Head Psychiatric Nurse/Mental Hospital Nurse Job Description
Head Psychiatric Nurse/Mental Hospital Nurse Job Profile and Description
Head Psychiatric or mental health nurses are registered nurses who have chosen to specialize in taking care of patients diagnosed with mental illnesses and are being treated or committed in mental hospitals, asylums or sanatoriums. They are schooled in basic nursing care with further training in dealing and controlling patients in varying levels of mental derangement, whether temporary or permanent schizophrenia, psychosis or degenerative cognitive breakdown such as Alzheimer’s.
Head Psychiatric Nurse/Mental Hospital Nurse Duties and Responsibilities
- Supervise orderlies and psychiatric nursing aids in a sanatorium perform their duties
- Assist HR in the screening and placement of new orderlies and nursing aides.
- Assist the clinical psychiatrist in designing the treatment regimen and practical therapies in dealing with mentally disordered patients
- Observe, monitor and document patient reactions to planned treatments and behavioral changes or progress
- Meet with patient’s relatives or families in the defining the treatment regimen and prognosis for the patient.
- Perform prescribed hospital duties of a registered nurse and assist psychiatrists in dispensing prescribed treatment
- Establish rapport with mental patients to win their confidence in administering their treatment regimens
- Assist in the psychiatric evaluation and treatment of problematic or disturbed children.
Psychiatric Nurse/Mental Hospital Nurse Skills and Specifications
- Excellent organizational, supervisory and administrative skills
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Above average patience in dealing with mental patients
- Excellent psychological and interpersonal skills dealing with mental patients.
Psychiatric Nurse/Mental Hospital Nurse Education and Qualifications
- A Registered nurse with a post graduate training or degree in Psychiatric Nursing or Psychology is basic.
- 3-5 years experience in general nursing care of mental cases is an advantage,
Psychiatric Nurse/Mental Hospital Nurse Salary
The median annual salary for a registered nurse in the psychiatric ward or mental hospital was $62,500 in 2008. The middle 50% earned between $51,700 and $76,600 with the bottom 10% getting close to $43,500 while the top 10$ got about $92,300.