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Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner - Career Profile |
Career OverviewPsychiatric nurse practitioners work in primary care facilities, in hospitals, and in community health centers to evaluate patients with psychiatric disorders and to offer treatment. They may also deal with patients suffering from related medical conditions, such as substance abuse problems.
Psychiatric nurse practitioners have training as nurse practitioner and often provide psychosocial and physical assessments of patients, develop treatment plans, and oversee the general management of patient care.
In the wider context, psychiatric nurse practitioners also function as researchers, policy-makers, general consultants, and educators for family members and other medical staff who come into contact with psychiatric patients.
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Career RequirementsTo be accepted by a nurse-practitioner program, candidates must be registered nurses and hold at least a Bachelor's Degree in nursing from an accredited institution.
Nurse practitioner training programs last between 18 months and 24 months and typically involve both classroom study and clinical training. The classroom instruction is relatively basic, exploring the most basic issues of preventative health care, proper nutrition, and basic anatomy and physiology, because most nurse practitioners have only the most basic exposure to medical theory.
Practitioners who specialize in psychiatric medicine have experience in general medicine, amounting to usually at least one year's work of supervised clinical experience.
Some institutions offer specialist training programs and certification in psychiatric nursing. More information about training programs and certification is available through the following organization:
International Nurses Society on Addictions
P.O. Box 10752
Raleigh, NC 27605
www.intnsa.org
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
P.O. Box 12846,
Austin, TX 78711
www.aanp.org
American Nurses Credentialing Center
600 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 100 West
Washington, D.C. 20024-2571
(800) 284-2378
American Nurses' Association
8518 Georgia Ave.,
Ste. 400,
Silver Spring, MD 20910
www.nursingworld.org
The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties,
National Directory of Nurse Practitioner Programs
1522 K St. NW, Ste. 702,
Washington, DC 20005
www.nonpf.com
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Job OutlookNurse practitioners who specialize in psychiatric care and the improvement of mental health are likely to remain valued members of the medical community.
As the role of nurses expands over the next ten years, it is likely that their role in the improvement of psychiatric health for patients and general communities will also expand and that they may enjoy a larger role in administrative duties and policy-making within this field.
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Career TrackSee Nurse Practitioner
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CompensationSee Nurse Practitioner
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