PSYCHOLOGY

The Capable Practitioner



Table of Contents

Introduction1

Responsibilities1

Special demands of mental healthcare2

Working as a professional in health care: expectations4

Principles and concepts in mental health: applications6

Subject knowledge, understanding and associated skills7

Criticism on mental health nurses8

Conclusion9

References10

The Capable Practitioner

Introduction

The Department of Health in UK acknowledges mental health nursing to be one of the most complex and challenging domains of nursing. Mental health problems are very widespread in UK. Many people in their life suffer from one or another form of mental health problems as a consequence of a major turning point in their life (Schon, 1991, p. 85). What makes the job of a mental health nurse most difficult is that most patients who come in for mental health services may be either living in denial or may have adopted an attitude whereby they do not wish to bring any improvement in their life. Then there are those who live in oblivion and have no idea that they are faced with mental problem unless the problem gets too aggravated to be managed.

Mental health consists of services provided for psychoses, personality, neuroses, and psychological disorders. In order to assess the competency level of a nurse or reflect on one's own development as a capable practitioner, it is imperative to understand principles and concepts that relate to mental health nursing, the professional expectations as well as the knowledge of the subject and skills associated with this profession.

Responsibilities

Mental health nurses work not only with the patients suffering from mental health problems but also work closely with the family members of these patients. They provide them both care and support. The underlying objective of any service provided by a mental health nurses is to being the person back to life and to help them see beyond darkness. Research reveals that at the heart of most mental health problems is disappointment and hopelessness (Burnard, 1992, p. 47). The state of hopelessness is another mental state whereby the person fails to acknowledge that it is the darkest hour before dawn.

There are two approaches to treatment that may be adopted by a mental health nurse. The nurse may either try to cure the person of their disease or he may try to help the person come to terms with what is. The approach to treatment in this context as well as the service provided will depend on the nature of the problem that is being managed (Barker, 2003, p. 105).

The mental health nursing responsibilities can differ depending upon whether the nurse practitioner is a general nurse or a specialist nurse. A general nurse is someone who provides care and support for all types of mental health problems. On the other hand, a specialist mental health nurse may provide care and support for only one mental health problem. For instance, a nurse may choose to specialize in problems related to mental health in children while the other may focus only on eating disorders.

Nurses work in hospitals in the nurse specialist units and in the outpatient ...