Discussion: Examining Nursing Specialties
QUESTION
Review the scope and standards of practice or competencies related to your chosen specialty in the resources for this week.
Review the MSN specializations offered at Walden by viewing the week resource, Walden University. (n.d.). Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).
Examine professional organizations related to the specialization you have chosen and identify at least one to focus on for this Assignment.
Reflect on the thoughts you shared in the Discussion forum regarding your choice of a specialty, any challenges you have encountered in making this choice, and any feedback you have received from colleagues in the Discussion.
The Assignment:
Complete the following items and incorporate them into the final version of your Academic Success and Professional Development Plan.
With the resources specific to the MSN specialization and the, Walden University. (n.d.). Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), shared in this week, write a paragraph or make a Nursing Specialty Comparison table, comparing at least two nursing specialties that include your selected specialization and second-preferred specialization.
Write a 2- to 3-paragraph justification statement identifying your reasons for choosing your MSN specialization. Incorporate feedback you received from colleagues in this Week’s Discussion forum.
Identify the professional organization related to your chosen specialization for this Assignment, and explain how you can become an active member of this organization.
Reflect on your decision to pursue a specialty within the MSN program, including your professional and academic goals as they relate to your program/specialization.
Post an explanation of your choice of a nursing specialty within the program. Describe any difficulties you had (or are having) in making your choice, and the factors that drove/are driving your decision. Identify at least one professional organization affiliated with your chosen specialty and provide details on becoming a member.
Discussion: Examining Nursing Specialties
ANSWER
Discussion: Examining Nursing Specialties
Name
University
Course Name
Instructor Details
Due Date
Nursing Specialty; Psychiatric and Mental Health Practitioner
Walden University offers the following programs in the University for the already trained nurses who want to be more specialized in their practice. The top programs are adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioners, adult gerontology acute care nurses, psychiatric and mental health care nurses, and family practice nurses (Walden University, 2021). Within all the specialty programs, I am committed to pursuing the program on Psychiatric and Mental Health Practitioner. Psychiatric nurses and mental health practitioner specialists receive specialized training to assess, examine, diagnose, and treat patients with mental disorders (Cusack et al., 2018). The experience and knowledge gained help prevent and reduce suicide risk, depression, anxiety, and drug dependency. Psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioners also focus on educating families of mental health and psychiatric patients on the best ways to encourage their dear ones.
A program in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner is my preference because I have a passion and interest in helping the mentally ill. The interest developed after receiving my qualification in nursing, and I worked at a facility that exposed me to several mental illness patients, a situation that I appreciated and became very committed to working in that environment with them. Since the time has come for me to advance my education as an advanced nursing practitioner, I know exactly what I want to do. A friend and coworker recommended Walden University’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program. The PMHNP program will train me how to examine, diagnose, treat, and prescribe medicines for individuals with mental, depression, and drug abuse disorders and expose me to better employment opportunities in the field of mental health, which has consistently expanded because of hiking cases of mental illnesses ion our country. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five Americans has a mental illness (NIMH, 2022). I am confident that the increasing number of cases requires my efforts and experience as a PMHNP so that Americans with mental illness issues can get better medical care and live a quality life.
Comparison between Psychiatric and PMHNPs and FNPs
Although there are some similarities between family nurse practitioners 9FNP) and the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs), there are also substantial variations between the two forms of specialties. Family nurse practitioners and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners are certified to assess patients, establish diagnoses, and take them through a treatment program. In such a case, the only difference is in the types of patients each specialized practitioner treats which are the most notable distinctions between FNPs and PMHNPs.
Patients who see a family nurse practitioner for treatment of a physical or medical problem, such as a throat infection or stomach aches, are under the scope of practice of the family nurse practitioner. Family Nurse Practitioner responsibilities include giving medical care to individuals suffering from critical illnesses such as acute sickness, infection, or trauma (Merikangas et al., 2022). Such advanced practice nurses can administer drugs in addition to doing physical examinations in healthcare settings. The education and training gained by family nurse practitioners give them the abilities required to accomplish the professional obligations that they have been assigned.
The psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner’s role is often in education and training to care for patients who have psychiatric or psychological disorders (Holmberg et al., 2017). They are more suited for patients who require more excellent care, have a complicated illness, or whose symptoms have not improved promptly. Furthermore, the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner is responsible for offering psychotherapy to patients and diagnosing them using the DSM5. None of these tasks is linked with the function of the family nurse practitioner.
