Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1141.02United States
Assess, diagnose, and treat individuals and families with mental health or substance use disorders or the potential for such disorders. Apply therapeutic activities, including the prescription of medication, per state regulations, and the administration of psychotherapy.
- Median annual earnings
- $97,284
- Projected change
- +8.7%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 3.47M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
91.3% of the workforce
Growing to 3.77M by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What advanced practice psychiatric nurses do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Assess patients' mental and physical status, based on the presenting symptoms and complaints.
- Write prescriptions for psychotropic medications as allowed by state regulations and collaborative practice agreements.
- Monitor patients' medication usage and results.
- Educate patients and family members about mental health and medical conditions, preventive health measures, medications, or treatment plans.
- Document patients' medical and psychological histories, physical assessment results, diagnoses, treatment plans, prescriptions, or outcomes.
- Diagnose psychiatric disorders and mental health conditions.
- Evaluate patients' behavior to formulate diagnoses or assess treatments.
- Distinguish between physiologically- and psychologically-based disorders, and diagnose appropriately.
- Develop and implement treatment plans.
- Participate in activities aimed at professional growth and development, including conferences or continuing education activities.
- Conduct individual, group, or family psychotherapy for those with chronic or acute mental disorders.
- Collaborate with interdisciplinary team members, including psychiatrists, psychologists, or nursing staff, to develop, implement, or evaluate treatment plans.
- Consult with psychiatrists or other professionals when unusual or complex cases are encountered.
- Refer patients requiring more specialized or complex treatment to psychiatrists, primary care physicians, or other medical specialists.
- Participate in treatment team conferences regarding diagnosis or treatment of difficult cases.
- Interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs) and renal functioning tests.
- Develop practice protocols for mental health problems, based on review and evaluation of published research.
- Provide routine physical health screenings to detect or monitor problems such as heart disease and diabetes.
- Administer medications, including those administered by injection.
- Develop, implement, or evaluate programs such as outreach activities, community mental health programs, and crisis situation response activities.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $68,460
- 25th percentile
- $79,944
- 50th percentile
- $97,284
- 75th percentile
- $112,340
- 90th percentile
- $138,278
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $97,284 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+8.7%faster than average
20253,471,661 jobs
2035 projected3,774,431 jobs
302,770 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 91.3%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 8.7%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners720 postings
- 02Psychiatric/Mental Health Physicians489 postings
- 03Licensed Therapists210 postings
- 04Advanced Practice Providers170 postings
- 05Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses62 postings
- 06Advanced Practice Clinicians60 postings
- 07Locums Tenens56 postings
- 08Behavioral Health Providers45 postings
- 09Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners39 postings
- 10Outpatient Clinicians31 postings
- 11Psychiatric Clinicians30 postings
- 12Psychiatric Physician Assistants29 postings
- 13Advanced Practice Registered Nurses28 postings
- 14Psychiatric Assistants27 postings
- 15Psychiatric/Mental Health Registered Nurses27 postings
- 16Mental Health Providers22 postings
- 17Provider Experience Directors17 postings
- 18Mental Health Professionals16 postings
- 19Primary Care Licensed Practical Nurses16 postings
- 20Nurse Practitioners/Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants15 postings
Top employers
- 01Headway437 postings
- 02FCS Psychiatric Recruitment207 postings
- 03Thriveworks195 postings
- 04Mindpath Health81 postings
- 05Provider Healthcare68 postings
- 06LifeStance Health49 postings
- 07Practicematch44 postings
- 08GO Staffing37 postings
- 09Mind Body Optimization35 postings
- 10Vns Healthcare30 postings
- 11Two Chairs26 postings
- 12Moonlight Medical24 postings
- 13Amergis22 postings
- 14Mindcare Solutions20 postings
- 15MultiCare Health System20 postings
- 16Surgical Information Systems19 postings
- 17Centurion Health18 postings
- 18Northpoint Recovery Holdings18 postings
- 19Real Help17 postings
- 20Iris Telehealth16 postings
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