Role of PMHNP
A PMHNP is a registered nurse specialized in providing various mental health services to patients in various settings. PMHNP is responsible for conducting a comprehensive assessment of the mental health status of patients by understanding their medical history (Chapman et al., 2018). PMHNP performs the psychiatric evaluation during the study and identifies risk factors that may affect a patient’s mental health. They also diagnose patients’ mental illness and determine the most effective care plan for treating the patient based on their assessment. Using their psychiatrist skills, PMHNP puts their patients on the correct therapy and medication necessary for improving their mental health (Chapman et al., 2018). They also provide support and education for individuals, families, and communities by offering special training that can help them overcome mental health issues. Through teachings, they help people understand that mental health is like other diseases that patients can experience in their lifetime. This changes how mental health illness is viewed and reduces the stigmas associated with mental health. They also develop policies related to mental health issues and the treatment of mental health patients. Additionally, they can perform and interpret lab test and prescribe medication and treatment for acute and chronic illnesses related to mental health. They also provide preventative care such as vaccination to help patients stay healthy and reduce the risk of future mental health issues. They also make referrals for patient with health problems outside their area of patient care.
What makes them unique from other providers
PMHNPs are considered unique from other healthcare providers because they deal with patient’s emotional and mental health. They require a broad set of professional skills to help them manage their stress and workload while providing high-quality care to their patients (Chapman et al., 2019). Mental health is caused by various factors such as severe long-term stress, loneliness, long-term physical health condition, and child abuse or trauma. Therefore, PMHNPs have to assess the cause of each patient’s mental illness and apply logic and reason when addressing emotional topics related to mental health. At the same time, identifying the scope and specifics of mental illness can be difficult because its signs are not clear, and they vary from one patient to another. In this regard, PMHNPs perform thorough patient research in conjunction with their medical knowledge to design plans for care and therapy for their patients. PMHNP is also unique because they need to establish a trust to allow their patients to confide with them when coping with their mental illness. patients (Chapman et al., 2019). For these reasons, PMHNP must manage too much pressure and stress from their work since they deal with people who have emotional and mental health problems. Moreover, they have to come up with solutions that can help patients recover from the illness.
What skills, attributes and strengths do PMHNPs bring to their area of patient care.
A PMHNP has good communication skills and respect for mental health patients and their families. This makes their work easier to assess and provide necessary care to their patients. They can also empathize with their patients and understand their condition (Abram et al., 2020). Dealing with mental health patients is challenging, and PMHNP needs to understand their feeling and give them the necessary care. They also need to have a good knowledge of mental health problems and how to apply it in practice (Abram et al., 2020). PMHNP also needs to be observational. They should be able to observe the behaviors of mental health patients and evaluate factors related to the illness. They also need to develop resilience to help them deal with emotions they are likely to encounter in their practice. They need to be bold and strong to overcome the psychological problems such as stress that they may experience during their work (Abram et al., 2020). They also require compassion to cope with challenging behaviors and understand patients at all times. For example, some patients may lose their memory or become irritable as a side effect of their medication.
References
Chapman, S. A., Phoenix, B. J., Hahn, T. E., & Strod, D. C. (2018). Utilization and economic contribution of psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners in public behavioral health services. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 54(6), S243-S249.
Chapman, S. A., Toretsky, C., & Phoenix, B. J. (2019). Enhancing psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner practice: impact of state scope of practice regulations. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 10(1), 35-43.
Abram, M. D., White, J. H., & Jacobowitz, W. (2020). Developing an Innovative Psychiatric-mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program to meet Current mental Health Needs. Journal of the New York State Nurses Association, 47(2), 18-25.
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