The following table shows the duties of both specialties
PMHNP FNP
Does Patient assessment Does patient assessment
Performs patient diagnosis on the DSM5. Performs patient diagnosis based on presenting symptoms
Uses psychotherapy, pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies for treatments Uses pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies but under the instructions of the physician in charge (Powers et al., 2020).
The nurse specialist needs labs results and interpretation Nurse specialists need labs tests and interpretation
The nurse specialist offers patient education and counseling Nurse specialist offers patient education and counseling
Majorly works with patients who have psychiatric conditions and mental health complications Works with patients who present with physical complaints
While working in the mental health area early in my career, I developed a strong empathy for mentally ill and physically ill people. My choice to become a PMHNP was prompted by a friend’s encouragement and my previous experience working with mentally ill patients. Mental illness is one of our country’s health issues, and the Nursing Practitioner specialty for the PMNHP is massively tasked with controlling it (NIMH, 2022). Since the PMHP specialty piqued my interest dearly, I look forward to being a part of the solution to mental illnesses within the American Population.
Due to the gradually increasing number of mental illness cases in our country, I chose the psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner program to be part of the solution. I remember when a friend’s long-term depression captivated me two years ago. She had been suffering from depression for quite a long time and had taken a long time to recover. She was ever in an angry outburst, irritated ad frustrated, and just lacked a lot of energy for things that make life beautiful. Working to stabilize my friend’s condition exposed me to the kind of experience that mental illness patients undergo, inspiring my career choice to specialize in PMNHP, which I look forward to as my path to help our society. As a result, I chose to finish my capstone hours at the mental health unit while getting my BSN and worked after that my clinical to gain more experience handling mental health patients. The professional organization for PMHNPs is The American Association of Nurse Practitioners AANP, which was created in 2013 following a merger with the American College of Nurse Practitioners (Sue, 2018). I intend to make a difference in the quality of health care provided to everyone via my work in clinical practice leadership, teaching, and research-based advocacy. The AANP membership is 150 dollars for regular nurse practitioners and $55 for nursing students (AANP, 2022). Membership in the AANP also grants the practitioner access to a growing psychiatric and mental health NP community.
References
Sue, H. K. (2018). AANP and ACNP merger. Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, 35(2), 91–92. https://doi.org/10.1097/tme.0b013e31828ffde6
AANP, A. A. N. P. (2022, May). NP membership. American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.aanp.org/membership/np-membership
Cusack, E., Killoury, F., & Nugent, L. E. (2018). The Professional Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse: Skills, competencies, and supports required to adopt a recovery-orientated policy in practice. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 24(2-3), 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12347
Holmberg, C., Caro, J., & Sobis, I. (2017). Job satisfaction among Swedish Mental Health Nursing Personnel: Revisiting the two-factor theory. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 27(2), 581–592. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12339
Merikangas, K. R., Nakamura, E. F., & Kessler, R. C. (2022). Epidemiology of Mental Disorders in children and adolescents. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 11(1), 7–20. https://doi.org/10.31887/dcns.2009.11.1/krmerikangas
NIMH, N. I. M. H. (2022, January 21). Mental illness. National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
Phoenix, B. J. (2019). The current Psychiatric Mental Health Registered Nurse Workforce. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 25(1), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078390318810417
Powers, M. A., Bardsley, J. K., Cypress, M., Funnell, M. M., Harms, D., Hess-Fischl, A., Hooks, B., Isaacs, D., Mandel, E. D., Maryniuk, M. D., Norton, A., Rinker, J., Siminerio, L. M., & Uelmen, S. (2020). Diabetes self-management education and support in adults with type 2 diabetes: A consensus report of the American Diabetes Association, the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of PAS, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the American Pharmacists Association. Diabetes Care, 43(7), 1636–1649. https://doi.org/10.2337/dci20-0023
Walden University, W. (2021, December 1). Choosing-the-MSN-specialization-that’s-right-for-you. Walden University. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-programs/master-of-science-in-nursing/resource/choosing-the-msn-specialization-thats-right-for-you#:~:text=Walden%20offers%20four%20very%20different,diagnosing%20illnesses%2C%20and%20providing%20treatment.
Discussion: Examining Nursing Specialties