Relationships | Balance | Change
Clinical Psychologists and Psychiatrists Located Across the State of Hawaii
What is a Prescribing Advanced Practice Registered Nurse?
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse is a clinician who specializes in psychiatry with years of training, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental health disorders. APRNs are nurse practitioners who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments, or strictly psychiatric.
Other duties of a psychiatric advanced practice mental health nurse practitioner may include:
• Providing psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups
• Coordinating care with the multidisciplinary team
• Monitoring clients for non-psychiatric health care problems and refer them, as needed for specialized care or treatment
• Prescribing medications to manage symptoms associated with psychiatric disorder within their State’s recommended guidelines of practice for PMHNPs
Medication can be used to treat...
- Depression, anxiety, mood swings
- Bipolar disorder
- Recurrent unwanted thoughts
- OCD
- Sleep difficulties and insomnia
- Anger, irritability, grief
- Attention, concentration, ADHD
- Phobia
- PTSD
APRN Evaluations
An APRN will conduct a psychiatric evaluation, that includes an interview that gleans information about behavioral or emotional symptoms of the patient, along with their medical, psychiatric and social history. Family members may also be interviewed to help understand the patient’s symptoms and history.
Next, a mental status examination is conducted that involves questions regarding other critical symptoms with screening tests related to cognition and memory. A diagnosis will be made, followed by the creation of a treatment plan, which are both discussed with the patient. The APRN may prescribe medication to reduce emotional or behavioral symptoms. Possible mental health disorders such as anxiety and bipolar depression could be found from a psychiatric evaluation and will help the psychiatrist tailor a customized mental health treatment plan

Luke Xavier

Anna Grills
