The nurse as a professional (mental health) Essay - 1

The nurse as a professional (mental health) - Essay Example Mental health nursing is a profession that focuses on providing treatment, caring, and strong support to patients who are experiencing severe mental, emotional, and psychological problems. In relation to mental health nursing, this report will focus on discussing the role and responsibilities of mental health nurses who are taking care of a mentally ill patient who could no longer decide for his own preferred care and treatment. In line with this, important factors that could guide the mental health nurses improve the quality of caring they deliver to their patients will be identified and tackled in relation to nursing ethics. Based on the gathered information, a list of recommendations together with the rationale behind each of the recommended solutions will be provided at the end of this report. Role and Responsibilities of Mental Health Nurses In general, the role and responsibilities of mental health nurses is very broad. ... gic ways on how a mental health nurse could deliver an effective patient care treatment will be tackled based on the nurse’s role as a therapist and counsellor, educator, assessor, reflector, manager, supervisor, researcher, and a clinician. Therapist and Counsellor Even though a mentally ill patient could no longer decide for his own preferred care and treatment, mental health nurses should always have in mind that the patient at this point can be very sensitive and emotional. Although the patient is not capable of communicating his preferred care and treatment, mental health nurses should still treat the patient with respect. To prevent the patient from experiencing high levels of anxiety and depression, mental health nurses should act as therapist and counsellor in order to give them a â€Å"sense of hope† and a reason to live (O'Neill, Moore, & Ryan, 2008). At this point, the patient may be limited in expressing his thoughts and feelings verbally but it is still pos sible for the patient to hear what the nurse is trying to communicate to them. Therefore, taking time to communicate with the patients could make the nurse develop a long-term nurse-patient relationship. In general, having a competitive social skills is required to enable mental health nurses established a good working relationship with patient. To establish a therapeutic relationship with the patients, mental health nurses should first establish and develop trust with the patients (Forster, 2001, pp. 65 – 66). Right after establishing the patient’s trust, mental health nurses should provide client-centered counselling each time this kind of caring intervention is necessary (Foster, 2001, p. 72). Since mental health nurses should provide holistic caring to the patients who are mentally ill, nurses