Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse

As many as one in three adults suffer from some form of mental illness at some time in their lives. Psychiatric nurses are specially trained to help such people come to terms with their problems and cope with everyday life. Patients, usually known as clients, can be any age, and may have issues ranging from anxiety and stress-related illnesses to personality disorders, eating disorders and drug and alcohol dependency.

The work depends on the needs of individual clients but can include:

working with GPs, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, health visitors and other professionals to plan treatment and monitor progress
building trusting relationships with clients
involving clients’ families and friends in support and advising them on coping with difficult situations
noticing and reacting to changes in a client’s condition, for example spotting additional stress or tension and finding ways to diffuse it
providing physical care for those clients who need it
giving medication and using psychological therapies and counselling
using techniques like role play, art and drama to help clients express their feelings
liaising with social workers, police, charities and housing officers so clients have the support they need.

Full-time psychiatric nurses in the HSE work 37.5 hours a week. This may include on-call rotas to cover emergencies. Some jobs may involve shift work. Part-time and flexible hours are often available. Most mental health nurses work in the community, providing care in clients’ homes, residential units or health centres. Some work in hospitals.

Salaries in the HSE range from €30,000 a year for a newly-qualified nurse up to €59,000 for an Advanced Nurse Practitioner.

Besides having general nursing skills, mental health nurses should:

have excellent communication and listening skills
be able gain clients’ confidence and trust
be good at teamwork and be able to work on their own initiative
be compassionate, sensitive and emotionally strong
be assertive with good motivation skills.

Entry Requirements:

To work as a qualified nursing professional, you must first successfully complete a programme of nursing education, and then apply to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), the statutory body for regulation of the nursing profession in Ireland.

1. Pre-Registration Degree Programmes Leading to Registration with NMBI

There are 5 pre-registration level nursing training programmes available, all of which are at Level 8 Honours Bachelor Degree, including the BSc in Psychiatric Nursing programme: