them to fast recovery and lesser setbacks.
Soft Care And Coping Skills
After providing medical attention to the patients, psychiatric mental health nurses advise the patients and encourage them to live their lives responsibly and take charge of their own lives. Teaching them that treatment and the road to recovery first starts with them is the ultimate goal, and they take the first step into the lane.
Endnote
Psychiatric mental health nurses play very many roles and responsibilities to their patients. The future holds great promise for the patients in psychiatric mental health; give aid when you can. With the psychiatric mental health nurses on call 24 hours, we play a very big role in helping them identify and seeking help from them to get treated.
