This group includes registered psychiatric nurses and graduate psychiatric nurses. They provide direct services to persons whose primary health needs are related to their emotional or mental well being. Psychiatric nurses deliver mental health education programs to a variety of patients and are employed in a variety of settings including general hospitals, mental health centres, community clinics, personal care homes, crisis centres, community agencies, psycho-social rehabilitation programs, community agencies and companies, or they may be self employed.

Example Titles

• Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN)
• Community Mental Health Worker
• Community Services Worker
• Mental Health Consultant
• Psychiatric Emergency Nurse
• Mental Health Education Nurse
• Mental Health Resource nurse
• Psychiatric Liaison Nurse
• Graduate Psychiatric Nurse

Duties

General duty registered psychiatric nurses perform some or all of the following duties depending upon their practice setting: 

Assess patients to identify appropriate psychiatric nursing interventions.

• Collaborate with members of an inter-disciplinary health team to plan, implement, co-ordinate, and evaluate client care in consultation with clients and their families.
• Assess patients to identify appropriate psychiatric nursing interventions.
• Collaborate with members of an inter-disciplinary health team to plan, implement, co-ordinate, and evaluate client care in consultation with clients and their families.
• Administer medicines and treatments as prescribed by a physician or according to established policies and protocols.
• Monitor, assess, address, document and report symptoms and changes in client's condition.
• Operate or monitor basic medical equipment and assist in basic medical procedures.
• Develop and implement discharge planning processes.
• Teach clients and their families about the illness so that the illness can be managed in the least restrictive environment possible.
• Community psychiatric nurses (sometimes called community mental health workers) provide therapy and monitor the effectiveness of medication; they facilitate the development of natural support networks, and provide other professional services that increase the client's chance of living in a community setting. They also provide emergency, assessment, and ongoing therapeutic services to persons from the community in which they are based.
• Psychiatric nurses in psycho-geriatric assessment teams provide consultation to various agencies about the program needs of clients, and train the agency staff for follow-up. Psychiatric Nurses working with persons with developmental disabilities work towards training in life skills and in communication with their clients. Psychiatric nursing educators provide education to psychiatric nursing students or to staff in a mental health setting or program.
• Psychiatric nursing clinical specialists provide leadership, advice, and consultation on the provision of psychiatric nursing interventions for patient groups in particular settings.

For in depth information such as duties, earnings, skills and educational institutions for Registered Psychiatric Nurses, please visit job futures profiles.