Mental Health Preparedness: A Nurse Leader's Role

The rate of mental health crisis presentations in non-behavioral health facilities is on the rise. Nurse leaders are challenged to identify ways to improve nursing staff confidence in identifying and caring for mental health patients. Through implementing a mental health training program, 1 facility showed a statistically significant improvement (P <.001) in overall nurse confidence in caring for mental health patients within the emergency department (ED) and non-ED clinical settings. The success of the implementation of this program can be replicated and highlights the need for nurse leaders to provide mental health training for all staff to improve outcomes and safety.