Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: Features of the Profession

Essay on Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing

Nursing is one of the most challenging as well as gratifying professions. It requires a balance of the nurse’s personality, perceptions of the patients, the need to provide a comfortable healing environment and meet the required best practices for professional nursing. Some of the attributes required to sustain such a complicated working environment and to meet the many expectations depend on personality and active training in line with emerging needs (Stuart, 2014).

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It is indispensable to mention that becoming a nurse is no easy task, as it requires high professional competence and interpersonal skills. Compassion and empathy combined with a cool head and desire to help others are critical for people who strive to get a degree in nursing.

Being a registered nurse, pursuing a master of science in nursing degree affords me an opportunity to perfect my already excellent skills in collecting and evaluating patient data, leading and directing other people through change processes and the general administrative functions within the nursing profession. Furthermore, healthcare in general and nursing in specific are dynamic fields characterized by new practices and standards of practice. It is implicit that as a practitioner, I require advanced expertise through studying a master program to obtain the relevant information, which addresses specific needs of every patient (Casey et al., 2004). For instance, the concept of evidence-based care and personalized treatment requires adequate training in healthcare communication and evidence gathering to ascertain the unique requirements of every care situation.

Therefore, if you strive to become a professional and relevant specialist who is aware of all the specifications within the field, you need to work hard and read a lot of information about psychiatric mental health nursing. It takes me a lot of time to master my skills and learn the up-to-date laws and regulations considering the area.

At this point, it is inevitable to mention that before you choose nursing as your profession, you should mind its peculiarities and features. Browsing the web and talking to people, I acknowledged that the attitude towards people with mental issues varies, depending on the human experience. Nonetheless, the vast majority of people prefer to avoid any interaction with such patients. This point should be taken into account, as you may come across unacceptance and greed.

At the same time, a considerable number of people have become much more intelligent in the area. Hence, they are ready to confront core misconceptions and stereotypes about patients with mental disorders. As a nurse, I have had different experiences with people being grateful for what I do and those who asked me to leave certain places. Additionally, I should mention an excellent time I spent working in one location that helped me choose the category of people I strive to work with.

During my job at Home Care; Vista, CA, I worked with families of the sick people, which exposed me to the various medical needs of societies. The experience reinforced my passion for working with individuals, groups, families, and communities in alleviating some of the less presenting yet significant health conditions such as mental illness. The choice of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Practitioner (PMHNP) as an option is a consequence of my professional desire to oversee the entire process of patent mental recovery, which includes diagnosis, planning for personalized care, implementing the most suitable care and evaluating the effectiveness of the prescribed intervention. It is my understanding that most diseases are treatable through the administration of drugs but mental illnesses require effective psychotherapy, which is often lacking thus reducing the effectiveness of medical treatment and the recovery from most of the common vector infections (Stuart, 2014). The Master of Science in Nursing with a major in PMHNP will bolster my therapeutic skills necessary in prescription of medication and administration of psychotherapy even for the most critical situations

Studies in PMHNP require many abilities including effective planning for care, implementation of the nursing process and evaluation of its effectiveness (Shives, 2008). My working experience at the Fresenius Kidney Care involving pre-evaluation, initiation, monitoring, and termination of treatments of people suffering from kidney infections adequately exposed me to the principles and process of providing direct nursing care to the sick as required in the training of psychiatry. PMHNP primarily focuses on dealing with communities, groups, and families (Shives, 2008). Therefore, the insights about the society needs I obtained while working at the Nursefinders-Kaiser Permanente involving the provision vaccinations and wellness education to various populations provide me with an incredible professional background. These sets of professional expertise coupled with my academic qualifications including Certificate in Palliative Care, which exposed me to patient or family assessment, communication, decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in palliative care for patients with acute illnesses will improve my understanding of the master program.

The working experience I have already gained was exceptionally valuable for me, as it helped me view mental health disorders from a different perspective. While the overwhelming majority of people are convinced that certain illnesses cannot be treated, I am the one who knows the medicine to give in order to eliminate the symptoms of various ailments and help patients live their normal lives.

My scientific knowledge of the area, compassion for people who have been rejected by others due to their mental health disorders, and a desire to invest in the development of modern medicine have influenced my desire to join the master's program.

Psychiatric Diagnosis

Attaining an MSN in PMHNP equips me with the relevant information, knowledge, and skills necessary in making psychiatric diagnosis, planning for individualized and evidence-based care, implementing the required nursing process, and evaluating the response to care (Hyrkäs, 2005). As an accomplished PMHNP, I will be able to assess, diagnose, and treat people and families suffering from a variety of psychiatric disorders. I will use multiple approaches including medical prescription and of psychotherapy to address mental illness (Shives, 2008).

Although all these processes seemed easy and obvious to me, my attitude towards them changed a lot when I immersed myself in the field and started learning more. Therefore, if you have always been convinced that you are a psychiatric nursing specialist, you should take your time to read information about the available diagnosis and treatment methods. A lot of useful information and practical recommendations may simplify your working experience and give you a chance to perform much more effectively.

As expected, undertaking online master programs, especially in critical courses such as nursing requires a lot of dedication. I will embrace the attributes of commitment, self-discipline and flexible. I will avoid overwhelming professional duties to avoid being disoriented and experiencing burnout, which reduces the effectiveness of online instructions (Maeroff, 2004). Additionally, talking about the career of a psychiatric mental health nurse, it is vital to mention that hard work and individual approach to every patient are nothing within compassion and love for them. You should use all the knowledge you have and the skills you have gained to ease the life of the person you take care of.

I intend to be attached to a professional nursing facility that will allow me to exercise some of the concepts learned through the program. Furthermore, I will spend time doing research and studies that reinforce some of the psychiatric nursing concepts learned through the virtual studies (Maeroff, 2004). Due to the time strictness of online lessons, I will set clear priorities for proper time management as guided by the many expectations I have for the master degree.

Conclusion

Psychiatry is a complex and complicated field that deals with various aspects of the human brain and nerve activity and explains the relation between the health state and behavior. If you are currently considering an opportunity to become a nurse for people who have psychiatric mental problems, you should take your time to dive deeper into the field. Once you search for the information, you acknowledge that the working experience may be challenging, and you should be ready to accept them all.

Additionally, it is indispensable to start with the basics, advancing your knowledge and mastering your skills. New research and studies are conducted regularly, discovering new aspects of the question, but the student should remember that irrespective of the additional scientific knowledge that emerges, the basics should never be forgotten. They will not only help you to obtain the desired degree but will also give you an opportunity to practice valuable interpersonal skills fundamental for the nurse.

Casey, K., Fink, R. R., Krugman, A. M., & Propst, F. J. (2004). The Graduate Nurse Experience. Journal of Nursing Administration, 34(6), 303-311.

Hyrkäs, K. (2005). Clinical supervision, burnout, and job satisfaction among mental health and psychiatric nurses in Finland. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 26(5), 531-556.

Maeroff, G. I. (2004). A classroom of one: How online learning is changing our schools and colleges. Macmillan.

Shives, L. R. (2008). Basic Concepts of psychiatric-mental health nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Stuart, G. W. (2014). Principles and practice of psychiatric nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences.