Psychology skills in nursing practice

For many years, people have thought of nurses being assistants for doctors. However, nurses are doctors’ eyes, ears, and colleagues because their main goal is to promote the well-being of their patients. For nurses to care for patients, they must have knowledge of diagnosis and treatment. By interacting with many patients from different ethnic groups and cultures, nurses can provide better care for these patients. They must also understand the mental level of a patient when he or she is undergoing treatment. Having an educational background in psychological skills gives nurses the necessary tools they need as professionals to provide the best care for patients. This paper will demonstrate the importance of psychology skill in the nursing practice. 

For one to be a nurse, he or she must possess physical and psychological qualifications to be successful. Nurse professionals must possess critical thinking skills to enable them to make clinical judgments. They must also possess interpersonal skills to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds (Nash, 2014). Communication, both in written and verbal form, is very important in the nursing practice especially when dealing with patients with special needs. They should also possess strong physical skills to help move fast from room to room especially during emergencies. In addition, they should have excellent hearing and visual skills (Nash, 2014). They should be able to hear emergency signals, cries for help and most importantly the breath and heart sounds. Also, they should be able to observe whether patients are responding to treatment by checking their skin color, facial expression or their breathing rates. They must have the emotional stability to help them cope with stressful environments and to help them cope with patients’ emotions calmly. 

Psychiatric nurses’ practice two different levels of patients’ care which include Basic and Advanced care (Lundy & Janes, 2009). At the basic level of patients’ care, the registered psychiatric nurse is mandated to assess the health needs of a patient and help them regain their abilities. In the advanced level, the registered nurse must have a master’s degree for them to practice as a psychiatric nurse specialist. An advanced practice nurse is licensed to diagnose and prescribe medication for patients with mental disorders. In the nursing process, the Registered Nurse makes an assessment that is based on what he or she observes after interacting with the patient. After the interaction with the patient, the nurse makes a plan of care that shows what actions that he or she should take to ensure the patient’s health improve. This plan of care comprises of prescriptions of a particular medication and results of the certain test the patient might have undertaken. Finally, the nurse evaluates whether the care plan has managed to help the patient make progress. 

In basic psychiatric nursing, the registered nurse is required to assist a patient in self-caring activities, follow-up their medication and teach the patients some skills such as exercising and relaxing techniques. They also provide some guidance and counseling to the patient but under the supervision of a psychologist. A psychiatric nurse is required to be a good listener and should possess excellent interpersonal skills. She should have good knowledge on the effects of any medication a patient is taking. It is important for these nurses to have the necessary skills to recognize signs of any negative changes in patients with psychiatric disorders. 

Advanced practice nurses provide the same care to a patient as a psychologist does. He or she can work independently without being attached to any hospital and can offer direct services to patients. These nurses use the nursing process to access patients with mental illness and perform a diagnosis. These nurses are also allowed to give medications and can also perform therapy. They can also specialize in treating sectors for either children and adults or both in a particular aspect of treatment and care such as nutrition or substance abuse. They should, therefore, possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills. They must also have the ability to coordinate with other practitioners such as pediatricians and family doctors. An Advanced Practice Nurse is considered to be of high standards due to the level of education and her responsibilities in managing the full spectrum of care. 

Working in health related professions such as nursing gives people a chance to work with other people. However, it is very important to be knowledgeable on how to deal with different people who possess different attitudes and behaviors. In nursing practice, nurses get involved with applications of medical sciences to help manage people with physical illnesses. It is important for nurses to understand the health issues of people and have the abilities to change people’s behavior and attitudes. Medical issues such as accidents trigger psychological issues such as stress and depression in a patient or family members who might get scared by something they are going through (Wood, 2007). It is important for nurses to have some psychological skills to recognize such conditions in a patient and alert doctors. Having some psychology skills will help nurses have the ability to deal with patients who are difficult to handle. By knowing what to look for in a patient, they can figure out whether a patient needs to be treated or given some medication. Psychological skills will help nurses determine whether a patient has unexpressed emotions such as fear or frustration. Once the nurses can understand what the patient feels, they can take the necessary action such as educating and offering counseling to help them through their emotions and can encourage them to take treatment or the prescribed medication. 

Psychological factors play a significant part in the developing of many illnesses and in the road to recovering illnesses. The accurate identification of someone illness and requirements for the illness to heal help define the quality of the actions taken by nurses. It is important for nurses to consider people’s needs and thoughts and take the right action to ensure their needs are met. Possessing psychological skills in nursing helps establish communication processes between the nurse and the patient. This helps especially in therapy sessions and works effectively in contexts that are inter-professional. Psychological skills in nurses assist them to understand other people’s reaction in different cases of illnesses which help them meet their demands in a healthier way. Psychological skills inform health care nurses from various lifestyles of patients and how behaviors such as smoking or diet change can affect them. The knowledge of some psychological skills in nurses will help them have a better understanding of their personal weaknesses and strengths. By knowing them, they can try and overcome their weaknesses and develop good personalities and motivate them to carry on with their duties efficiently and effectively. 

Conclusion 

Psychology gives nurses the chance to understand their responsibilities in an efficient way and perform their duties as it is expected of them. With the help of psychology, nurses will have better skills to interact with patients from differ genders and age group thus improves the relationship between the nurses and patients. This will enable patients to trust and be open with nurses who help identify illnesses in patients. Psychology skills in nursing practices are relevant today, especially because of the increase of psychotic disorders due to many stressful situations. 

References  

Auerhahn, C., & Kennedy-Malone, L. (2010). Integrating gerontological content into advanced practice nursing education . New York: Springer. 

Nash, M. (2014). Physical health and well-being in mental health nursing: Clinical skills for practice . Buckingham: Open University. 

Lundy, K. S., & Janes, S. (2009). Community health nursing: Caring for the public's health. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 

Wood, J. C. (2007). Getting help: The complete and authoritative guide to self-assessment and treatment of mental health problems . Oakland: New Harbinger Publications.