Psychiatric mental health nurses and behavioral health professionals are invited to submit abstract proposals to be considered for presentation at the American Psychiatric Nurses Associations 26th Annual Conference. The conference will be held November 7-10, 2012 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will offer more than three days of continuing nursing education and networking.

The APNA Annual Conference is the premier event for psychiatric mental health nursing: more than a thousand professionals gather each year to advance the psych nursing profession, share expertise, and champion mental health. This years conference program centers around the theme Fighting Stigma and will include keynotes by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Congressman Patrick Kennedy, and nursing leader Linda Burnes Bolton, RN, DrPH, FAAN. Advanced practice nurses, generalist RNs, and psychiatric mental health professionals are invited to attend and share their expert knowledge through sessions or poster presentations.

Those interested in presenting should submit abstract proposals to APNA via the online submission site by March 5, 2012. Submissions will undergo an extensive peer review by the APNA Scholarly Review Committee and will be considered for 2-hour preconference sessions, 45-minute concurrent sessions, 20-minute mini concurrent sessions, and poster presentations. Suggested topics include but are not limited to: Nursing Administration, Advanced Practice Nursing, Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health, Cultural Issues, Emergency/Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Departments, Forensic Psychiatric Nursing, Graduate Nursing Education, Inpatient Care, Integrated Physical & Mental Health Care, Military / Issues Related to Returning Service Members, Older Adults / Geropsych, Outpatient Care, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Mental Health Recovery, Nursing Research, RN-PMH Practice, Substance Use, Undergraduate Nursing Education, Violence, Womens Health

Abstract proposals selected for presentation at the APNA 26th Annual Conference will contribute to the scholarly practice of psychiatric mental health nursing, offering valuable continuing nursing education for those who attend. For more information and to submit, please visit http://www.apna.org/CallforAbstracts.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is a national professional membership organization committed to the specialty practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing and wellness promotion, prevention of mental health problems and the care and treatment of persons with psychiatric disorders. APNAs membership is inclusive of all psychiatric mental health registered nurses including associate degree, baccalaureate, advanced practice (comprised of clinical nurse specialists and psychiatric nurse practitioners), and nurse scientists and academicians (PhD). APNA serves as a resource for psychiatric mental health nurses to engage in networking, education, and the dissemination of research.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Centers Commission on Accreditation.

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Psychiatric Nursing

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Home Page > Education > College and University > Psychiatric Nursing

Psychiatric Nursing

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A psychiatric nurse is a registered nurse that provides care and support to patients with mental disabilities. Although this is typical for most nurses, a psychiatric nurse is expected to provide an additional level of support. Nurses working with patients who suffer from mental disabilities must analyze the needs of each patient and develop a unique plan to care for each one. By working with doctors and other nurses, a psychiatric nurse can develop a custom plan to care for each one, as well as provide comfort for the patient.

Psychiatric nurses can administer medication to patients, however; this is typically only under order from a doctor. If the mental state of a patient changes, a nurse must be able work quickly and determine the best course of action. Psychiatric nursing also includes informing nursing students, doctors, other patients, and family members of different mental illnesses, and their associated care plan. This is an important role for nurses, as it is important to ensure accuracy when describing how to treat a patient.

To get into the field of psychiatric nursing, typically a nurse will have a bachelor’s degree from a college or nursing school. General courses relating to nursing can prepare a person to become a psychiatric nurse, but additional courses may have to be taken at a later time. Psychiatric nurses must also be licensed as a registered nurse in the state that they are working in. It is also important for nurses to stay up to date on their training by attending regular training.

Although it is important for a psychiatric nurse to be skilled in all areas that are required of registered nurses, psychiatric nurses must be able to show a greater degree of understanding of many different mental disabilities. One way for nurses to gain valuable experience is to serve on a rotation assignment. This can expose a nurse to different disorders, as well as provide valuable experience.

Typically a psychiatric nurse will work in either a hospital, long term care facility, or other medical facility. More facilites are beginning to offer support for patients with mental disabilites, leading to more places for nurses to work. Nurses should expect to work an average number of shifts, even though some of them may be longer than normal. A psychiatric nurse must also be able to work in an environment that is stressful from the number of patients that need more care than a typical patient.

The demand for <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);” href=”http://psychiatricnursingjobs.org/”>Psychiatric Nursing Jobs</a> is growing, and since the nursing is included by the health care industry, it is expected to grow even more. Many hospitals and other medical care facilities offer some level of mental support leading to even more job openings. Psychiatric nurses also have room to grow their career. They can choose to stay in their role for the entirety of their career, and survive comfortably. They may also be promoted to a supervisor, or continue their education and get a higher degree. This can lead to a transition into a specialist role.

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Once training is completed, there are a wide variety of Psychiatric Nursing Jobs available to those seeking them.

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Psychiatric nursing is a flexible profession, which involves the application of expertise that evolves out of a wide range of knowledge and addresses many concerns. Not all mentally challenged patients receive sufficient medical care and support from family and friends, to help in effectively conveying the illness to the medical establishment. These patients have impaired ability to process information.

Psychiatric nursing is ideal to help reorganize relationships and nursing responses. The nurse is required to be engaged and self-directed in the on-going professional development. It is the responsibility of the nurse to practice leadership within the paradigms of the profession and the community at large.

