This document outlines the role and responsibilities of community mental health nurses. It discusses how overcrowding in hospitals and developments in psychotropic drugs led to a shift from institutional to community-based care for psychiatric patients. Community mental health nursing aims to improve patients' quality of life. Nurses work to promote mental health, prevent illness, provide early intervention and rehabilitation. They are responsible for primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Their roles include education, medication management, risk assessment, advocacy, and coordinating care across settings to support patients in the community.