Description
Assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions across the lifespan, independently or as part of an interdisciplinary behavioral health team. Provide psychotherapy and medication management with a focus on health promotion, recovery, and relapse prevention. Order, perform, or interpret relevant psychiatric and medical tests; prescribe psychotropic medications. Must be registered nurses with graduate-level psychiatric-mental health specialization.
- • Conduct comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, including mental status exams and psychosocial assessments.
- • Analyze histories, symptoms, and diagnostic data to formulate DSM-5 diagnoses.
- • Develop and revise evidence-based treatment plans focused on recovery and functional goals.
- • Provide medication management, prescribing psychotropics as authorized, with shared decision-making.
- • Counsel patients on medication regimens, side effects, interactions, and adherence strategies.
- • Monitor therapeutic drug levels and order or interpret labs relevant to psychotropic safety, such as CBC, CMP, lipids, A1c, TSH, and EKG.
- • Screen for and address comorbid conditions, including metabolic syndrome, substance use, and suicidality.
- • Deliver brief psychotherapies, such as CBT, DBT skills, and motivational interviewing, and provide psychoeducation.
- • Perform suicide and violence risk assessments and create safety and crisis plans.
- • Diagnose or treat acute psychiatric problems, such as mood, anxiety, psychotic, or adjustment disorders.
- • Diagnose or manage chronic mental health conditions, including major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and PTSD.
- • Treat or refer patients with co-occurring substance use disorders, including medication-assisted treatment when appropriate.
- • Respond to psychiatric emergencies, de-escalate crises, and coordinate higher levels of care when needed.
- • Administer and monitor long-acting injectable medications and other psychiatric treatments per protocol.
- • Recommend and coordinate diagnostic or therapeutic interventions, such as psychotherapy, IOP/PHP, ECT, or TMS.
- • Consult with, collaborate with, or refer to psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, or primary care when conditions exceed scope.
- • Provide patients and families with education to promote wellness, reduce relapse risk, and improve coping.
- • Schedule follow-up visits to monitor symptoms, side effects, adherence, and functional outcomes.
- • Detect and manage adverse drug reactions, including EPS, tardive dyskinesia, serotonin syndrome, and QTc prolongation.
- • Maintain accurate, timely documentation of assessments, treatment plans, and patient progress.
- • Read current literature, engage in continuing education, and follow psychiatric practice guidelines.
- • Comply with state and federal regulations, including controlled substance prescribing and privacy laws.
- • Navigate payer requirements and connect patients to community and behavioral health resources.
- • Participate in quality, safety, and infection control initiatives; supervise or coordinate support staff activities.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
