Solved! Post an explanation of your choice of a nursing specialty within the program. Describe any difficulties you had (or are having) in making your choice

Post an explanation of your choice of a nursing specialty within the program

Post an explanation of your choice of a nursing specialty within the program. Describe any difficulties you had (or are having) in making your choice, and the factors that drove/are driving your decision. Identify at least one professional organization affiliated with your chosen specialty and provide details on becoming a member.

Sample Expert Answer

Reason for the Selection of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Choice of the Specialty

As I made efforts to advance my career as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), I drew inspiration from my personal and professional goals, which guided my progress. As I progressively acquired nursing knowledge and improved my clinical skills, I became wired towards understanding patient care through the emotional and physiological perspectives. As I kept on learning about the nature of care that patients receive, I realized that providers emphasize on the management of the physical or physiological symptoms of the health disorders, ignoring the affective and psychiatric implications of these disorders.

The ignored aspects of care contribute to the completeness of health which depends on the psycho-affective aspects of care. Realizing the existence of this gap coupled with my commitment to champion for the welfare of disenfranchised persons inspired my decision to focus on psychiatric health.

Difficulties in Making the Identified Choice

Primarily, I experienced difficulty settling on the area to specialize in because just like other nursing professionals that are considering advancing their practice, I explored different career pathways. Part of the measures I adopted while exploring the pathways involved identifying the benefits that each pathway generated especially when it comes to expanding access to career opportunities including job promotions.

As I contemplated the ideal career choice, the Family Nurse Practitioner emerged as one of the most promising specialties considering that it is versatile. Unfortunately, I found it challenging to address patients’ psychological needs given the lack of availability of adequate resources. Given this experience, I settled on the PMHNP as a specialty (Cai et al., 2022).

Stigmatizing of the psychiatric disorders is rampant even within the healthcare system, and this is a problem that I personally experienced even as I settled on the PMHNP. Some of my peers raised concerns over my choice of specialty, citing the emotional toll tied to addressing the psycho-affective needs of patients. I am less concerned about these issues because for one to address patients’ psychiatric needs, one has to be empathetic, emotionally intelligent and resilient.

It is through encountering and addressing these concerns that one makes positive change especially in the lives of others and in their lives. Dealing with patients with psychiatric needs is an emotionally and physically exhausting experience. Even though this is one of the primary issues linked to selecting the PMHNP as a specialty, one can still derive satisfaction from this specialty especially if they have access to the right resources and support (Fraino & Selix, 2021).

Factors that Inspired my Decisions

My decision to pursue PMHNP also stems from the need to make positive change amidst the gradual spike in incidences of mental health. The current trends in the surge in cases of disorders associated with anxiety and the use of the behavior altering substances including fentanyl has helped shape my decisions in this case. These rates are spreading differently across various demographic populations, resulting to inequality in population mental health outcomes. I see focusing on PMHNP as an opportunity to help patients achieve emotional and psychological wellness, which are key components of holistic care (Turi et al., 2023).

For anyone pursuing the PMHNP as a specialty, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) is an ideal resource. This resource provides information related to the available professional networks including the information related to how nurses can advocate for patients. This body also connects nurses with career advancement opportunities. Joining this body requires submitting an application via the APNA’s website.

References

Cai, A., Mehrotra, A., Germack, H. D., Busch, A. B., Huskamp, H. A., & Barnett, M. L. (2022). Trends In Mental Health Care Delivery By Psychiatrists And Nurse Practitioners In Medicare, 2011-19. Health affairs (Project Hope), 41(9), 1222–1230. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00289.

Fraino, J., & Selix, N. (2021). Facilitating Well-Rounded Clinical Experience for Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Students. The journal for nurse practitioners : JNP, 17(8), 1004–1009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2021.05.015.

Turi, E., McMenamin, A., Kueakomoldej, S., Kurtzman, E., & Poghosyan, L. (2023). The effectiveness of nurse practitioner care for patients with mental health conditions in primary care settings: A systematic review. Nursing outlook, 71(4), 101995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2023.101995.