Academic Success and Professional Development Plan

Comparison of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing and Acute Healthcare Nursing 

The nursing specialty that I have selected is mental health psychiatry nursing while the second-preferred specialization is acute healthcare nursing. Psychiatric mental health nurses (PMHs) work with patients, communities, groups, and families to assess their needs in regards to mental health ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016) . In particular, they evaluate, diagnose, and form interventions for people and families with mental disorders. Also they mitigate the onset of psychiatric disorders by applying their range of therapeutic abilities, which includes prescription of medicines and deployment of psychotherapy. PMHs nurses typically operate in their own private practices and organizations and also consult with corporations, policymakers, communities, and groups ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016) . Acute care nurses preside over time-sensitive disease, offer fast intervention to mitigate disability or death, and restore patients to optimal health ( Hoffman & Guttendorf, 2017) . Patients in acute settings can decline rapidly without any warning. As such, acute care nurse must have the ability to quickly and efficiently react during high stress scenarios ( Hoffman & Guttendorf, 2017) . The acute nurses must have the ability to stay professional while showing empathy for patients and their families since they preside over high stress situations. 

Justification for Selecting Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing 

One of the main reasons I have decided to pursue psychiatric mental health nursing is to help patients with conditions like schizophrenia and depression manage their condition. People with such conditions face a hard time managing their conditions ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016) . Since patients have informed me about their first-hand experiences regarding their difficulties in managing their conditions, I chose to specialize in psychiatry nurse practitioners because I am passionate about finding evidence-based information that would help me in adjusting these patients' medication or advocating for altering some of them. Evidence-based practice is important in improving patient outcomes ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016). It also helps in education of patients about tactics for self-management . According to Douglas and Whicker (2015), the medication used to manage a mental health condition such as schizophrenia sometimes takes weeks to kick in; therefore, the additional drug is given at the beginning of treatment to produce calm. The author goes on to say, short-acting psychotropic medications may be given along with long term medications for rapid response, and can be adjusted later (Douglas & Whicker, 2015). On that note, I am keen on helping these patients manage their conditions through evidence-based practices. 

I am also keen on intervening for children who have mental disorders. Mental disorders in children are regularly unidentified or take too long to be diagnosed ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016) . Once identified, the family of the child must sort through payment and service systems that include public and private insurance, offices of primary care doctors, community mental health centers, schools, and in some cases the juvenile justice and child welfare systems (Gearing et al, 2014). Most of these systems do not offer a complete care package, or offer it too late, after the development of serious problems. Often, these children do not receive the care that has been proven effective by research. Most children who are significantly impaired need extra help from their teachers, but not essentially special education ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016) . I want to inform teachers how to make use of several strategies to keep them on track. For instance, with anxious and depressed children, teachers can be more aware of how much pressure to apply in the classroom. For students displaying disruptive behavior, outbursts can be diffused by anticipating the student’s disruptive behavior before it gets out of hand ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016) . This could be done by placing a hand on an anxious child’s shoulder or sending them on an errand within the school to use up excess energy. Further, school personnel need to be more in touch with parents concerning how the child is faring both at school and at home. I am keen on providing early intervention for children with mental disorders by training school staff to spot signs from early on. 

Children suffering from severe emotional disturbance have much higher school drop-out rates than other students with disabilities. If these students do drop out of school, they usually fare poorly. Of all children suffering from mental disorders, those with severe emotional disturbance require the most intensive services (Gearing et al, 2014). Taking care of them usually requires a lot of individual as well as family therapy, intensive support in class, medication, and help during after-school hours, such as therapeutic camps, respite care for the parents, and in some cases partial hospitalization or residential care (Whicher, Morrison, & Douglas-Hall, 2002). In order to help children with mental disorders, there needs to be more school-based programs to promote mental health as well as more prevention programs. These programs include school-wide discipline, promotion of self-esteem and violence. A small portion of families with children suffering from severe emotional disturbance have given up their children’s custody to either the juvenile justice or child welfare systems solely to be able to access mental health care ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016) . Most families caught in this predicament do not qualify for certain medical coverage and they are often left with no choice but to give their children up in order for them to access the treatment they require. If the schools did more for these mentally ill children and provided the necessary resources, families would not have to go through the pain of relinquishing custody of their children. By allocating more funds in schools toward catering for mentally ill students, more children would be able to live healthy and normal lives. According to research, early identification of mental illnesses in children would result in better outcomes ( Jones, Fitzpatrick, & Rogers, 2016) . Early intervention can interrupt the course of particular mental disorders and in some cases could even reduce long-term disability. Several studies have found that mental disorders’ prevalence rates are almost the same in young children as in older ones. Behavioral problems that cause school problems later can be identified early. By giving elementary school teachers basic training on how to identify mental illnesses in students early enough, affected students would be able to access treatment before it is too late. 

