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What Can Nurses Gain From Attending Psych Congress?
Question:
"Why would nurses want to come to Psych Congress? Isn’t it just for physicians?
As you have probably noticed, the letters after my name are a little different than those of my fellow members of the Psych Congress Steering Committee. I’m a nurse, specifically, a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Sometimes my fellow nurses ask, “Why would I want to go to US Psych Congress? Isn’t it just for doctors?” My answer is an emphatic no. It’s for all members of the mental health team.
Any of us who work day-to-day in a mental health setting (a clinic, hospital, prison or out in the streets) know the practice of psychiatry is an increasingly complex practice, whether one brings a nursing, medicine, psychology or social work background to it.
We are being called upon to treat a wider range of conditions than ever before with a greater level of sophistication about the neurobiology of these conditions. In order to do that, we have to stay current in the field. The US Psych Congress allows a practicing clinician to do just that by learning from some of the top speakers in our profession.
Despite the difference in the letters after our names and the emphasis of our respective trainings, the actual work we do is more similar than different. The diversity of perspectives different professions present can teach us to be better clinicians.
Sometimes, however, although we’ve worked hard to obtain them, our titles get in the way and we assume what the other person knows or does not know based on whatever letters follow their name. We did a curious thing last year at 2011 Psych Congress—we left titles off the nametags. Interestingly, people started conversations with one another in the hallways, while waiting for a presentation or in the exhibit hall and in those conversations people started trading ideas and sharing their excitement for their work. Maybe at some point in the conversation, they may have divulged that they had different professions, but what really mattered was that they were both passionate about the work.
As nurses assume an even larger role in the delivery of psychiatric care across the country, it is especially important that we are armed with the most current knowledge. At the end of the day, it is not the titles after our names that are important, it is how we work with patients and the knowledge that we bring to that work.
Whatever your role is in the treatment team, I look forward to meeting you at the US Psych Congress. Come say hi in the hallways. I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about!
