Six Ways Nurses Can Help Prevent Mental Health Issues

Nursing is amongst the most challenging and demanding professions, requiring you to be physically and mentally strong. As a nurse, you are responsible for providing essential healthcare facilities to patients and keeping track of their health. Also, you have to stay in touch with doctors to let them know the condition of patients so that they can act accordingly.
Watching patients go through immense pain and even death can also affect nurses emotionally. Hence, as a nurse, you need to have nerves of steel to cope with such situations. Sound mental health is one of the key attributes of successful nurses that helps them perform duties efficiently in a stressful healthcare environment.
Since nurses work more closely with patients, they develop a good relationship with them. Nurses get a chance to know patients in a better way. They also get to know if patients are facing any mental health challenges or not. In this way, nurses try to figure out the root cause of mental health issues, so the role of nurses becomes crucial in such situations.
Let’s find out how nurses can help prevent mental health issues without further ado.
Providing Primary Healthcare
Nurses with relevant qualifications, particularly those who opt for evidence-based practice nursing can facilitate patients facing mental health issues. These nurses can analyze why a patient is going through a mental condition. Patients can have mental health issues like stress or depression for different reasons.
For example, if a person has experienced an emotional trauma due to any incident, their mind will go into shock. This shock can turn into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can affect vital organs of the body. And this can take a toll on the physical health of any individual. Similarly, a patient might be affected by financial issues such as a loss of income or home.
Nurses with relevant training and skills are equipped to provide primary healthcare to patients in such situations. They can identify the signs of mental health illness to take the right measures before the patient’s condition worsens.
Also, by interacting with patients directly, nurses can address their issues. It allows nurses to counsel them, so patients can overcome mental health issues and start living a normal and healthy life.
Role in Mental Health Policies
Mental health policies are designed to improve the general population’s mental health. Nurses have a major role in this regard as they contribute positively to the well-being of patients.
Based on patient interaction, nurses can provide useful insights into the root cause of mental health issues. It allows relevant policymakers to create patient-centered policies.
Some policies also provide the liberty to take action without doctors’ approval. For example, if patients experience sudden panic attacks, nurses can immediately provide them with the necessary assistance.
Creating Treatment Plans
A good treatment plan is key to successful recovery for patients from any illness. Nurses play their part in creating effective treatment plans for mental health patients. There is always a chance of relapse, even when patients have recovered from mental health issues. Keeping in mind these factors, nurses create foolproof treatment plans to help patients live meaningful lives.
Nurses with relevant psychiatric qualifications are equipped to create a customized treatment plan according to the patient’s condition. Mental illnesses can have different triggers, so nurses coordinate with patients to determine what triggers them. It helps them extract essential details. They share this information with doctors and medical experts to create an effective treatment plan.
Identifying The Root Cause of An Issue
As mentioned above, nurses coordinate with patients to determine what is bothering them.
For example, if the patient has recently lost one of their loved ones, nurses can take steps accordingly. They can arrange therapy sessions to help patients get through this emotional trauma.
It is important to understand that healing from such tragic incidents takes time. Depending on the mental capabilities of the patient, it can take months or years to come out of the state of depression.
The first step to any treatment is identifying the issue, so nurses play a crucial role in detecting the primary cause of mental illnesses. After coordinating with the medical team and doctors, they suggest medication or treatments for patients.
Educating Patients
Patient education holds special significance when it comes to the treatment of patients with mental health issues. Again nurses have the main role in this regard because they spend more time with patients.
Nurses help educate patients by making them aware of how they can take care of their mental health. They recommend that patients surround themselves with positive people and avoid absorbing negative energy.
Also, nurses have a significant role in educating patients about medication usage. Nurses make patients aware of how medication can heal their mental health, encouraging them to follow their daily medication routine seriously. By creating awareness among patients in such a manner, the recovery process can become easier.
Providing Therapy to Patients
Nurses fill the gap between patients and doctors. They interact with not only patients but also with their family members to get a better idea of the condition of the patients.
Good communication and interpersonal skills allow nurses to conduct practical therapy sessions with patients. It helps nurses develop a special connection allowing patients to share their issues without hesitation.
These therapy sessions also enable nurses to educate families. For example, nurses can make families aware of the triggers such as loud noise or arguments that can affect a patient’s mental well-being.
Most of the therapy sessions are successful because of the trust that patients have in nurses. The continuous coordination between nurses and patients helps form a good relationship that leads to a positive mental health treatment outcome.
Conclusion
Nurses are an integral part of the healthcare sector, and their significance increases more when dealing with mental health patients. From identifying the root cause of the issue to providing therapy to creating a treatment plan, nurses fulfill their duties in multiple ways. Healthcare organizations and relevant policymakers are responsible for creating favorable policies for nurses. It will allow nurses to practice self-care while working on stressful cases.