Introduction
In healthcare, nurses play a huge and important role. Registered nurses are graduates of institutions that offer nursing programs. They pass a national licensing exam. Nurses take care of patients and play a very vital role in the life of ill and injured individuals. A nursing education trains and prepare nurses both theoretically and practically so that they can play the role of a professional care taker. The courses may consist of either general or specialized nursing. The areas of specialized nursing include post-operative, paediatric, public, gender-related, and mental health psychiatric nursing to name a few. Psychiatric and mental health nurses care for patients of all ages that are suffering from any sort of mental illness. They counsel the patients and even their families. Mental health nurses are sometimes the best mediators between the patient and the physician.
History
In the beginning, it was the nuns and the military that acted as nurses. Modern nursing began with Florence Nightingale who is the founder of the professional nursing philosophy. She saw and acknowledged how nurses are literally in charge of a patients health and recovery. In many countries, nurses, especially the senior ones, are known as sisters as modern nursing has its religious roots. The impression that nurses are inferior to physicians and that they must follow their orders is quite wrong. Registered nurses have the required medical knowledge and when needed they can order diagnostic lab tests, prescribe medications, and refer patients to health care professionals. Nowadays nurses have degrees and journals with knowledge and information relevant to nursing. As the need for specialized nurses is growing in many areas, mental health psychiatric nursing education is becoming important to obtain.
Features
The education required in order to become a registered and professional mental health psychiatric nurse consists of courses and studies that in total take up of at least six to ten years after the secondary education. A four-year college degree of Bachelor in Science of Nursing (BSN) is the very first degree that must be earned for a career in mental health psychiatric nursing. Alternatively, a Masters Entry Nursing program can be attended if the individual has already a Bachelors degree in a non-nursing field. After this, a test called NCLEX-RN must be taken and passed by the candidate. This test gives licensure as a Registered Nurse. Following this, mental health psychiatric nursing education requires an approved Masters or Doctoral advanced nursing education program must be completed. This includes at least six hundred clinical hours. The Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) degree will be made effective from 2015. This will be the planned entry level degree for advanced practice nurses. Finally, the Masters or Doctorate approved Nurse Practitioner (NP) is given prescriber credentials. The NP then sits for a board certification as an Advanced Practice Psychiatric/Mental-Health Nurse Practitioner, (PMHNP-BC). The BC stands for board certified. There are many schools, colleges and universities that provide the above mentioned necessary courses for mental health psychiatric nursing.
Tips and comments
Once the mental health psychiatric nursing education is completed, the PMHNP can start providing services to families, adolescents, children, old people, and adults. An Advanced Practice Psychiatric/Mental-Health Nurse Practitioner is qualified to act as consultants, practice independently or with physicians, diagnose, counsel, conduct therapy, and prescribe medications to psychiatric and substance abuse patients.
