Nursing educators are individuals that are dedicated to mentor and teach the upcoming generation of nurses. These individuals may teach either in a classroom or a clinical setting. Even though both nursing educators and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) have their advanced positions prepared by masters, they are also different in significant ways. The nursing educator prepares and teaches nursing students from various levels, including graduate students, licensed practical nurses, and nursing practitioners. In contrast, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners engage psychiatric patients and their families in their care teaching disease progression, signs, and symptoms and how to manage their condition.
While nursing practitioners are advanced direct care practitioners, nursing educators are advanced indirect care providers. Using their clinical expertise, nursing practitioners diagnose, assess, treat, and educate their patients. On the other hand, nursing educators groom nurses to their full potential by developing relationships with new nurses and serving as leaders to their colleagues. As a result, they promote their professional leadership abilities and the professional development of the nurses. Besides, PMHNPs take the lead in ensuring provision of cognitive health care to individuals suffering from a variety of psychiatric conditions (Wortans et al., 2006). They are involved in the management of acute and chronic mental illness. Moreover, they provide psychotherapy and prescribe treatment to improve quality and access to public mental health care.
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PMHNP is rewarding and allows me as a nurse to manage patients' mental health conditions in several ways. Besides, PMHNP allows me to help individuals, groups, and families with different mental health issues and hence help them recover. Moreover, I chose PMHNP because it offers job satisfaction since there are a variety of roles that I can focus on. For instance, as a PMHNP, I can screen high-risk patients for potential mental disorders, assist in healthcare reform, and contribute to policy development. Besides, I can perform psychotherapy, function as liaisons to patients, consultants to patients, and families with particular concerns and issues (Fraino, 2015). Also, I can choose to work in a hospital, community, or cooperation. The baby boomer generation is aging and hence the need for more mental health workers due to developing mental disorders like Alzheimer's disease or dementia. As a result, I can draft a plan of care with the care team, implement it, and organize follow-up meetings with the clients.
Professional Organization
One professional organization related to PHMNP is American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA). There are various memberships for APNA. For instance, regular membership is for registered nurses engaged in a pursuit with additional purposes of the organization and those who pay their dues. Regular members can seek elections to the board members, serve on panels, and vote (Seed et al., 2009). This membership is available at a subscription fee of $135. Affiliate membership is for unregistered nurses. However, they enjoy all other benefits of membership, except they cannot hold office or vote. This organization presents a platform for exchanging information among colleagues within a psychiatric mental health nursing organization. Members of APNA benefit from personal enrichment that ultimately benefits people with substance use disorders or mental disorders.
The most valuable assets of APNA are the individual nurses of the association. The involvement of the nurses is what drives the activities of the association. APNA members can get involved in various ways to advance and advocate for psychiatric-mental health nursing. Members can become actively involved in task forces, committees, and councils (Seed et al., 2009). Members can also get involved at the local chapter level by joining the local APNA chapter and learning about what is happening with the organization in their region.
References
Fraino, J. A. (2015). The Role of a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner as Part of a Mobile Health Unit for the Homeless Population.
Seed, M. S., Torkelson, D. J., & Karshmer, J. F. (2009). The clinical nurse leader: Helping psychiatric mental health nurses transform their practice. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association , 15 (2), 120-125.
Wortans, J., Happell, B., & Johnstone, H. (2006). The role of the nurse practitioner in psychiatric/mental health nursing: Exploring consumer satisfaction. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing , 13 (1), 78-84.
