Nursing is a popular career path to take within healthcare and one that is always in demand. Not only is this a role that gives you a chance to help people, but it also comes with good progression opportunities. There is a wide range of specialties within nursing which you can choose to work in during your career.

One you may have heard of is psychiatric nursing. But what does a career in this area look like and what should you be ready for?

What is a career in psychiatric nursing like?

Working as a psychiatric nurse involves carrying out mental health assessments on patients, administering medication to help in-patients manage their condition, and identifying those at risk from mental health problems. This type of role can involve working in hospitals and private clinics but also correctional facilities and schools. The average salary for this role is around the $67,000 mark and it is anticipated that the demand for psychiatric nurses will have grown by 7% from 2019 to 2029.

But what you should be ready for when choosing this career path?

Be prepared to study

Choosing to work in psychiatric nursing means you need the right qualifications. This is usually extra training on top of any courses such as an Associate Degree in Nursing (R.N.) that you may already have completed. As a result, you should be prepared for more study if you opt for this career path.

The Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner online course at the Wilkes faculty is a good illustration of the type of extra training required. Studying on this course at Wilkes University not only arms you with the skills needed for this role but also has you learning with an established, long-standing university.

Be prepared for the emotional side of the job

As you will be dealing with patients who have mental health issues, you may hear very distressing things or see people at their lowest ebb. It is necessary to be prepared for this and to controlyour emotions. This will not only enable you to keep a clear mind to perform patient assessments better but also stop the job from taking a heavy toll on your own mental health.

Be prepared to gain excellent job satisfaction

Although working in psychiatric nursing can be tough at times, it also delivers amazing job satisfaction. For example, the feeling you get when you help someone with a history of self-harm to stop is second to none. While all nursing roles can deliver this type of satisfaction, helping people with mental health issues seems to give an even bigger buzz.

Psychiatric nursing is challenging yet rewarding

Anyone who works can sometimes end up looking for a new career or deciding to change the path they are on. Nursing is no exception, and you may well be looking at going into psychiatric nursing for a new adventure. If you are thinking of moving down this career path, hopefully, the above will have proved useful.