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Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Assess, diagnose, and treat individuals and families with mental health or substance use disorders or the potential for such disorders. Apply therapeutic activities, including the prescription of medication, per state regulations, and the administration of psychotherapy.

Related: Clinical Nurse Specialists Family Medicine Physicians Nurse Practitioners Psychiatric Technicians Psychiatrists

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Develop practice protocols for mental health problems, based on review and evaluation of published research.
Collaborate with interdisciplinary team members, including psychiatrists, psychologists, or nursing staff, to develop, implement, or evaluate treatment plans.
Distinguish between physiologically- and psychologically-based disorders, and diagnose appropriately.
Monitor the use and status of medical and pharmaceutical supplies.
Assess patients' mental and physical status, based on the presenting symptoms and complaints.
Interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs) and renal functioning tests.
Direct or provide home health services.
Educate patients and family members about mental health and medical conditions, preventive health measures, medications, or treatment plans.
Monitor patients' medication usage and results.
Consult with psychiatrists or other professionals when unusual or complex cases are encountered.
Develop, implement, or evaluate programs such as outreach activities, community mental health programs, and crisis situation response activities.
Teach classes in mental health topics, such as stress reduction.
Evaluate patients' behavior to formulate diagnoses or assess treatments.
Distinguish between physiologically- and psychologically-based disorders, and diagnose appropriately.
Develop and implement treatment plans.
Participate in activities aimed at professional growth and development, including conferences or continuing education activities.
Administer medications, including those administered by injection.
Refer patients requiring more specialized or complex treatment to psychiatrists, primary care physicians, or other medical specialists.
Document patients' medical and psychological histories, physical assessment results, diagnoses, treatment plans, prescriptions, or outcomes.
Provide routine physical health screenings to detect or monitor problems such as heart disease and diabetes.
Participate in treatment team conferences regarding diagnosis or treatment of difficult cases.
Treat patients for routine physical health problems.
Write prescriptions for psychotropic medications as allowed by state regulations and collaborative practice agreements.
Conduct individual, group, or family psychotherapy for those with chronic or acute mental disorders.
Diagnose psychiatric disorders and mental health conditions.
Direct or provide home health services.

Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.

Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

112180/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

53.93/hr

Currently Employed

69,180

Yearly Projected Openings

5150

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Sincerity
Adaptability
Perseverance
Empathy
Stress Tolerance
Self-Control

Binocular light compound microscopes
Blood pressure cuff kits
Handheld thermometer
Holter or wearable EKG monitoring systems or accessories
Hypodermic needle
Intravenous infusion pumps for general use
Laser fax machine
Medical acoustic stethoscopes
Medication or pill dispensers
Nebulizers
Peripherally inserted central catheters PICC
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Restraints
Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units

Analytical or scientific software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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