Enhancing patient care through nursing: The importance of mental health nurses
After working as a family nurse practitioner for 16 years, Billie Vance chose to apply for West Virginia University’s postgraduate APRN Psychiatric Mental Health Certificate program.
“I'm a family nurse practitioner, but I've been working in a behavioral health setting, caring for patients who have an opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders,” Vance said. “What I discovered is that many of them have comorbid mental health conditions and I felt like I would be more well-equipped to take care of them if I sought out this additional certification.”
The postgraduate APRN PMHNP certificate program, offered by the School of Nursing, is for professional nurses who are interested in providing advanced psychiatric mental health nursing care in their communities. Graduates of this program meet all requirements to sit for national certification.
Vance enjoys the online program, which allows her to fulfill all her roles while enhancing her education. Vance is also the director of evidence-based practice and quality improvement, a clinical associate professor, and chair of the Total Faculty Committee in the School of Nursing.
Through her time as a student in the program, Vance has gained a stronger understanding of neuropsychopharmacology and the identification of mental health conditions. She finds the relationship between mental and physical health to be significant to a patient's overall health.
“Anything you do to enhance your ability to do a therapeutic interview or ensure you're paying attention to somebody’s mental health is extremely valuable to any role you have as a nurse,” Vance said. “It's also what we do because nurses holistically provide care and look at all aspects of a patient's life. Sometimes those aspects, when you're in the middle of a physical health crisis, get neglected.”
Amy Ankrom, coordinator of the postgraduate APRN PMHNP certificate program, said the program is demanding but flexible: “We promote student engagement and personalized learning experiences and work to help students balance educational and life demands.”
In her role, Ankrom assists with curriculum development, student admissions, finding clinical placements, teaching courses and preparing students for successful practice as psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners.
“I hope students leave with a strong foundation in mental health assessment, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based interventions, and are prepared to provide compassionate, holistic, quality care to individuals with mental health challenges and disorders,” Ankrom said. “I hope students leave with a passion for reducing mental health stigma.”
According to Ankrom, the demand for mental health nursing is only growing. This demand is due to multiple factors within the state, such as growing awareness of mental health issues, shortages of mental health providers and the impact of the opioid crisis.
Vance also notes the importance of mental health nursing, highlighting the increased accessibility for patients in a crisis that mental health nursing can provide.
“When patients are in crisis, there's always the route of the emergency room, but that's not really the best for effective management,” Vance said. ”If you have a patient with medical conditions who is depressed and doesn't feel like taking their medication, getting out and exercising, or ongoing maintenance, that could be the root cause. So if we are able to help their mental health, hopefully, that will also enable them to better manage their physical health.”
For those interested in pursuing mental health nursing, Ankrom recommends nurses who are passionate about mental health and value communication in patient care.
“A strong candidate is an individual who values the importance of communication in patient care, has a passion for mental health, and desires to treat individuals with mental health disorders,” Ankrom said.
-WVU-
po/04/14/2025
CONTACT: Wendy Holdren
Director of Communications and Marketing
WVU School of Nursing
304-581-1772; wendy.holdren@hsc.wvu.edu