What Is An RMN?

What is an RMN? It’s an initialism we use a lot in our industry, and it stands for Registered Mental Nurse. In this blog post, we’ll go into detail about the roles and duties RMNs must carry out in the course of their work.

What is an RMN? – Who Do RMNs Work With?

RMNs provide care and medical support to those suffering from mental health conditions, of any age. RMNs work to alleviate their patient’s illnesses, and help them along the road to recovery wherever possible. Because anyone can suffer from mental health conditions, you could end up working with a variety of people.

What is an RMN? – RMN Duties

The roles and responsibilities of RMNs are similar to other nursing professionals, the key difference is that RMNs are, as you might expect, specialists in the area of mental health and mental illness. Here are some of the most common roles of RMNs:

• Assessing and diagnosing patients – trying to find the sources of their illnesses.
• Discussing patients’ mental health with them, often in one-to-one sessions.
• Overseeing and adding to patient records.
• Carrying out risk assessments.
• Liaising with the family members of patients, reporting on their progress.

What is an RMN? – Where Do RMNs Work?

In the UK, RMNs work in a wide variety of settings. These include:

• Hospitals
• Community health centres
• Residential Homes
• At the home of a client
• Prisons & rehabilitation centres
• GP practices

Your roles as an RMN will be very different depending on where you work. For example, working as an RMN at a rehabilitation centre means that most if not all of your patients will have issues with substance abuse & addiction – while an RMN working at a community health centre would see a much wider variety of patients.

If you decide to work for a nursing agency such as Medilink Nursing, you can build lots of experience working in different settings, which is great for those looking to develop themselves professionally, and find a niche that they enjoy working in.

What is an RMN? – What Skills Should A RMN Have?

Besides the technical qualifications, there are a number of traits that are useful for RMNs to have:

• Communication – being a good listener, knowing the right things to say, and reading between the lines when talking to patients.
• Problem-solving – patients often experience a mix of symptoms and conditions, and working out the causes and solutions requires problem-solving skills.
• Adaptability – mental health conditions can be particularly challenging to deal with due to changes in patient behaviour. Being able to adapt to this is important.

What is an RMN? – Why you should become an RMN

Working as an RMN is a rewarding career, both financially and socially.

• You’ll be making a huge difference in the lives of others – in many cases, people who seriously need some help.
• Because you’ll be helping others over the course of your work, being an RMN is an incredibly fulfilling career.
• RMNs are in high demand, so it shouldn’t be challenging finding work as an RMN.
• What’s more, because of this, RMNs tend to be well-paid, and have lots of room for professional growth and promotion.

What is an RMN? – How To Become An RMN

The most common method of becoming an RMN is by attaining a university degree approved by the NMC, which will make you qualified to work as an RMN. This is also possible by completing a degree apprenticeship. Finally, if you are already an RGN (Registered General Nurse), you can complete a special course that will qualify you to work as an RMN.

What is an RMN? – Agency Work

Here at Medilink Nursing, we’re always looking for RMNs to offer shifts. Here’s how it works:

Our clients call us asking for staff to cover shifts, and we find them someone from our pool of bank staff. You can set your own availability, and there’s never any pressure to accept a shift. This makes agency work a great way to flexibly earn some extra money while juggling other responsibilities such as childcare, or as part-time work to supplement your regular income. You can find out more about working at Medilink Nursing by visiting our RMN jobs page.