Nursing is a highly trusted profession that enables nurses to play a big part in promoting psychological well-being. Some nurses specialize in psychiatric care, and every nurse can prepare themselves to address their patients’ diverse needs, including mental health.

Nurses can help promote psychological well-being at the bedside through the rapport they build with patients. Those nurses who triage can act as a net for patients with mental illness. Nurses can also advocate at the policy level. Educational opportunities for nurses interested in psychiatric nursing exist at all levels of education.

Nursing’s Vital Role in Psychologial Patient Care

The Mind-Body Connection

Nurses provide patient-centered care and spend more time with patients than other healthcare providers. It puts nurses in a leading role in helping patients with mental health conditions.

Nurses establish rapport with patients as part of their job. They are also usually the first to connect with a patient, putting them in a position to recognize mental health concerns. Nurses serve as trusted advocates who provide compassion to patients.

Nurses can help patients understand the mind-body connection and help them understand that improving one condition can also improve another, such as mental illness and diabetes, in which problems with one can worsen the other.

Triage

Unfortunately, triage often involves long wait times as symptoms get worse. Psychiatric bed shortages often leave mental health patients in emergency rooms for the night. Nurses who work in emergency departments serve as a safety net for patients with mental illness.

The triage nurse can tremendously impact mental health patients’ welfare in the emergency room. The health professionals demonstrate this through empathy, compassion, and clinical judgment in the triage process.

Emergency room nurses can treat patients with respect and dignity by involving patients in decisions, increasing the patient’s feelings of control. This involvement encourages patients to take an active role in their care.

Mental Health Policy

Patient advocacy is at the heart of nursing, and patients trust nurses to advocate for them at the bedside. Advocacy does not need to stop there. Nurses can also advocate at the policy level, with decisions that might impact treatment for those with mental illness. Policy advocates can contact representatives about a policy issue affecting patients with mental illness. With 4 million RNs, this is a powerful voice for mental illness. Whatever the life stage or health care setting, nurses can advocate to improve the mental health of their patients and improve care at the policy level.

Interested in Psychiatric Nursing?

Earn a BSN, and you can develop in-demand psychiatric nursing skills to provide better mental health care. If you want to go further and help alleviate the mental health crisis, consider education at the master’s or doctoral level and take on leadership roles as an Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse (PMH-APRN).

Nurses are key players in the promotion of psychological well-being. They are also key players in health care. Are you a nurse looking for a recruiter who can connect you with RN, CNA, and LVN jobs at top healthcare facilities? Covelo Group offers opportunities for professional development and new skills. Let the recruiters at Covelo Group help you secure your next nursing job.