How Does Mental Health Nursing Differ From Other Specialties

Are you considering becoming a nurse, or perhaps you’re already halfway through your nursing degree, and you’re wondering about future career prospects? Nursing is a respectable profession, and a great many Australians choose this as a career. You get to care for people when they’re at their most vulnerable – when they’re recovering from surgery, in palliative care or otherwise at a low point in their lives. You get to be compassionate, kind, caring and a spark of life in what would otherwise be a challenging period for people.

Some nurses embark on specialisations, such as oncology nursing, geriatric nursing, neonatal nursing or mental health nursing. But how exactly does mental health nursing differ from these other specialties? This helpful article is going to describe the key differences. By the end, you’ll be fully informed and hopefully ready to decide if a Masters in Mental Health Nursing is a suitable qualification for you and your career goals. Continue reading to learn more. 

What Does a Mental Health Nurse Do?

A mental health nurse, or a psychiatric nurse, is a specialist nurse who supports patients who are experiencing mental health issues. These might be temporary, such as a new mother experiencing perinatal depression and anxiety or persistent, enduring disorders, such as bipolar or schizophrenia. Some other conditions that a mental health nurse might support people with include:

• Eating disorders
• Substance use issues
• Schizoaffective disorder
• Clinical depression
• General anxiety disorder
• Temporary psychosis
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Autism spectrum disorder

As you can see, a mental health nurse can support people across a broad range of potential mental health issues. Some of these may be pretty mild, and others can be severely debilitating. 

Where Do Mental Health Nurses Work?

Mental health nurses work in a variety of primary and secondary healthcare settings. A typical workplace for a mental health nurse is an inpatient mental health ward or unit located within a hospital. This is a specialist ward where patients who are experiencing severe mental illness are treated. Typically, a patient would be admitted to this type of ward as either a voluntary or involuntary patient. Some reasons someone might be admitted include:

• A suicide attempt
• Suicidal ideation
• Medication adjustments
• Eating disorder monitoring
• Psychotic episodes, including drug-induced psychosis
• Major depressive episodes

Other mental health nurses work in different settings. For instance, some work for community-based mental health organisations and provide outreach support or other less intensive support compared to what is provided in an inpatient setting. Others work in private hospitals and clinics, or community health centres or in remote communities. Some general practices and doctor’s clinics employ mental health nurses as well.

Another workplace that employs mental health nurses is forensic mental health institutions, which are places where people who have committed serious crimes while mentally ill and have been deemed unfit to stand a typical criminal justice trial are kept and treated for their mental illness. 

Some mental health nurses, with years of experience, can provide consulting services to organisations, providing expert advice on cases and patient care. Others provide clinical supervision to junior mental health nurses, offering mentoring, advice and guidance in a formal setting. 

What Do Mental Health Nurses Do?

Mental health nurses are responsible for a range of different duties, depending on the setting in which they work. They might work with patients to plan their recovery and provide education to patients, families and doctors about mental illness and potential treatments. 

In a hospital setting, they will dispense medication that has been prescribed by treating psychiatrists and monitor patients’ vital signs. They can provide counselling and strategies to help patients manage their distress and mental health and can help manage symptoms of mental illness and side effects from psychiatric medications. Mental health nurses can also support distressed patients in hospital settings, such as those who are suicidal, having panic attacks or who are in psychosis. 

Furthermore, mental health nurses can refer patients to other supports, such as social workers, housing services, alcohol and drug treatment and family violence services. They can link patients with the welfare system or other community programs. 

How Can I Become a Mental Health Nurse?

Now that you’re clear on the difference between mental health nursing compared to other specialties, you might be wondering about the pathway to becoming a mental health nurse. 

Typically, an undergraduate degree in nursing will enable you to work in most mental health settings, and you’ll need to become either an enrolled or registered nurse as well. 

However, if you want to become a specialist mental health nurse, earn more money and take on additional responsibilities, you’ll need postgraduate qualifications. This will either be a Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing or a Masters in Mental Health Nursing. The Masters will provide the most specialist knowledge and truly prepare you for this career.

How Much Does a Mental Health Nurse Make?

A mental health nurse in Australia can expect to earn between $87-95,000 a year before tax. Those in a specialist role will earn more, usually between $105-110,000 per year, before tax. However, as we’ve mentioned above, postgraduate degrees are usually required to earn in the top bracket, and the salary range also depends on where you live and where you plan to practice. In terms of comparison to other specialist nursing fields, the salary is commensurate. This is a higher-than-average salary for Australians and is the reward for the years of study required to become a specialist mental health nurse. 

A Specialist Summary

This informative article has shared how mental health nursing differs from other nursing specialties and what a mental health nurse does in the course of their duties. By now, you’re fully informed about this career pathway, should you choose to study in this field.