Nursing is a rewarding career that allows you to improve patients' life quality by managing their health in various ways. I chose to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) because of the stigma associated by society about mental health. I anticipate working in hospitals, communities, and corporations to perform psychotherapy and contribute to healthcare reforms and policy development.
Recent reforms in the healthcare sector have expanded coverage for behavioral health services. This will increase the number of PMHNPs and address shortages in the behavioral health workforce (Chapman et al., 2018). I chose to pursue mental health nursing to improve patients' life quality and help create awareness to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness in society. One of the difficulties that I faced when making a choice to pursue PMHNP as a lack of support from my family and friends. However, my belief that it is difficult to achieve total health without mental health drove me into pursuing this field.
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The American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) is one of the professional organizations affiliated with my profession. The association facilitates the integration of highly skilled nurses in various psychiatric settings (Theccanat, 2015). APNA has over 13,500-registered psychiatric mental health nurses that enhance mental health through education, research, and practice. Membership is open to registered nurses and PMHNP students. Fulltime nursing degree program students send an email to the APNA manager indicating enrollment verification as a full-time student, name of the degree program, anticipated date of graduation, and contact information of school and director (APNA, 2020). Moreover, I will have to pay a membership fee of $25.
Psychiatric Mental Health Practitioners play a crucial role in identifying, preventing, and treating various psychiatric conditions. I chose this profession because of the satisfactions I get in improving stigmatized behavioral health patients' life quality. Although I experienced challenges in receiving support from family and friends, I pursued my area of interest and anticipated assisting families through program development and policies.
References
APNA (2020). Membership . American Psychiatric Nurses Association. https://www.apna.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3757
Chapman, S.A., Phoenix, B., Hahn, T.E. &Strod, D. C. (2018). Utilization and economic contribution of psychiatric mental health nurse practioners in public behavioral health services. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 54(6S3), S243–S249.
Theccanat, S. (2015). Integrating psychiatric nurse practitioners into psychiatric practice setting. Psychiatric Services , 66 (9), 913-915
