APNA Position: Scope & Standards of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing

It is the position of the APNA Board of Directors that the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2022) represents the official policy of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association with regards to the role, scope of practice, and standards of practice of psychiatric-mental health nurses.

Adopted by the APNA Board of Directors June 17, 2014.
Reviewed February 2020 by the APNA Board of Directors.
Updated February 2023.

American Psychiatric Nurses Association, International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses, American Nurses Association. Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice. 3rd ed. Silver Spring, MD: Nursesbooks.org; 2022.