Mental health nursing is a challenging but also rewarding vocation that allows you to make a real difference to people’s lives. It is certainly worth considering as a career.
Diverse and Challenging Work
Your role as a mental health nurse requires you to help with everything from medication management to encouraging patients to participate in other activities. You will need to communicate and build relationships not just with patients but their families and a variety of doctors, social workers, healthcare assistants and different types of therapist. This means that having the right qualifications on its own is not enough to be a good nurse. You need to develop a variety of skills.
Pay and Other Benefits
Working as a mental health nurse generally means starting at band 5 of the Agenda for Pay system. You will also be eligible for various discounts as a health worker as well as pension scheme membership. Holiday entitlement consists of 27 days per year plus bank holidays, though sometimes you will be required to be on shift.
Ongoing Training and Development
A perusal of the mental health training courses Newport available at tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-training-courses/newport shows the many opportunities for learning in the mental health fields. You may choose to specialise in a particular area, such as children’s or women’s mental health, or progress into research, teaching or management roles.
It is important to carefully evaluate all aspects of being a mental health nurse if you are considering it as a career, but there is no doubt that many people find it rewarding.
