Mental health is notoriously complicated, therefore, the roles within the team to help aid mental health are of a large variety. If this wasn’t the case then there would be no chance of providing the adequate care to those who need it. One of the most vital of these roles is mental health nursing. This type of nursing can vary massively in terms of roles being performed on a daily basis and where you perform it. As a mental health nurse, you will always be working as part of a team, which will depend heavily on you for things to run as smoothly as possible on a day to day basis. Here is a brief outlook on the types of roles mental health nurses may take and where they might work.
If you are a mental health nurse within a hospital it is most likely you will be working on a psychiatric ward or psychiatric intensive care unit. Your tasks on a daily basis can be anything from helping a patient take their medication correctly to advising patients about therapies or social events that might appeal to them, and help their recovery. Within a hospital you might also find yourself working in specialist units, such as those dealing with eating disorders.
A mental health nurse may also be working within the community. This could mean being placed at a GP surgery, prison, community healthcare centres or even patients homes. As you can imagine, the variety of roles between these different placements vary massively. Yet the underlying role of providing assistance in various different forms as part of a team remains constant.
A key aspect to your role is to establish a trusting relationship with those who are in your care. Without trust at this level, it may have an effect on trust with other members of the mental health team such as a GP, therapist or psychiatrist (whose contact will be a lot less). Most of the time, a mental health nurse is the member of the team that will have the most individual contact with patients, therefore an effective relationship is easier to maintain, and for trust to be shown on both sides.
Mental health nursing is something that should be seen as just rewarding as working within physical health. Your role helps provide stability, advice and help to those who need it most. While individuals roles may vary, overall it is all about building effective relationships with patients, carers and therapists alike.
Content Provided By SpecialDocs Consultants – medical practice consulting