Psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) work with individuals, families and communities to address mental health needs, including diagnosing patients and implementing plans of care. They focus on mental illness, substance abuse and mental health in vulnerable populations.
PMHNPs are advanced practice nurses who assess, diagnose and treat mental health needs. Working as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner means helping a largely underserved population and meeting the rising demand for quality mental health services nationwide.
“The psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner role serves every facet of health care because health cannot exist without mental health,” the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) said in “Are You Considering a Career as Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner?”. “The title embraces its definition: PMHNPs serve the public by preventing, identifying and treating psychiatric conditions through holistic approaches in many ways. PMHNPs assure mental health from pre-conception through the lifespan to end-of-life care and grief.”
Indeed, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners fill a widening gap in the healthcare system. Registered nurses (RNs) enrolled in Duquesne University’s Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner MSN program, including the online master’s in nursing program, can develop the skills necessary to help patients with mental disorders