There are not too many people who have the where-with-all to be a mental health nurse.
It takes a person with excellent communication and medical skills to deal with individuals experiencing mental illness.
People in mental distress need to be handled carefully and nurses hired to work with them must be patient, strong and understanding.
Mental health nursing jobs are not for everyone but they do offer challenge and rewards to qualified individuals.
As a psychiatric (mental health) nurse you likely will be working closely with people experiencing debilitating mental conditions as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression or dementia.
Your background and training will have to include courses in psychological therapies, therapeutic alliance, behavioral psychology and psychiatric medication.
Without the proper training, the likelihood of you becoming a mental health nurse is almost non-existent.
It is almost unheard of for a person to receive on-the-job training in this specialized nursing field.
Psychiatric nursing is similar to other nursing specialties in that it looks at the whole person and attempts to find the best nursing care plan available.
The psychiatric nurse, however, must establish some type of therapeutic alliance with the patient in order to be successful.
This is not always necessary in other nursing professions.
The psychiatric nurse has to be able to share a positive and "inner" experience with the mental patient.
He or she often must call upon his or her own inner strength to deal with these fragile patients.
It is important that the nurse engages the patient as much as possible so that treatment progresses successfully.
Medication is often used to calm a mental patient and the psychiatric nurse must be actively involved in its administration.
He or she must be experienced in administering medication both orally and by intramuscular injection.
The nurse must be familiar with any side effects and respond appropriately if any of them surface.
Close monitoring of the patient is essential, especially when mood swings and personality changes are likely to occur.
The psychiatric nurse must be able to communicate effectively with the doctor and the patient alike so that the right medication is taken at appropriate intervals.
As you can see, mental health nursing jobs aren't for everyone.
Only the best trained people with the right personalities are suitable for psychiatric nursing.
It is a challenging job that requires an extraordinary amount of patience and one-on-one interaction with the patient.
It takes a person with excellent communication and medical skills to deal with individuals experiencing mental illness.
People in mental distress need to be handled carefully and nurses hired to work with them must be patient, strong and understanding.
Mental health nursing jobs are not for everyone but they do offer challenge and rewards to qualified individuals.
As a psychiatric (mental health) nurse you likely will be working closely with people experiencing debilitating mental conditions as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression or dementia.
Your background and training will have to include courses in psychological therapies, therapeutic alliance, behavioral psychology and psychiatric medication.
Without the proper training, the likelihood of you becoming a mental health nurse is almost non-existent.
It is almost unheard of for a person to receive on-the-job training in this specialized nursing field.
Psychiatric nursing is similar to other nursing specialties in that it looks at the whole person and attempts to find the best nursing care plan available.
The psychiatric nurse, however, must establish some type of therapeutic alliance with the patient in order to be successful.
This is not always necessary in other nursing professions.
The psychiatric nurse has to be able to share a positive and "inner" experience with the mental patient.
He or she often must call upon his or her own inner strength to deal with these fragile patients.
It is important that the nurse engages the patient as much as possible so that treatment progresses successfully.
Medication is often used to calm a mental patient and the psychiatric nurse must be actively involved in its administration.
He or she must be experienced in administering medication both orally and by intramuscular injection.
The nurse must be familiar with any side effects and respond appropriately if any of them surface.
Close monitoring of the patient is essential, especially when mood swings and personality changes are likely to occur.
The psychiatric nurse must be able to communicate effectively with the doctor and the patient alike so that the right medication is taken at appropriate intervals.
As you can see, mental health nursing jobs aren't for everyone.
Only the best trained people with the right personalities are suitable for psychiatric nursing.
It is a challenging job that requires an extraordinary amount of patience and one-on-one interaction with the patient.
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