The Distribution of Advanced Practice Nurses Within the Psychiatric Workforce

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Workforce Analysis
• Psychiatric Nursing
• Mental Health Services Research

Background:

• The distribution of mental health specialists is uneven across the United States.
• Understanding the role and placement of advanced practice psychiatric nurses is critical for addressing behavioral health disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the size and distribution of the advanced practice psychiatric nurse workforce.
• To compare their distribution with the overall psychiatry workforce.
• To identify if nurses concentrate in areas with high or low behavioral health specialist density.

Main Methods:

• Utilized state-level data from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for psychiatric nurses.
• Included mental health psychiatric nurse practitioners, adult psychiatric nurse practitioners, and psychiatric clinical nurse specialists.
• Calculated provider-to-population ratios (1:100,000) using U.S. Census Bureau data for workforce density analysis.

Main Results:

• In 2018, the psychiatric workforce comprised 66,740 providers; psychiatric nurses represented 26% (17,534).
• Psychiatric providers were most concentrated in the Northeast; shortages were noted in the Midwest, South, California, and Nevada.
• The average concentration was 22.61 psychiatric workers per 100,000 population.

Conclusions:

• Psychiatric nurse distribution relative to other specialists shows an inconsistent pattern.
• Advanced practice psychiatric nurses are essential for meeting care needs in areas with few psychiatry specialists.
• Maximizing the scope of practice for psychiatric nurses is key to addressing care deficits.