DNP 802 Role Development
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a nursing degree that allows nurses to learn how they can be a successful leader in their teams and how to improve the quality of their evidence-based practice. The Doctor of Nursing Practice has the purpose of understanding the issues that arise with patients and considering them in combination with the nursing system issues by adopting the interdisciplinary approach. The practice includes several specific roles of a nurse, which develop from the previous roles after a nurse acquires the required skill competencies of a DNP-prepared nurse.
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DNP Role of Interest: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Nursing Practitioner
The child and adolescent mental health nursing practitioner is a Doctor of Nursing Practice nurse responsible for assisting patients and members of the nursing team with solving issues related to child and adolescent mental health. These issues may include genetic mental illnesses that manifest themselves in childhood or adolescence and prevent children and teenagers from exercising their normal function in the community and communicating with their peers. In addition, the child and adolescent mental health practitioner is a specialist who assists with physical or mental abuse toward children and adolescents and deals with the mood and behavioral problems of such patients. As a Doctor of Nursing Practice specialist, such a nurse can become more proficient in this chosen area and learn or develop new psychiatric mental health care strategies to treat patients both in the short term and in the long term.
I have chosen that role, as I am currently a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and would like to improve the quality of my care delivery and increase positive outcomes for my patients by understanding the strategies of psychiatric mental health at an advanced level and in a combination with nursing system in specific organizations. This would allow me to understand how the nursing system could impact patient outcomes, and how I, as a nurse practitioner and leader in my team, could overcome the existing system issues to improve my patient’s mental health care. This role is related to my current nursing role, and therefore, I already have the biggest part of my knowledge, and after becoming a DNP nurse professional, I would gain additional skills and learn new strategies to assist patients to the largest extent. I would also be able to foster interprofessional collaboration if needed when a patient has a complicated scenario and the assistance of my colleagues is needed.
In addition to my personal interest in exercising the role of a DNP psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, I have chosen it because of the existing gap related to this role. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the number of practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists decreased dramatically. This indicates that fewer specialists can work with children and teenagers and adopt strategies specific to the mental health of young individuals. The gap may have happened, as the number of psychiatric patients prevails among adults rather than young people. Thus, this gap needs to be addressed, especially at the DNP level, to be able to adopt an interdisciplinary approach and develop new strategies to treat such patients.
When determining the specifics of the work on the position of a child and adolescent mental health nurse practitioner, data was researched from credible articles. The first article by Benton et al. (2021) shows that my role as a DNP nurse would be to deal with the psychological impact of COVID-19 on the world’s children and adolescents. In addition, I would need to deal with children and adolescents increased clinical depression and anxiety symptoms and psychological distress (Benton et al., 2021). The article by Lau-Zhu et al. (2022) states that at this role, I would need to assist children and adolescents who have mental health issues related to increased screen time. The issues could include emotional addiction to smartphones and other devices and reduced social activity because of increased digital time (Lau-Zhu et al., 2022). Therefore, the role of a child and adolescent mental health nurse practitioner is to deal with depression and anxiety, COVID-19-related psychological problems and mental issues related to increased digital time.
Becoming a Doctor of Nursing Practice allows nurses to be more prepared for children and adolescents’ mental healthcare than a Master of Science in Nursing. A Doctor of Nursing Practice is a Master of Science in Nursing who has gone through an additional three years of education and training in the psychiatric field and also gained knowledge and skills in exercising the leadership position. For this reason, a Doctor of Nursing Practice has more experience in evidence-based practice nursing, which allows them to better understand the mental health issues of children and adolescents who experience clinical depression and anxiety symptoms. A DNP nurse can also improve the quality of psychiatric mental health assistance to children and adolescents, as they can take the position of a leader and organize an interdisciplinary team for an improved setting of a diagnosis and discussion of treatment.
A Doctor of Nursing Practice has skills that a Master of Science in Nursing registered nurse would not have, which would assist in dealing with psychiatric issues in children and adolescents. A Doctor of Nursing Practice, for example, has a skill of leadership in healthcare administration. This skill allows them to organize the work in the nursing department or team to improve patient outcomes or develop new treatment strategies. Then, such a nurse has skills in policy development and education, which means that they could not only organize the work in the psychiatric treatment but also educate and train other nurses to ensure they collaborate and deliver improved patient care.
