Introduction

M.Sc. in Psychiatric nursing covers the area of medication administration, research method and clinical practice that need to be implemented to enable the patients to get rid of mental illness.  Psychiatric nurses help patients to cope with their illnesses, manage different aspects of their diseases, and maintain a good psychological state. Master of Science in Psychiatric Nursing is a postgraduate degree which aims at preparing candidate to fit psychiatric nursing careers. This degree is more than the basic understanding acquired from a Bachelor’s course.  It focuses on diagnosis of mental health disorders, additional therapeutic interventions, as well as management competencies. There are several compelling reasons to pursue this degree:

About Psychiatric Nursing

Psychiatric nurses may also be employed in health care field, and they coordinate with other professionals in the delivery of services including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers. They should be able to communicate fluently, possess interpersonal feelings, and have endurance while handling stress since they deal with patients who may be distressed or in a crisis. It entails use of interviews, observation. In some cases, they need to assist in psychological tests of patients. From these evaluations, the nurses assist in the formulation of feasible Care Plans. An effective care plan helps in preparing Prescription plans, therapy sessions with the intention of assisting the patients in their disorders.

Syllabus /Topic covered in MSc in Psychiatric Nursing

• Mental Health Assessment: MSc in Psychiatric Nursing deals with activities that are essential in order to deliver effective mental health assessments. It gives an understanding of how it is possible to make accurate assessment on mental health. It further helps in preparing proper intervention plans.
• Psychiatric Pharmacology: MSc in Psychiatric Nursing discusses the patient medicines used for mental illnesses, how they work. It is crucial to understand psychiatric pharmacology for all students. So that, effective medications can be applied appropriately without posing specific complications. Effective medication is essential particularly to a patient who is taking different types of drugs.
• Psychotherapy Techniques: MSc in Psychiatric Nursing program involves numerous psychotherapies approaches relevant in mental health practice. These are CBT, DBT and therapeutic methods. These topics techniques assist mental health nurse practitioners to identify patients mental illness status more closely. CBT will be effective in predicting a patient change of thought process that results in emotional problems while DBT has cognitive-behavioral techniques incorporated with mindfulness to identify extreme feelings of patient. By these techniques, nurses are able to teach patients to cope with symptoms of the disease and therefore improve on their quality of life. This knowledge is essential so as to be able to deliver practice based on the most recent research .
• Ethical and legal practices of Psychiatric Nursing: It gives the understanding of the ethical and legal issues in psychiatric nursing practice. It includes the rights of the patient, privacy, consent. It helps to understand ethical concern, which is essential in mental health care.
  
  

 MSc in Psychiatric Nursing Eligibility Criteria

There are certain minimum requirements that one must have to satisfy to take admission in the MSc in Psychiatric Nursing include:
Educational Background: You should have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSc Nursing) from a recognized institution. Certain programmes may have pre-requisite GPA or previous education in mental health.
Registered Nurse License: One prerequisite you must meet is that you need to actively enrolled with the state as a Registered Nurse (RN). It also means that you would possess minimum nursing competencies that would enable you function as an advanced practice nurse.
Professional Experience: This may range from no previous experience in nursing, to courses wherein the candidate must have a minimum number of clinical experience in the nursing of the mentally ill.

Application Process:

Some of the requirements that are often required for an RN are an application, transcripts, RN license, statement of purpose, and reference letters. Some programs might also contain the condition that you pass an entrance examination, for example GRE, or you have an interview.

Required Clinical Skills:

An MSc program prepares the nurses both clinically, in terms of their ability to assess, diagnose, and manage the mental health problems, which are often chronic and serious. This involves the acquisition of knowledge in areas such as Psychiatric nursing, evidence centred practice and the trends in the practice. Through the acquirement of these skills, you increase chances of offering better care to your patients and assuming more responsibilities in clinical practice area.

Course Duration

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Higher Study option after M.Sc. Psychitric Nursing

Most MSc courses also include provisions for option, which will enable you to pursue a specialisation of your choice in psychiatric nursing. Possible specializations include:
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Geriatric Psychiatry
• Substance Abuse and Addiction
• Forensic Psychiatry

Salary After M.Sc in Psychiatric Nursing

Career Opportunities:

Degrees of MSc in Psychiatric Nursing have wider opportunities in healthcare sector. You may become a psychiatric nurse practitioner with autonomous prescriptive authority. You will be able to practice psychotherapy. You could strive to become a clinical nurse specialist in mental health. You would serve as a clinical consultant in hospitals or communities. There are also openings to work in mental health teaching, research and management. The MSc program also makes the nurses ready to fit into leadership positions in health care organizations. This may involve supervising numbers of nurses, creating mental health care programs or campaigning on changes to policies that will enhance the delivery of mental health care services.

MSc in Psychiatric Nursing is a great plan for nurses’ further education for those who have decided to focus on mental health. This advanced degree also develops your clinical skills but it also provides you with many career opportunities in different fields such as clinical, leadership and educational careers. Since mental health is gaining more attention in the health facilities, then more specialized psychiatric nurses will be required. Since you will be educated on mental wellbeing, you shall be in a good place to help increase awareness for mental health. With your further education as a psychologist, you are equipped to provide to the efforts at demystifying mental illness and raising awareness on the subject, within the society as a whole.