A professional who provides nursing care to mentally ill, emotionally disturbed, or mentally retarded patients in psychiatric hospital or mental health clinic and participates in rehabilitation and treatment programs. Responsibilities include:

• Helps patients with their personal hygiene, such as bathing and keeping beds, clothing, and living areas clean.
• Administers oral medications and hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures.
• Takes and records measures of patient's general physical condition, such as pulse, temperature, and respiration, to provide daily information.
• Observes patients to detect behavior patterns and reports observations to medical staff.
• Intervenes to restrain violent or potentially violent or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.
• Leads prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.
• May complete initial admittance forms for new patients.
• May contact patient's relatives by telephone to arrange family conferences.
• May issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures.
• May be required to hold state license.