Nurses help fill gap in psychiatric care

The School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is trying to increase the number of mental health providers by retraining nurses to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness. The program also recruits at least half its students from North Carolina counties with the greatest shortfall of providers, and hopes the new providers will return to practice where they are most needed. UNC-CH is one of a handful of universities across the country that trains registered nurses to be psychiatric nurse practitioners.