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Nurses tend to see a lot of weird events in their career, but I would say that the people in mental health nursing probably have the bigger share of strange and unusual situations.

It's a fact that most people don't think twice about mental health nursing. Well, why should they? If you are in good mental health, and no one in your family has the need to be treated for a mental illness, then of course the subject probably never gets brought up. However, we are willing and ready to assist the people who are dealing with a psychiatric condition.

The chances of having a mental illness is not as rare as people may think. In reality, it is estimated that for the United States, about 25 percent of the adult population suffers from one or more forms of mental illness. That is 25% of the population who are battling everything from depression to schizophrenia to bi-polar disorders.

Obviously some things, like depression, can be dealt with fairly easily. After some medication, therapy, and few lifestyle changes, the individual can get back on his or her feet or have some sense of normalcy within no time. For other illnesses, it may take months or even years because any signs of improvement can be seen, and it takes more extensive treatments to do so. And then, of course, there are those few who will never be able to live a normal life; individuals with conditions so severe that for their own safety and the safety of those around them, they must be kept apart in separate institutions where they will not be a danger to themselves or others.

So what is it that we mental health nurses actually do? The answer is simultaneously simpler and more complex than you may think. First off, we're nurses, and that means doing everything that any other nurse in any other position would have to do; care for our patients, only instead of having patients who understand what it is that we are trying to do, many of the patients that I see on a daily basis tend to require a good bit of interaction and reinforcement in order to believe that you are actually trying to help them and not hurt them or trick them into something.

This development of nurse/patient trust can take a long time to develop and you could be looking at months or even years before you make any sort of an impact on those you are working with. For other nurses, it might not be a good thing to have that trust, but for the mental nurses, having that trust is expected as many of the illnesses require months or years to treat or cure, if it is possible, and patients only have time on their hand once they are in a psychiatric institution. Luckily, it is not everything that we do at the institutions.

While the majority of psychiatric nurses do work at either government-run or private mental health institutions, there is a need for them in almost every area of medicine. In fact, most large hospitals have them on staff (though working in different areas) in case they should have need of them, and they do usually end up having need of them, for the hospital is the first line of defense and treatment when it comes to dealing with psychiatric issues and mental illnesses. Rehabilitation centers, counseling centers, and other places where they may need someone with psychiatric training and mental health skills for everyday routine subjects and issues also have the mental health nurses available.

I can tell you that being a mental health nurse is the most challenging job I ever had, but at the same time, it was the most rewarding. Not only do I get to make a significant impact on people's lives, but I have learned so much about myself over the last 25 years as a mental health nurse, that I can honestly say that there is no other job I would rather have.