Psych Nursing
Your Psych Nursing Career
Become a mental health advocate and help change lives by entering the growing field of psych nursing. Embrace your career goals by letting CareerStaff connect you to psych nurse jobs with great pay, benefits, and work-life balance.
What is a Psych Nurse?
Psych nursing is a specialized field that focuses on providing care for individuals with mental health or behavioral issues. Psych nurses work collaboratively with patients, families, and other healthcare professionals to manage patients’ symptoms and improve their coping skills.
What do Mental Health Nurses do?
Mental health nursing helps individuals with mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Mental health nurses monitor patients’ mental health status, administer medications, and help strengthen their overall well-being.
What do Behavioral Health Nurses do?
Behavioral health nursing focuses on individuals dealing with behavioral issues such as substance abuse, learning disabilities, and self-harming behavior. Behavioral health nurses help patients regain control of their behavior and make positive changes in their lives.
What Do Psych Nurses Do?
- Conduct intake screenings and assessments for mental health conditions.
- Help stabilize and rehabilitate patients in need.
- Administer medications and monitor patients’ progress.
- Teach patients self-care and coping practices for improved well-being.
Psych Nursing F.A.Q.
According to Salary.com, the median annual salary for psych nurse jobs is around $82,100 (May 2023). Most psych nursing salaries range from $75,000-$92,000, depending on experience, education, certifications, and location.
After earning an associate’s (ADN) or bachelor’s degree (BSN) in nursing, you must pass the NCLEX-RN and become a registered nurse.
From there, you’ll need to earn your Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Certification (PMH-BC) through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
You’ll need 2 years of experience as a full-time registered nurse to earn your Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Certification. This includes 2,000+ hours in clinical practice and 30+ hours of continuing education in psych nursing.
You can also seek additional certifications to qualify for more psych nurse jobs, including the Certified Addiction Registered Nurse (CARN), Gerontological Nursing Certification (GERO-BC), or Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist (PMHCNS-BC).
Mental health nursing focuses primarily on managing mental illness. In contrast, behavioral health nursing focuses on changing negative behaviors and habits that can harm patients. Ultimately, both psych nurse jobs require the ability to assess and support individuals through their life struggles.
Psych nursing requires you to be intuitive, empathic, and adaptive. Your leadership skills will help you communicate and collaborate with others. Your open-mindedness will help you understand and support your patients and their families.
Your Setting. Your Next Nursing Job.
Take Your Career to New Places with a Travel Nursing Assignment
Nurses who are open to travel nurse jobs can choose from assignments across the United States! At CareerStaff, we offer our travelers opportunities from coast to coast, along with great benefits including stipends for housing and travel. Learn more about traveling with CareerStaff here.
