The Relationship Between Psychology and Nursing

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Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. As such, there is really no area of life that it doesn’t apply to and cannot be improved by it. When we look at how nurses are affected by their work, it is important to understand it from a psychological standpoint.

Nursing can be a stressful job. It is not stressful everyday and it is not stressful in the same way for every person. However, there is no denying that working with people who are either at their worst health or trying to be healthier can be stress-inducing.

Understanding Psychology and Nursing

Nurses need to employ psychological knowledge in their own everyday life. How they react to patients and other staff members has much to do with how they perceive the world around them. Being aware of this can help them put aside their preconceived notions and work better with one another and with difficult patients.

Psychology and nursing also come together in other ways. For one, nurses need to know a bit about how and why people react to things the way they do. For example, one of the most common reasons people end up in an emergency room or emergency care clinic is for anxiety. Anxiety can look like a heart attack, stroke or panic attack. A basic knowledge of psychology and what sorts of psychosocial questions to ask can help a nurse triage whether a person needs to be seen right away for their heart attack symptoms, or whether they can wait for the doctor to finish with the large machinery injuries.

Also, as a charge nurse or any other sort of nursing management, knowing how to work with the psychology of groups is conducive to promoting a good and healthy work environment.

Psychology and Nursing and the Roles We Play

Psychological factors play such a large role in so many maladies of the body, so it behooves the practicing nurse to be aware of them. It helps them treat the patient, as well as explain to them how to care for themselves. Since it is typically the nurse following up with the doctor’s instructions to the patient, a good knowledge of how to present to each individual is integral.

Then, there are also psychiatric nurses, those who work exclusively with psychiatric patients. Here, their knowledge of psychology should be obvious, but it is an on the job skill. What they learn in nursing school is mostly how to administer medication, take vitals and sedate. What they do in real life is much more. They are counselors listening to patients, they have to know what medications interact with psychotropic medicines, and learn how and when patients are getting worked up and need intervention.

An advanced degree and/or Master’s program can be completed to become a certified Psychiatric Nurse, and you will be licensed to provide medical and psychiatric evaluation as well as work with individuals and families in a counseling setting.

As Tahseen Bahoo writes in The Importance of Psychology in Nursing:

“In a nutshell, psychology provides an opportunity for nurses to understand their responsibilities in a better way and perform exactly as what is expected of them. Psychology plays a vital role in understanding the health related matters of the individuals and nurses need to know them.