The United States has experienced a dramatic increase in the need for effective mental healthcare in nearly all populations. From children to older people, many people around the country are struggling with mental health needs. Luckily, there is a dedicated group of professionals passionate about providing the very best care they can to patients with all needs. Psychiatric/mental health nursing is a growing field that is already one of the industry’s most powerful groups of care providers. Whether you need help with chronic depression or are experiencing spikes in anxiety, these psychiatric nurses and nurse practitioners can help address your needs and get you on the road to recovery.
In this article, we’ll explore the characteristics that give psychiatric nurses the boost they need to help their patients throughout their treatment journeys better.
What are psychiatric nurses?
Psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) are among the most crucial mental healthcare providers in the United States. As of 2019, they were the country’s second-largest group providing mental healthcare. They are responsible for assessing, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring certain mental health conditions. In many states, PMHNPs are even allowed to prescribe medication, ensuring that their clients receive comprehensive care without requiring coordination between multiple psychiatric providers. PMHNPs are often responsible for:
- Conducting evaluations and intake screenings
- Collaborating with interdisciplinary care teams
- Educating communities, families, and individual patients
- Addressing mental health crises
- Promoting overall health
- Providing case management
- Creating, monitoring, and administering treatment plans
Suppose you want to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. In that case, the good news is that some reputable PMHNP online programs are available through trustworthy providers such as Wilkes University. In the past, remote learning was considered a ‘lesser’ option than traditional, in-person studies; however, today’s academic institutions have embraced online learning in a big way. Enrolling in an online MSN-PMHNP program is an excellent way to advance your career if you are a student with responsibilities, needs, or preferences that make it difficult to attend in-person classes on campus every day. Students study advanced pharmacology, pathophysiology, diagnostic reasoning, advanced health assessment, and health perspectives of culturally diverse, rural, and underserved populations.
Below, we review some of the skills and characteristics you need to master to provide excellent care as a PMHNP:
Active listening and de-escalation techniques
Caring for patients one-on-one can lead to some emotional moments. Sometimes, patients won’t react well to the news, and sometimes, their mental health status won’t allow them to sit calmly and non-aggressively through an interaction. Regardless of the specific reason they are agitated, patients sometimes need someone experienced with de-escalation in their corner. Suppose you can successfully calm patients down and provide them the care they need and deserve despite their emotional regulation struggles. In that case, you are on track to be an incredible provider. But how can you get to that point?
Active listening is surprisingly important in interacting with patients and helping them regulate their emotions. It is all about relationship building and developing trust and understanding between providers and their patients. It is a style of listening and responding that tells people they are being heard. They aren’t just talking at a brick wall, in other words, but their needs and concerns are being understood and are being taken into consideration. Active listening is a key component of de-escalation techniques. PMHNPs who understand how to listen to their patients and address their expressed needs and concerns are much more effective at calming them down than those who do not.
Analytical skills and patient observation
Patient care is not always straightforward, especially when it comes to psychiatric needs. Sometimes, patients have difficulty communicating effectively via traditional means, for example. Care providers must be able to analyze their body language, nonverbal cues, vital signs, and test results to determine their care needs. Excellent analytical skills are a must-have for effective PMHNPs. Without accurately pinpointing patient needs and whether patients can overtly express them, professionals will find it difficult to provide detailed and responsive care that promotes recovery and good health.
Whether they need to observe patient behavior firsthand or analyze test results and other data and draw conclusions about the most effective care options, analytical skills should be among the first skills aspiring professionals acquire.
Interpersonal communication and patient rapport
One of the most important things healthcare providers like PMHNPs can do is build lasting relationships with their patients. There are a few different reasons for this. First, being a patient can be scary. If you seek care, you probably already have something unusual happening and might be overwhelmed before you even arrive at the doctor’s office or hospital. Once you’re there, however, it’s time to share sometimes extremely intimate details of your body with people who are, effectively, strangers.
By practicing excellent interpersonal communication, PMHNPs can encourage patients to share their health needs fully and truthfully. Putting the people they care for at ease allows PMHNPs to dig a little deeper into their symptoms without making an already stressful situation harder. They can also use their communication skills to build rapport with their patients. Solid relationships between patients and care providers are crucial in healthcare, and interpersonal communication skills make it easier than ever to provide the feedback and care that patients need to get better and lead healthier lives.