Description of Professional Organizations 

The first organization I want to join is the American Nurses Association. The current definition of a nurse presented by the American Nurses Association (ANA) is that the nurse is one that protects, fosters, and maximizes the health and abilities of patients by promoting healing (Walden, n.d). The ANA goes on to say, healing is cultivated by advocating for evidence-based diagnosis and treatments. (Walden, n.d) The nurse is expected to induce suffering. By advancing my education and specializing in mental health psychiatry nursing, my vision for helping the mentally ill would be achieved. (Walden, n.d). I plan join and use the standard of care provided by the American Nurses for information on providing the highest quality of treatment to the mental health psychiatry community (Laureate Education, 2018). I would attend seminars, conferences and participate in research for continual career advancement. These seminars will be important in expanding my knowledge and connecting with other professionals who will help me expand the scope of my practice 

The other organization I want to join is The American psychiatry Nurses Association (APNA). The APNA articulates that mental health nursing professionals typically work with vulnerable individuals, or those whose habits may seem unconventional in society (Laureate Education, 2018). As a nurse, I am to facilitate a service that attends to the needs of the target population and this needs an awareness of my personal values and attitudes so that I well prepared to adjust to the professional demands of the industry (Laureate Education, 2018). Based on this philosophy, I felt that APNA would be a valuable addition to my career. The organization’s seminars and conferences will enable me to learn certain values like respect and working in collaboration to partner with workers from other disciplines (Laureate Education, 2018) . Working in collaboration is important to me since I am bound to encounter various health service workers while disseminating my services ( Kauffman, 2015) . Partnering with these professionals will enable me to offer the best possible service to my clients to aid their recovery. 

Joining APNA will also enable me to forge collaborative approaches in the quest to improve my practice and improve patient outcomes. The collaborative approaches of improving the functioning of interdisciplinary teams encompass the behaviors, process, and content team (Laureate Education, 2018). Content in centered the team vision as well as the strategies that enable a team to find direction and clarity as a cohesive entity that appreciates the diversity of individuals in the group (Laureate Education, 2018) . Processes are the institutional structures in which the team functions; this includes the techniques, policies, tools, and influence from management. These processes can make interactions between team members more objective, inclusive, and transparent (Laureate Education, 2018). Behaviors are the actions that are driven internally and interactions between team members. An effective and motivated team will have individuals that trust each other and are accountable. Further they acknowledge their differences and interdependency, and have an assurance that makes them behave in a transparent and open manner (Laureate Education, 2018). The amalgamation of behavior, content, and processes can promote the effective functioning of interdisciplinary teams in the quest to improve health outcomes. 

References 

Gearing, R. E., Mackenzie, M. J., Ibrahim, R. W., Brewer, K. B., Batayneh, J. S., & Schwalbe, C. S. J. (2014). Stigma and Mental Health Treatment of Adolescents with Depression in Jordan.  Community Mental Health Journal ,  51 (1), 111–117. doi: 10.1007/s10597-014-9756-1 

Hoffman, L. A., & Guttendorf, J. (2017). Preparation and evolving role of the acute care nurse practitioner.  Chest ,  152 (6), 1339-1345. 

Whicher, E., Morrison, M., & Douglas-Hall, P. (2002). As required medication regimens for seriously mentally ill people in hospital.  Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . doi: 10.1002/14651858.cd003441 

Jones, J. S., Fitzpatrick, J. J., & Rogers, V. L. (Eds.). (2016).  Psychiatric-mental health nursing: An interpersonal approach . Springer Publishing Company. 

Kauffman, H. (2015). A review of predictive factors of student success in and satisfaction with online learning. Research In Learning Technology, 23. doi: 10.3402/rlt.v23.26507 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2018). The Foundation of Success [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2018).  The Walden Journey to a Masters in Nursing: Final Thoughts  [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2018). The Walden Journey to a Masters in Nursing: The Journey Begins [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2018). The Walden Journey to a Masters in Nursing: Networking and Collaboration [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. 

Walden University. (n.d.). School of Nursing. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.waldenu.edu/about/colleges-schools/college-of-health-sciences/school-of-nursing