Become a Psychiatric Nurse

A psychiatric nurse
comforts a patient.

Psychiatric nurses and psychiatric nurse practitioners devote their careers to caring for people who are suffering mental distress or mental illness. They work with individuals and families who have psychiatric problems and disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis or dementia.

Learn more about psychiatric nursing and discover how this challenging profession can be very rewarding for the right person.

Psychiatric Nurse Career Overview

Psychiatric nurses at the registered nurse (RN) level work with individuals, families, groups and communities. Common work settings include hospitals, outpatient facilities, health departments, mental health agencies and long-term care centers. The following tasks are some of the typical daily activities of a psychiatric nurse:

• Assessing mental health needs
• Developing nursing care plans
• Helping patients regain or improve their coping abilities
• Managing the therapeutic environment
• Assisting patients with self-care activities
• Administering and monitoring treatment regimens
• Crisis intervention and counseling

Psychiatric nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who earn master's degrees in psychiatric-mental health nursing. In addition to the functions performed by RN psychiatric nurses, APRNs also assess, diagnose and treat psychiatric disorders and potential mental health problems. They are qualified to practice independently. They provide a full range of primary mental health services and in some states are able to prescribe medications.

Psychiatric Nurse Education

Psychiatric nurses must be registered nurses (RNs). Although 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees (BSNs) are preferred, you may choose to begin your career with a 2-year associate's degree or a 2- to 3-year diploma through a hospital-based training program.

You will also need specific additional training in psychological therapies, building a therapeutic alliance, dealing with challenging behavior and the administration of psychiatric medication. This may be achieved through elective classes, continuing education and/or clinical study. After gaining enough knowledge and on-the-job experience, you can take an exam to become certified in psychiatric and mental health nursing.

To become a psychiatric nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist, you will need additional education at the graduate level, usually two-year Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. You will then need to complete a period of supervised clinical practice before you are eligible for certification as a specialist in adult or child and adolescent psychiatric-mental health nursing.

Certification for psychiatric nurses and psychiatric nurse practitioners is available from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Certified nurses earn significantly more than those without such credentials. Certification is required in many states and recommended in the others.

Psychiatric Nurse Salary

According to PayScale.com, psychiatric nurses at the RN level earn approximately $24 to $30 an hour. Psychiatric nurse practitioners earn considerably more with annual salaries of $75,000 to $85,000. As with any nursing specialty, your income will vary depending on your training, certifications, location and years of experience.

Psychiatric Nurse Career Outlook

As with all nursing careers, the demand for psychiatric nurses is expected to increase significantly over the next ten years (see information about the current nursing shortage http://www.allnursingschools.com/faqs/shortage.php.) In general, the more training, certifications and experience a nurse has, the more demand there will be for his or her skill set.

Job demand positively affects salaries, schedules, job openings, and the availability of training institutions and government grants for nursing education. Since the health care industry is currently booming, there are many financial and educational incentives available to home health nurses. One of these is the nursing loan forgiveness program, which helps students pay back their nursing college loans as they work in a nursing setting. Learn more about this type of nursing financial aid that allows you to gain valuable home health nursing experience while getting reimbursed for your nursing school education.

Sources
Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow, 2009.
American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 2009.
Nursing Spectrum, 2004.