A career as a mental health nurse or RMN is extremely varied and rewarding. Mental health nursing jobs can be based in the community, in a secure setting, in a ward or in a care home. RMN Nurses have specific training in all kinds of mental health conditions from depression to dementia. Mental health nurses who work in the community or with the elderly usually have specific additional training relating to dementia. Nursing patients who have dementia requires a different set of specialist skills to those an RMN working in a substance abuse unit for instance.

The key skills of an RMN Nurse are different to those of an RGN adult nurse, not that either skill set is less important than the other. An RMN Nurse uses skills of communication, listening and interpreting to understand a patient’s condition and to hear what they aren’t saying as well as what they are. The continuity of treatment by one mental health practitioner can make an enormous to the wellbeing of a patient and can speed their recovery.

Read the rest of this entry »