Levels Of Education In Psychiatric Nursing

Clinical practice of psychiatric nursing takes place at two levels.

-Basic: At this level, registered nurses work with families, individuals, communities and groups. They diagnose the mental ability and define the nursing plan. They are also responsible for putting the plan into practice and assessing the nursing care.

-Advanced: At the advanced level, psychiatric nursing requires nurses to possess Masters Degrees in Psychiatric Nursing. They take the role of Nurse Practitioner or Clinical Nurse Specialist. They evaluate, diagnose and treat families and individuals with psychiatric disorders and problems. These nurses work as researchers, professors with private agencies and programs and hospital administrators.

There are a number of programs available to pursue a career in psychiatric nursing. A two-year program for an associate degree in nursing, a hospital based three-year diploma in nursing and a university four-year bachelors degree in psychiatric nursing are just some of the available options. All graduates are eligible for the registered nurse license.

A degree in advanced practice registered nursing makes a person eligible to specialize in Forensics or Substance Abuse, Gero-psychiatric Nursing and Child-Adolescent Mental Health Nursing. There are few who specialize in consolation liaison, where they can counsel people who suffer from physical illnesses or suffer from psychiatric problems.

Many debates have been sparked over the relationship between the psychiatric patient and nurse. Besides the medical and education qualification, a psychiatric nurse should possess compassion and understanding, to create a bond of trust with the patient. A patient usually appreciates the efforts of a nurse who makes an attempt to understand his situation and works diligently towards improving it. The nurse is also expected to manage ethical dilemmas. This profession demands the patience to tackle all kinds of mental and emotional upheaval.

Salary

Like most other professions, the salary in of a psychiatric nurse depends on the experience and the size and location of the hospital or agency. Psychiatric mental health nurses usually earn $35,000 to $40,000 per year. Advanced practice registered nurses earn $60,000 and above. Nurse executives earn $100,000 and above. Teachers and faculty members earn approximately $65,000 and above.

Future of Psychiatric Nursing

The demand for psychiatric nurses is expected to rise in the coming years. At present, there is an increase in the number of students pursuing careers in psychiatric nursing. You can access lots of information from books and journals, easily available online.

Licensed Practical Nurse, LPN Registered Nurse, RN Registered Psychiatric Nurse, RPN

In Canada all nursing professions are regulated in the public interest and you must pass a licensing exam to become registered in order to practice nursing as a career.

Nursing education for each of these types of nursing has common curricular components and some specialty components. However, the length of nursing education varies and each category has a defined scope of practice.

Licensed Practical Nurse

The Licensed Practical Nurse has 1-2 years of education in a community college or private post-secondary training institute. They have a limited nursing scope of practice that is completely contained within the scope of practice of a registered nurse and cannot work with clients who are complex or require multiple interventions.

In Ontario and some other provinces they are called a Registered Practical Nurse and this is abbreviated as RPN. This can be confusing because a registered psychiatric nurse is also abbreviated as RPN in the western provinces. In many provinces LPN’s were not fully utilized for many years and the numbers of nurses practicing as a licensed practical nurse declined dramatically. Because of the pressures exerted by fiscal restraint and by the nursing shortage which is quite acute, the licensed practical nurse is now in demand again in provinces where they can legally practice.

Registered Psychiatric Nursing

Schools that prepare nurses to enter psychiatric nursing are limited to the four western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. There are over 5,000 Registered Psychiatric Nurses registered with the 4 regulatory authorities in these provinces.

Registered Psychiatric Nursing is not recognized as a separate type of nursing in the eastern provinces so that might be why they call practical nurses RPN’s (Registered Practical Nurses). This term cannot be used in the western provinces because it already used for psychiatric nurses.

The association of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Canada recommends that the minimum requirement for initial registrants for entry to practice into the profession of psychiatric nursing should be a baccalaureate degree by the year 2012.

On the Registered Psychiatric Nurses Association of Canada website there are 7 education programs listed for psychiatric nursing in all of Canada. There is no legally recognized classification of Psychiatric Technician in Canada. You may see this as a one of the different types of nursing in other countries such as the United States but it is not a recognized type of nursing in Canada.

Registered Nursing

Of the three types of nursing, registered nursing (the RN) is the most common type. It is typically the registered nurse that people think of when they think of the nursing profession. Registered nursing has the broadest nursing scope of practice.

There are no hospital based schools of nursing in Canada. A university education is required. Some colleges have partnered with universities and students can enter a nursing program where the first two years are offered in the college setting and then complete the nursing degree at the university.

Most provinces have registered nurse education programs that are 4 years in length ( 8-9 semesters) but some provinces are now implementing a three year program (9 semesters) as an accelerated program in order to bring more nurses into the Canadian health care system more quickly.

One province in Canada (British Columbia) is responding to increased pressures on the Canadian health care system by broadening the scope of practice of the registered nurse to include some tasks that were previously out of scope.

When these new regulations are put in place, under certain circumstances the registered nurse will be able to provide a broader range of services than that provided by the current regulations including:

ordering ultrasound or X-ray diagnostics (in triage situations) conducting tuberculosis screening managing labor in hospital when the primary care provider is absent

These changes recognize the current education and skills of the registered nurse. However, the changes are specific to British Columbia as the nursing profession in Canada is regulated provincially. It is quite possible and quite likely however, that other provinces will follow suit.