Problem-solving and meeting care needs
If there’s one piece of advice that PMHNPs share with newcomers, it’s to be prepared for anything. No day will be the same as the one before it, and sometimes, interactions with individual patients might vary widely from one visit to the next, depending on their mental health needs. One of the most important skills that PMHNPs can cultivate is problem-solving.
Sometimes, mental health needs are tricky. What works for one patient might not work for another. Sometimes, what works for one patient will actively worsen another’s mental state, even when they suffer from the same disorder. For that reason, mental healthcare professionals, in particular, must be able to read the room and adapt accordingly.
Problem-solving skills make it easier for PMHNPs to get to the root of a patient’s struggles and find effective solutions for their needs. Professionals who are adept at problem-solving might be able to direct patients with depression to therapeutic activities best suited to their individual interests and health needs. For some, painting might provide peace of mind. For others, horse riding or dancing might be the best way to draw them out of their shell. Whatever the magic solution, PMHNPs who can problem-solve are better able to find it.
Teamwork and effective care teams
Patient care is not a one-professional-fits-all experience. In the past, patients tended to receive care for most healthcare needs from a family doctor. Unless they needed a specialist, they saw that same care provider for everything from dealing with the common cold to treating depression. As healthcare has advanced, it has become much more common for patients to have several care providers working together to make the most effective decisions for their health.
Teamwork allows PMHNPs to interact with their patients’ extended care teams. This, in turn, helps ensure that they receive comprehensive care that considers all of their other health needs. Someone with a heart condition might not be able to take certain antidepressants, for example, and care teams with both cardiologists and PMHNPs can identify conflicts and problem-solve to find the best solution. Effective collaboration is crucial to the recovery process, and psychiatric nurse practitioners must learn how to work even with strong personalities that might not complement their own.
Empathy and providing patient-centered and patient-directed care
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s position and walk a mile in their shoes. It allows us to sympathize with people who have experienced things we have never encountered. Someone with empathy will be able to empathize with someone who has lost a child even when they have never personally lost a child. PMHNPs must have plenty of empathy when working with patients struggling with mental health needs. You might not always understand how something affects your patient because you have no frame of reference, but having practiced empathy skills means that you can pinpoint their needs and provide effective care anyway.
The most important elements of mental health care revolve around patient-centered and patient-directed care. Patients have the right to decide what care solutions they want to pursue and receive care tailored to their needs. Empathy makes it easier for PMHNPs to understand why their patients are pushing for a particular healthcare solution and how their decisions impact their home and professional lives. With this understanding in mind, healthcare professionals can give their patients more informed and effective care that caters to their cultural and social needs.
Objectivity and improving patient access to quality care
Something that prevents many patients from seeking the care they need is the fear of judgment. Effective PMHNPs understand their job is to provide the best help they can without imposing their morals, beliefs, and opinions. Someone struggling with a sexually transmitted disease, for example, might put off seeing a provider for fear of being judged about their sexual activity. The same can be said of patients struggling with their mental health.
The symptoms of both long- and short-term mental health disorders can be embarrassing. Hypersexuality, for example, might leave patients ashamed of their history and hesitant to be truthful. PMHNPs who can listen without judgment and provide the care their patients need without lectures or condemnation increase their likelihood of returning should future health problems arise. Not only does this kind of care impact specific patients, but it also helps normalize seeking medical care in related communities. Once patients know they can reach out to professionals and be treated with dignity and respect, they will likely stay up-to-date on their care and encourage those around them to speak to professionals as needed.
The bottom line
When you devote your career to helping others heal and thrive, you are choosing to put others first and improve the lives of countless individuals. Are you interested in becoming a PMHNP? You could make a big difference in your patients’ lives, families, and communities. From providing patients with ongoing care to assessing potential needs and addressing mental health crises, PMHNPs are some of the most important providers in the country. Use the information we have collected in this article to guide your search for further information, and you’ll find the perfect career and education trajectory to help you get started.
