title: A comparison of the practices of psychiatric clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners who are certified to provide mental health care for children and adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A task force of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and the International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses initiated a survey to identify how advanced practice psychiatric nurses were addressing the mental health needs of children and adolescents.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Practice patterns of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (CACNSs) and Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners (FPNPs) were compared.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic survey was completed by 234 CACNSs and 170 FPNPs from a national database. Group data were compared using descriptive and inferential statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both groups spent the greatest percentage of their time in medication management, with depression being the most frequent problem they treated. However, CACNSs treated more school-aged children and provided more psychotherapy. FPNPs frequently merged prescribing and therapy when seeing patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings indicate more commonalities than differences in the practices of the two certification groups but suggest the need for standards that will inform educational programs and certification examinations.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Robert and Delphine Wentland Eschbach Endowed Chair in Mental Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA, sandra.weiss@nursing.ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Talley