If you find you are a natural caregiver and want to turn this trait into a career, too, chances are you have already considered nursing; if not, you really should. Nursing is a truly fulfilling field, with a great career outlook, excellent earning potential, and a variety of specialties to choose from. One of these specialties is psychiatric mental health nursing.

What Is a Psychiatric Nurse?

A psychiatric or mental health nurse (PHMN) is a healthcare professional trained to deal with patients with mental health conditions, behavioral problems, substance abuse, etc. These nurses observe the physical and psychological health of various patients in various settings. Psychiatric nurses may treat children, adolescents, and adults. They are trained to treat mental disorders and other conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, substance abuse, etc.

Overview of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing

Psychiatric nurses help patients with their day-to-day activities, administer drugs and treatment plans, supervise the patient's progress, and cooperate with psychiatrists and other healthcare professionals to give the patients and their families the support they need. Psychiatric mental health nurses (PMHNs), in addition, help educate and guide their patients, the patients' families, and society on the importance of mental health in one's overall health. They strive to end mental health care and treatment/therapy stigma.

How to Become a Psychiatric Nurse

As we have mentioned before, to become a psychiatric mental health nurse, you must fulfill some requirements regarding education, certifications, and skills. Please keep reading to learn more about these requirements and what it takes to become a psychiatric nurse.

Educational requirements

Bachelor's degree - The first step to becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) is enrolling in an accredited nursing school. Becoming a psychiatric nurse requires an advanced academic degree, so you must first obtain, at the very least, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). After you have received your bachelor's, you continue on to a graduate program.

Advanced degree - Afterwards, you need to obtain a master's degree or doctorate from an accredited psychiatric NP program. To get an advanced degree like a master's or a Ph.D., you will also have to complete 500 clinical hours in a program that is faculty-supervised (a hospital, private clinic, mental health facility, etc.)

Certification requirements

Nursing school graduates must obtain a state license to become nurse practitioners and be able to practice their profession. After applying for the license, a board will review your application and rule whether you are qualified to enter the exam. If your application is approved to take the test, you must then register for the exam and pay the registration fee. This registration fee is $200.

Once you have passed your exam, become certified, and are able to practice, you can pursue a psychiatric mental health certification. You can get certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). To be eligible for the psychiatric nurse certification, you must have:

Minimum two years of experience as a full-time registered nurse
Completed 2,000 hours or more in clinical practice in the mental health-psychiatric nursing field within the last three years
Completed 30 hours of continuing nursing education (CNE) in mental health-psychiatric nursing within the last three years

This certification gives you the Registered Nurse-Board Certified (RN-BC) title, and it is valid for five years.

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Other Psychiatric Nursing Certifications

Other psychiatric nursing-related certifications from the ANCC, each of which has different requirements, include:

Psychiatric Mental Health NP;
Adult Psychiatric-Mental Health CNS;
Child/Adolescent Psychiatric-Mental Health CNS, etc.

Elective certifications for psychiatric nurses include sub-specialties that are focused on a particular demographic, e.g., the elderly, children, etc. Sub-specialties are also available for treating patients with specific disorders, substance abuse cases, or for use in forensics. You can obtain such sub-specialty certifications through the ANCC.

Experience

If you are aiming for an advanced degree like a master's or a doctorate, depending on the program, you might be required to have some experience in the field of nursing in addition to your bachelor's degree. Many graduate programs require three to five years of experience working as a nurse to pursue an advanced degree. Furthermore, in order to obtain different certifications and licensure, you are required to meet specific criteria regarding clinical practice hours. The amount of hours depends on the kind of certification you are aiming for.

Career advancement

After you have passed your exams, gotten your degrees and certifications, and practiced nursing, you might be looking for some career advancement. Career advancement in psychiatric nursing enables you to widen your area of practice as well as increase your earning potential. You can take your psychiatric nursing career to the next level by becoming an advanced practice nurse, i.e., a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP-BC) or psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist (PMHCNS-BC).

How long does it take to become a psychiatric nurse?

Now that you have a clearer idea of what it takes to become a psychiatric mental health nurse, you must be wondering about the amount of time you can achieve that. As we have established, to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you need to obtain a degree in the field of nursing. How long this takes depends on the type of degree you go for. You can obtain an associate's degree in nursing in two years, a diploma in three years, a bachelor's degree in four years, a master's in two to three years, and a doctorate in three to four years.

Psychiatric Nurse Skills

In addition to education, training, and experience, psychiatric nurses must develop some skills to succeed in their careers. Psychiatric nurse skills and traits include:

Empathy
Communication skills
Problem-solving skills
Attention to detail
Open-mindedness
Maintaining a certain emotional distance
Patience
Flexibility, etc.

What Does a Psychiatric Nurse Do?

As you must already have a general idea of what a psychiatric nurse does, let us dive deeper into some of the duties and responsibilities. A psychiatric nurse's duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Assessment of patient status
Caregiving according to treatment and nursing care plans
Counseling and leading therapeutic groups
Administration of medication and assessment of responses and side effects
Teaching coping skills to patients and others
Cooperating with other healthcare professionals
Working in primary care and other settings (advanced practice nurses)
Assessment and diagnosis of mental health conditions
Designing and carrying out treatment plans
Ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests
Providing psychotherapy

Where Does a Psychiatric Nurse Work?

A psychiatric nurse practitioner can choose to work in various settings, such as:

A psychiatric hospital
A private clinic
An assisted-living home
Correctional facilities
Military clinics
Other mental health institutions
A drug and alcohol treatment center
A school or university

Psychiatric Nurse Job Outlook & Salary

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), we can expect a 45% growth for all nurse practitioners, including psychiatric nurses, by the year 2030. In addition to the incredible job outlook, psychiatric nurses also have great salaries. According to the 2022 data by Indeed, the average annual salary for psychiatric nurses is $106,060, with $11,000 for overtime annually. However, the salary for psychiatric nurses varies depending on certain factors such as level of education, experience, employer, location, etc. According to Indeed, psychiatric nurses with three to five years of experience have an average annual salary of $121,286.

Conclusion

If you do decide to pursue a career in nursing, you will find that it is truly fulfilling as a profession. By becoming a psychiatric nurse, you can help your patients, their families, and society overall— something that isn't true about most other careers. However, not everyone is destined to become a psychiatric nurse, as it can be a challenge and even unattainable as a goal. The best thing to do is educate yourself on this profession and even do volunteer work in the field to truly understand it and determine whether it is the right career for you.

How to Become a Psychiatric Nurse: Education, Certification & More