Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner-California

Tasks

• Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.

• Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries.

• Recommend diagnostic or therapeutic interventions with attention to safety, cost, invasiveness, simplicity, acceptability, adherence, and efficacy.

• Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized.

• Educate patients about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to patients' individual circumstances.

• Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender.

• Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as complete blood counts (CBCs), electrocardiograms (EKGs), and radiographs (x-rays).

• Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses.

• Recommend interventions to modify behavior associated with health risks.

• Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines.

• Detect and respond to adverse drug reactions, with special attention to vulnerable populations such as infants, children, pregnant and lactating women, or older adults.

• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.

• Counsel patients about drug regimens and possible side effects or interactions with other substances, such as food supplements, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, or herbal remedies.

• Diagnose or treat chronic health care problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

• Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.

• Treat or refer patients for primary care conditions, such as headaches, hypertension, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, and dermatological conditions.

• Consult with, or refer patients to, appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise.

• Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.

• Schedule follow-up visits to monitor patients or evaluate health or illness care.

• Perform routine or annual physical examinations.

• Supervise or coordinate patient care or support staff activities.

• Maintain current knowledge of state legal regulations for nurse practitioner practice, including reimbursement of services.

• Provide patients or caregivers with assistance in locating health care resources.

• Maintain departmental policies and procedures in areas such as safety and infection control.

• Perform primary care procedures such as suturing, splinting, administering immunizations, taking cultures, and debriding wounds.

• Advocate for accessible health care that minimizes environmental health risks.

• Keep abreast of regulatory processes and payer systems, such as Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and private sources.

Skills

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.

• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

• Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Knowledge

• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.