Legal and ethical issues related to psychiatric emergencies | NURS 6670 – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Role II: Adults and Older Adults | Walden University
In mental health contexts, capacity refers to an individual’s ability to make decisions or understand information. This includes their ability to understand the consequences of various actions and weigh these against one another in order to make informed choices. Competency on the other hand refers to the skills and experience possessed by a person which enable them to perform certain tasks or carry out specific roles; it is also used to assess an individual’s readiness for activities such as voting or legal proceedings. Capacity focuses more on whether someone is able to understand what is being asked of them and competency looks at whether they have the skills necessary for actioning such requests.