Starting college, I was committed to majoring in psychology and pursuing an advanced degree, but I never would have imagined working toward a degree with the purpose of diagnosing and treating people with illnesses. While at Concordia University, Nebraska, I came to understand the importance of a biopsychosocial approach to helping individuals. I enjoy the challenge of using patience and empathy to understand a person on a more holistic level, and I am excited to become a graduate student where I can learn to utilize this approach. Concordia University has afforded me the opportunity to conduct research and get out into the surrounding communities. Over the course of my undergraduate career, my exposure to the field of psychology gave way …show more content…
Project Homeless Connect is a yearly event in Lincoln, Nebraska where the homeless are provided with a stadium full of booths for housing, healthcare, and occupations. While I was helping my guest, we stopped at the medical booth. Many people were getting health exams and flu shots. This booth was by far the busiest. This impacted me tremendously because I saw that many people are not able to get the care they need. This experience influenced my choice to combine my love for psychology and the care for mankind by pursuing a degree in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. My interest in the career of psychiatric nursing has evolved through my undergraduate education and opportunities given throughout. After taking an abnormal psychology and a introduction to counseling course, I know that I want to be able to provide treatment for the whole individual, and not just biological or psychological factors. With an emphasis in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, the Accelerated Master’s Program for Non-Nurses at The University of Rochester would enable me to directly impact and provide treatment to those in
Rather than preparing graduates in education or consulting as previous graduate nursing programs had done, this program educated psychiatric-mental health nurses as therapists with the ability to assess and diagnose mental health issues as well as psychiatric disorders and treat them via individual, group, and family therapy (ANA, 2014). Thus, the Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist (PMH-CNS), one of the initial advanced practice nursing roles (Schmidt, 2013), was born. After Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963 led to deinstitutionalization of individuals with mental illness, PMH-CNSs played a crucial role in reintegrating formerly institutionalized individuals back into community life (ANA, 2014). PMH-CNSs have been providing care in a wide range of setting and obtaining third-party reimbursement since the late 1960’s. In 1974 a national certification for PMH-CNSs was created (APNA, 2010). Subsequently, PMH-CNSs began to be granted prescriptive privileges in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1970s, that practice has now spread to 37 states and the District of Columbia (APNA,
The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate my reflection and understanding in the Role of the Mental Health Nurse in an episode of care supporting and promoting the recovery of service users. According to the National institute for Mental Health (2004) recovery is a process to restore something or return to a state of wellness, is an achievement of quality of life that is acceptable to the person (Ryan 2012).
My interest in pursuing a doctorate degree in counseling psychology has been influenced by a combination of life experiences and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Though the path which has led me to this destination is complex, the journey has provided me with the clarity and insight necessary to understand human behavior from a holistic perspective. As I approach the completion of my masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I am faced with the unsettling realization that I have more questions than I do answers. This has fueled my innate desire and motivation to continue challenging myself by attaining a doctorate degree from the University of North Texas.
A week before Christmas in 2013, my stepfather suddenly lost consciousness. His body stiffened and he began to violently convulse – he was having a seizure. Later in the hospital, the doctors informed us that my stepdad had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. The anguish that I felt that night was eased by a nurse who talked to my family about my stepfather’s condition and assured us that the hospital would do everything that they can to assist him with recovery. The next few weeks were filled with uncertainty as my stepdad laid comatose, no knowledge of when or even if he would wake up. During that time, my interactions with the nurses always made me feel safe and comforted Unfortunately, he passed away in January 2014. Though this was a traumatic and life altering experience, what I remember most are the nurses that provided care to my stepfather. They went above and beyond their outlined job duties to care for my loved one and to make my family feel secure even in such a difficult time.
Psychiatric nursing has always been my passion and I am ready to put my experience and leadership skills to use and further my career as a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. The psychiatric population is underserved and one of my goals is to continue working in fields others will not. I have always longed for the increased autonomy and decision making Nurse Practitioners use. Broken systems and burnt out mental health workers are a problem. For example, calling an on call physician in a patient crisis only to be given an order for something that is completely useless by a physician who does not care, has always bothered me. I look up to the Nurse Practitioners at work and have always noticed their kind, caring and responsive nature. I want
In recent years, there’s evidence to suggest that mental health nurses experience stress and burned out related to their work, Stress, as an result of stressful workplaces (Bernard et al,2000).
