Careers and Courses Webzine

newsletter

email
name
	Text HTML

mental-health-nursing---what’s-it-all-about?

Mental health nursing is one of the most complex and demanding areas of nursing, and is, consequently, one of the most rewarding.

As many as one in three people are thought to suffer some form of mental health problem. For many, mental illness is brought on by a crisis in life, which they can’t cope with, such as depression after the death of a partner. The range of conditions is vast: neuroses, psychoses, psychological and personality disorders all come under the broad heading of mental health. Unfortunately, there is still some stigma attached to mental illness. Combating this and helping the individuals and their families deal with it is a key part of the job.

WHY CHOOSE MENTAL HEALTH NURSING?

Mental health nursing is rarely easy. But then, for the people who do it, that’s one of the best things about it. The challenges are big, but so are the rewards and the satisfaction.

Dealing with the human mind and behaviour is not an exact science, and many mental health nurses enjoy the responsibility of using their own judgement in treating a patient. There’s also less of an emphasis on physical care than in most other areas of nursing, which some people find they prefer, yet the job of helping people back to mental health is every bit as valuable and satisfying as caring for those with a physical illness.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD MENTAL HEALTH NURSE?

...An open mind

You need to be able to relate to all kinds of people from all kinds of social backgrounds and cultures without judging them or trying to impose your personal ethics on them.

Confidence in your judgement

You need the confidence to make many of your own decisions about planning and delivering care.  At the same time, you need the team skills to work with people from many other disciplines – social workers, the police, charities, local government officials, other health professionals – to organise care for your patients.

Communication skills

It’s a job that’s all about interacting with people – so sensitive human interaction is the most important skill for any mental health nurse. You’ll need to be able to talk – and more importantly listen – to all kinds of people with real patience and understanding, often involving friends and family. To co-ordinate patients’ care in the community, you’ll need to be able to communicate well not only with your patients, but also with people from the other agencies and services involved.

Sensitivity

As a mental health nurse you need to be very alert to your patients’ moods. You need to be able to spot when someone may be at risk of harming themselves or others – you’ll learn to spot the build-up of tension and ways of defusing it.

WHAT COULD I SPECIALISE IN?

There’s a surprisingly broad range of areas within mental health nursing. You might focus on drugs and alcohol misuse, working in forensic psychiatry with people who have committed crimes, education, research or management, for instance lecturing at a university or managing a residential unit. Mental health nurses work with children too, and there are specialist women’s services, such as the Mother and Newborn Unit and services geared to ethnic groups such as the Asian and Chinese communities.

For more information on studying for a career in mental health nursing contact UCE on 0121 331 5500 or email: hcc@uce.ac.uk