Nursing Career Profile: Psychiatric Nurse Manager

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Where the jobs are:

Psych mental health nurses who specialize in management provide leadership in all areas of psych mental health care including within inpatient and outpatient facilities and in specialized assessment and treatment centers such as those designated to to provide treatment for eating disorders, substance abuse, self injury, trauma or affective disorders.

Job characteristics and specialized responsibilities:

Nurses managers in psych mental health settings perform similar tasks as nurse managers in non psychiatric medical facilities, including general administration, human resources responsibilities (depending on size of facility and whether the facility also has a nurse recruiter) and scheduling. Nurse managers also supervise nurse education as well as coordinate scope of care provided by unlicensed assistive personnel such as psych technicians or certified nurse assistants. Nurse managers often are also tasked with documentation and credentialing administration and serve on committees that drive administration throughout the facility. In certain instances, such as specialized facilities for treatment of opiate addiction with methadone replacement therapy, nurse managers may have extensive documentation responsibilities in order to comply with city, state and federal regulations.

Nurse mangers may be called on to provide back of nursing care including assessments and crisis intervention. In order to qualify for most psych mental health nurse manager positions, nurses must have a BSN. In some cases, an MSN is required.