APNA Scope & Standards of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Practice Council
Vision
The APNA Scope & Standards of PMH Nursing Practice Council will serve as an expert resource in applying the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice to current practice settings, including: monitoring the clinical PMH nursing practice environment, reviewing future directions in nursing and psychiatric care, and bringing important issues to the board for consideration.
Goals
Grounded by the Scope and Standards of Practice for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, the council will:
- Cultivate a community of practicing RNs & APRNs to assist in expanding their colleagues’ understanding of the full breadth, depth, and variety of PMH nursing clinical practice in today’s environment.
- Work collaboratively to advance clinical application of the scope and standards of practice to support decision-making and optimal patient care.
- Review the PMH nursing direct care practice environment to inform the board of existing gaps in practice, emerging trends, potential risks, or important updates that are applicable to psychiatric-mental health nursing scope and standards of practice.
Charge
- Conduct internal council assessments to identify existing gaps in practice (e.g. develop & send survey(s) to all council members and/or engage in discussions on Advisory Panel Member Bridge community).
- Monitor these APNA resources to ensure they provide accurate information about PMH nursing practice and roles: About Psychiatric Nursing and About APRNs.
- Synthesize information to clarify the distinct but collaborative roles of RNs, APRNs, and other PMH nursing roles in various environments (e.g., provide summary articles for APNA News and/or post updates to Member Bridge to inform the membership).
- Create evidence-based FAQs that provide accurate information around common scope-related concerns, such as therapy provision, prescribing practices, RN-led interventions, and interdisciplinary overlap.
- Create case-based resources to help nurses apply the standards in real-world settings/environments, such as inpatient, outpatient, telehealth, community, etc. (e.g., what a therapeutic milieu looks like in practice).
- Foster ongoing discussion to support consistent understanding of PMH RN and APRN roles, helping to support informed decision-making related to practice expectations across setting and teams.
Note: This council is not currently meant to address state scope of practice policy issues.
