Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Programs in Alaska - AK

By Ron May, allied health world contributing writer
Published: January, 24 2011

Find the right school for you

Degree:

Subject:

Program:

According to statehealthfacts.org, Alaska has a teen death rate of 100 deaths for every 100,000 people in comparison to a US teen death rate of 62 per 100,000. That same source also cites a suicide death rate of 22.1 per 100,000 Alaska residents compared to a national average of 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000. These facts are indicative of a current and expanding need for mental health professionals to help address the mental health challenges facing Alaska residents.

Psychiatric nurse practitioner programs serve to train nursing professionals in Alaska to address its growing mental health need. Online and grounded mental health nurse practitioner programs allow for those individuals with a bachelor’s degree in nursing to pursue and expand their specialty interest in the mental health care field. According to the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (www.apna.org), psychiatric mental health advanced practice nurses (psychiatric nurse practitioners) evaluate, diagnose, and provide treatment through therapy and medication for patients having mental health challenges. These mental health nurse practitioners are trained to serve patients across the entire lifespan from children to the elderly. In addition, psychiatric nurse practitioners can further define their educational goals as emergency room specialists, geropsychiatric nurse practitioners, and those specializing in military issues such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).