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Competencies for Registered Psychiatric Nurses in Canada Entry-level registered psychiatric nurses in Canada have a specialized body of knowledge of mental health and mental health disorders.o They practise as a self-regulated profession and practise according to federal/provincial/ territorial legislation and regulation.o Psychiatric nursing education programs prepare entrylevel Registered Psychiatric Nurses to practise safely, competently and ethically in a variety of practice settings, in situations of health and illness, and with diverse populations of individuals, families, groups and community o They enter practice with competencies that are transferable across practice settings, even though their psychiatric nursing education program may not have exposed them to all practice environments or client types.o They practise autonomously, and continue to consolidate theoretical and experiential learning through collaboration, mentoring and support from the interprofessional team.

Competencies for Registered Psychiatric Nurses
in Canada
Entry-level registered psychiatric nurses in Canada have a
specialized body of knowledge of mental health and mental health disorders. Listed below are their competencies
(Registered Psychiatric Nurse Regulators of Canada, 2014):
• Nurses have a strong foundation in communication,
psychology, sociology, mental health and illness, developmental and intellectual disability, psychiatric nursing
theory, research and ethics.
• They integrate the foundation of knowledge, skills and
theories from nursing and other disciplines into psychiatric nursing practice.
• They have foundational knowledge from the biological
and nursing sciences, and they possess a range of general medical and surgical nursing competencies.
• They apply critical thinking, problem solving, clinical
reasoning and judgment into their professional practice.
• Psychiatric nursing education programs prepare entrylevel Registered Psychiatric Nurses to practise safely,
competently and ethically in a variety of practice settings, in situations of health and illness, and with
diverse populations of individuals, families, groups and
community
• They enter practice with competencies that are transferable across practice settings, even though their psychiatric nursing education program may not have exposed
them to all practice environments or client types.
• They practise autonomously, and continue to consolidate theoretical and experiential learning through
collaboration, mentoring and support from the interprofessional team.
• They practise collaboratively and assume leadership
roles.
• They practise as a self-regulated profession and practise
according to federal/provincial/ territorial legislation
and regulation.
Assessments should be repeated whenever changes in
behaviour are noted and again before discharge. The person
and nurse should develop a safety planning intervention
(Stanley & Brown, 2012). This document is not a contract
for safety but rather a collaborative plan that empowers the