title: Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Workforce Agenda: Optimizing Capabilities and Capacity to Address Workforce Demands.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The mental health service delivery transformation has created models of care that generate demand for a workforce with particular competencies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article develops a psychiatric mental health (PMH) nursing workforce agenda in light of demand generated by new models of care and the capacity/capabilities of the PMH RN and advanced practice nurse (APN) workforce.
  
  
  METHODS
  Examine the current capacity of the PMH nursing workforce and how health care reform and related service delivery models create demand for a particular set of behavioral health workforce competencies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PMH RNs and APNs have an educational background that facilitates development of competencies in screening, care coordination, leveling care, and wellness education. PMH RNs are a large workforce but the size of the PMH APN group is inadequate to meet demand.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The specialty must strategize on how to build requisite PMH RN and APN competencies for the evolving service landscape.
authors.affiliation: Kathleen R. Delaney, PhD, PMHNP, FAAN, Rush College of Nursing, Chicago, IL, USA Kathleen_R_Delaney@rush.edu.
authors.forename: Kathleen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Delaney
mesh_terms: D057179:Advanced Practice Nursing; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: competency development; psychiatric mental health nursing workforce; service demand; workforce capacity