SWOT Analysis
The table presented below presents the strengths of a Doctor of Nursing Practice that allow such a nurse to improve patient care and organize the clinical nursing system and opportunities for advanced nursing practice that result from the existing strengths. It also shows the internal weaknesses of a Doctor of Nursing Practice and the organization when they work and the external threats that can impact change in that organization.
| StrengthsHaving strong leadership skills and knowledge about leadership strategies (Davis and Morrow, 2020).Having additional evidence-based practice knowledge and experience, especially in the psychiatric mental health field (Davis and Morrow, 2020).Ability to adopt an interdisciplinary approach when dealing with psychiatric health issues in children and adolescents to improve the setting of diagnosis and treatment.Ability to organize the psychiatric department and the work in a nurses’ team to ensure improved health outcomes for patients (Davis and Morrow, 2020).Having a leadership position in the department, and as a result, being able to control and supervise the work of nurses and impact change in the department.Having policy development skills and the responsibility to improve the current policies in an organization (Davis and Morrow, 2020).Having skills in budget allocation, which allows to distribute financial resources in an organization to achieve improved patient outcomes (Davis and Morrow, 2020).The ability to change the nursing system from the inside by organizing the work and collaboration and providing policy training to employees.The ability to operate with innovative complex technologies that MSN registered nurses cannot work with. | OpportunitiesA lack of psychiatrist professionals in the field of children and adolescents’ mental health, especially among advanced professionals (the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2021).Several DNP nursing programs around the current location, which allow to choose the best possible option to improve the skills and start a career as a DNP psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.Increased population of patients who need psychiatric mental health assistance, especially using an interdisciplinary approach, in childhood and adolescence (Kuchler et al., 2021).Governmental assistance to DNP nurses who are willing to work in psychiatric areas with a limited number of qualified professionals (Kuchler et al., 2021).Government providing increased opportunities for technological development and providing innovative technologies that only DNP nurses can operate with (Kuchler et al., 2021). |
| WeaknessesLack of technological and financial resources and qualified nurses who could support the proposed change (Wright et al., 2022).Lack of resources and budget for the complex assessment of the work of the psychiatrist department needed to determine the strategies for change (Wright et al., 2022).Lack of compliance with the established psychiatrist policies within an organization (Wright et al., 2022).Low ability of the psychiatric team to adjust to change and collaborate toward the implementation of new strategies.Lack of qualified and highly professional psychiatrist nurses in the field of childhood and adolescence psychiatric mental health assistance, which does not allow the DNP nurse to allocate responsibilities and assist all patients in time.Lack of time for exercising responsibilities instead of psychiatric team members who are not employed because of a lack of experience in working with children and adolescents. | ThreatsNew psychiatric clinics that have recently opened and may attract qualified professionals who could work with children and adolescents and their mental health problems.Already existing psychiatric clinics that may attract qualified professionals who could work with children and adolescents and their mental health problems.Lack of specific psychiatric mental health medications needed to treat clinic depression, anxiety or screen time disturbances in children and adolescents (Tharp-Barrie et al., 2020).Lack of psychiatric mental health medications that are specifically needed for a certain age of children or adolescents and cannot be replaced with an “adult” medicine (Tharp-Barrie et al., 2020). |
References
AACAP. (n.d.). Severe shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists illustrated in AACAP Workforce Maps. https://www.aacap.org/aacap/zLatest_News/Severe_Shortage_Child_Adolescent_Psychiatrists_Illustrated_AACAP_Workforce_Maps.aspx
Benton, T. D., Boyd, R. C., & Njoroge, W. F. (2021). Addressing the global crisis of child and adolescent mental health. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(11), 1108-1110. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2479
Davis, J. H., & Morrow, M. R. (2020). Using strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis to pursue a doctor of nursing practice education: A descriptive case study. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 34(6), 295-297. https://doi.org/10.1097/NUR.0000000000000553
Kuchler, E., Garner, L., Whitten, L., DeBlieck, C., Farra, S., Davis, R., … & Stalter, A. (2021). A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis–A study of Association of Community/Public Health Nursing Educators members. Public Health Nursing, 38(3), 449-458. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12824
Lau-Zhu, A., Anderson, C., & Lister, M. (2023). Assessment of digital risks in child and adolescent mental health services: A mixed-method, theory-driven study of clinicians’ experiences and perspectives. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28(1), 255-269. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591045221098896
Tharp-Barrie, K., Williams, T. E., Howard, P. B., El-Mallakh, P., & MacCallum, T. (2020). DNP practice improvement initiative: staff nurse competency evaluation. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 50(1), 22-27. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000834
Wright, R., Lee, Y. J., Yoo, A., McIltrot, K., VanGraafeiland, B., Saylor, M. A., … & Han, H. R. (2022). Doctor of nursing practice project: Key challenges and possible solutions. Journal of Professional Nursing, 41, 53-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2022.04.004