What Is A Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse?

3 posts · started Oct 29, 2004

nursinghumor Oct 29, 2004, 9:57 AM

What Is A Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse? Found this description online. Maybe a few of the Psych nurses can chime in as well.

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse, Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow:"The need for psychiatric mental health nursing has its roots near the end of the 19th century when it was believed that patients in mental hospitals should receive nursing care. Psychiatric mental health nursing has since come a long way, with psychiatric-mental health content incorporated into all diploma and baccalaureate nursing programs. As new needs for services developed in the health care arena, the role and function of the psychiatric-mental health nurse expanded, leading to advanced practice registered nurses in psychiatric-mental health nursing (APRN-PMH). Psychiatric-mental health nurses are a rich resource as providers of psychiatric-mental health services and patient care partners for the consumers of those services."
Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow/STTI
Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International
550 West North Street Indianapolis, IN 46202
bennison@stti.iupui.edu
http://www.nursesource.org/psychiatric.html

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.nursingmail.com

sereneintexas Oct 5, 2007, 1:29 PM

I've only worked in psych for 3 years. I work with troubled teenagers, in a residential treatment center, who have various psych diagnosis. They are really intelligent for the most part but in big time denial of their problems and unable to admit, to themselves or others, the final action that got them sent to our facility. When they ask "why am I here, there's nothing wrong with me?" my usual response is, "From what I read in your history, you obviously have problems dealing with life in general and we hope to be able to help you to learn how to think and behave in ways that will make life easier for you and your family." This is the way I see a psych nurse. However, I recently had someone tell me that what I do is not psych nursing but behavioral nursing. Am I confusing the two or is there a difference at all???:rolleyes:

Lorraine Mar 12, 2008, 1:05 AM

I work in a 2 week crisis stabilization program and we deal with all mental illnesses and we do group therapy , one on one counseling etc. You are a psychiatric nurse that also deal with behavioral issues. I love my job, I hope you do to.