In the real world deciding on what you want to do for the rest of your life can be scary and most certainly confusing. There are over thousands of different careers and lifestyles that could suit you. How do you know if you have chosen the right one? The idea of patients with mental disorders being kept in institutions did not become popular until the 17th century (“Psychiatric Nurses” Volume 5 150). A career such as Psychiatric Nurse Partitioning has its pros and cons, but the journey to becoming one is something that will miraculously change your life.
Stuart, G. W. (2009). Principles and Practice of Psychiatric Nursing (9th ed. pp 561). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Dr. Watson has had a lot of educational and professional advancements throughout her life. After graduating high school she attended the Lewis Gale School of Nursing in Roanoke, Virginia and graduated in 1961 (Marriner-Tomey & Alligood, 2006). Once she got established in Colorado she got her baccalaureate degree in 1964 and went on to get her master’s degree in psychiatric-mental health nursing in 1966 at the Boulder campus (Marriner-Tomey & Alligood, 2006). After obtaining her masters Dr. Watson continued her education and got her doctorates in educational psychology and counseling in 1973 at Boulder’s Graduate School (Marriner-Tomey & Alligood, 2006). After her doctorial graduation Dr. Watson joined the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver as part of the school’s faculty and went on to become the school’s dean from 1983 through 1990 (Marriner-Tomey & Alligood, 2006). Dr. Watson has been honored by many universities and one of which she was honored was by the University of Colorado School of Nursing in 1992 with a distinguished professor of nursing honor (M...
What is it that makes choosing a career so difficult? Is it the fact that many people mainly choose a career they live off for the rest of their lives? Or is it just that they are scared of the difficulties and obstacles that will come through their path? Many students choose the usual careers: nursing, doctors, mechanics, or just working at a gas station. It all depends on where and if the student decides to go to college and what degree they are looking forward to earning.
I am interested in pursuing the DNP program because I believe it will give me autonomy in my practice and professional fulfillment that comes from achieving one’s set goals academically. I also currently believe an unprecedented need for professional psychiatry/mental health nurse practitioners exists in our society today. This essay will touch on three different experiences drawing from previous nursing coursework, experience as a practicing nurse and experiences that demonstrate my greatest strengths.
To capture my frustrations in this course, I will begin with an anecdote from Thomas Washington, a North Carolina native, UNC nursing school alum. I met Thomas on the D bus, on my way to work in the morning; this was unplanned and unscripted, his story frustrated me most was that of (he asked me not to use his name) Thomas Washington. He graduated from UNC about two decades ago with a bachelor's degree in nursing. Tommy graduated top of his class and began working in a community health center in Virginia upon graduation. Tommy's parents did not graduate from college, and both had a history of mental illness and drug abuse. Two years after he began working a Registered Nurse Tommy began struggling with depression - not yet having paid off his student loans or gained enough income he fell into constant bouts of anxiety and depression. Tommy’s mental health cost him to lose his job and soon after his sanity. A few years ago Tommy was formally diagnosed with schizophrenia and has been living in the streets of Orange County for just under a
I believe that Nursing is a profession that is unique to the individual. My reasons for choosing such a profession is due to the fact that I have a desire to help others. Growing up with a very sick parent of whom I traveled back and forth over the years to many physician offices, lead me to develop my career path at an early age which was nursing. I watched the many doctors and nurses providing care to my mom in such a compassionate way, and as a result of the kindness they showed my sibling and me, I was very much aware this was as some may say, “my calling”. I had a conversation with my mom and told her that one day I was going to be a nurse so that I could care for her in the same manner that I saw the nurses and physicians caring for her. I wanted to
As you remember in my first journal I mentioned that, I had mixed emotions about this course because I don’t have any experience with dealing with people experiencing mental health problems. However, I also feel emotions of excitement, as I knew I would learn a great deal about mental health throughout the semester. As I hoped I have clearly learned that the importance of the of the holistic model Bio- Psycho- social assessment model to assist client those who suffer from the mental health. In addition, I have discovered other important competency that may assist a person with mental health problem. I also have gained valuable knowledge, including what needs to be done in order to help a person with mental health issues during tiff situation. Ideas that may assist a person with mental health to include empowering them to connect them to the reality and were to advocate for their rights and options. Moreover, my understanding about mental health in the past was completely shifted or I am transformed and more mindful about the issues of mental health. Lastly, I have learned significant point from completing the psychosocial assessment, completing literature reviews, and other learning materials to fully assist a client with mental health. Therefore, I believe that learning never ends; I am looking forward to continuing learning more
There are many branches of psychology but the one I will be exploring is Clinical Psychology.