Mental health nursing is a highly specialised field of nursing that deals with the care of individuals living with mental illness, or who are experiencing severe mental, psychological or emotional distress. There are a number of mental illnesses and disorders that individuals from within the community may experience at any point in their life. Mental health nurses ensure that these clients are cared for in the most nurturing way possible to assist in their ultimate recovery.

To become a fully qualified mental health nurse, individuals must undergo specialist postgraduate training to learn the intricacies involved in the practise of mental health nursing. Much of the focus revolves around their particular client’s state of mind. Mental health nurses are constantly working to monitor their client’s mental illness by carefully observing the degree of severity in which the patient is experiencing. This information can then be relayed to the supervising physician, and attending doctors to ensure that the correct medication is administered in the particular dosage required. The overall goal for mental health nurses is to provide their client with peace of mind while working towards building that client’s balanced state of emotional and cognitive health.

There exist many mental health nursing jobs for qualified candidates in a number of work place settings. Mental health nurses are required and highly demanded in hospital wards, speciality mental health hospices, prisons, mental health government organisations and in community programmes to assist and care for those living with mental illness or disease. Overall there is a high demand for qualified mental health nurses to fill vacant job openings. The career prospects for mental health nurses can only be described positively, featuring a strong job security.

Where there once existed certain social stigmas around the subject of mental health, the dawn of the twenty first century has brought with it advances in the health sector allowing individuals a greater understanding of mental illness and issues. The increase in knowledge surrounding mental health has resulted in a dispelling of many myths and unfounded beliefs that once existed. Mental health is a topic that is continuing to move away from the social stigma it once held, with more individuals feeling more comfortable to discuss openly their personal experiences with mental illness or disease. Individuals also feel more at ease to seek treatment, support and diagnosis.

The increased acceptance and interest in one’s mental frame of mind has resulted in a public who has greater awareness of individual mental health needs. The increased awareness brings with it an increase in the need for mental health nurses to fulfil job openings. Qualified mental health nurses that complete the advanced training programmes are considered to be a rich resource for this ever evolving and exciting field of the healthcare sector.