Becoming a Psychiatric Nurse

Psychiatric nurses are basically medical personnel who treat patients who suffer from mental disorders. Just like other fields of specialization, mental health is also an area of specialization. If you have interest to help people with mental disabilities, you can pursue a certification, degree or diploma in psychiatric nursing. Adopting education in this field gives you training in different ways of handling patients suffering from mental disabilities, counseling them and assisting them.

Psychiatric nurse courses
Medical schools offer courses for psychiatric nursing. Official approval has to be acquired for becoming a registered nurse in this field. There also medical schools that offer high education in this field.

There are two levels of education in this field,

Basic Level:
This level of education teaches the student to relate with patients and their mental disorders. The students are trained in diagnosing mental disabilities and taking care of such patients is also taught. This field of study can reward a student with a certificate, degree or a diploma.

Advanced Level:
This level teaches the student about complexities of mental disabilities and dealing with such patients. There are special courses offered that teach about diagnosing, evaluating and treating patients with mental disorders. The psychiatric nurses are also trained in knowing the problems that cause mental disabilities, the nurse is also able to deal with families and not only individuals. This level of education offers masters degree in psychiatric nursing.

Duties of a psychiatric nurse
Because the field of is vast and covers various areas of specialization, this is what anyone willing to become a psychiatric nurse should know. The sensitivity of mental illnesses differs as some are mild and some are complex. Depending on your area of specialization, you would have to deal with every patient depending on his or her condition. Some of the duties of a psychiatric nurse are:

- The nurse can be required to work as a consultant in the case of an individual suffering from mental disorder.
- Counseling, educating and informing families and relatives about issues related to mental health.
- Managing a patient's condition till the time of complete recovery.
- Ensuring that there is a treatment plan and making sure that the plan has been correctly applied.
- Providing emergency psychiatric services and care to patients.
- Providing assessment on those suffering from mental problems.

Different kinds of mental disorders handled by a psychiatric nurse

Depression:
It is low self esteem and changes in moods, lack of interest and appetite.
Dementia:

It is a condition that can affect people in old age, it involves refusal of cognitive functions.
Schizophrenia:

This type of disorder causes an abnormality, whereby a person's sense of reality does not function. These types of patients constantly become hallucinate and delusional much.
Bipolar disorder:

These mental disorders create a serious change in patient's mood. The patient can suffer from depression always stay sad.

The jobs in this field

As there are higher levels of education in the psychiatric nursing field, you can become:

- Research professor in mental institutions
- Hospital administrator
- Child youth mental health specialist