STANDARD COMPETENCIES:

 

 1. Apply concepts of psychiatric nursing to provide safe, quality, evidence-based, patient-centered care to diverse patients with mental health issues.

 2. Engage in critical thinking and clinical reasoning to make patient-centered care decisions from patients with mental health issues.

 3. Select quality improvement measures to use in the care of patients with mental health issues.

 4. Engage in collaborative relationships with members of the interdisciplinary team, the patient, and the patient’s support persons when caring for patients with mental health issues.

 5. Analyze the role of information management principles, techniques and systems, and patient care technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making when caring for patients with mental health issues.

 6. Analyze leadership approaches used in the psychiatric/mental health setting.

 7. Apply professional, legal, ethical guidelines in practice as a professional nurse in the care of patients with mental health issues.

 8. Analyze how a culture of caring can be promoted to provide holistic, compassionate, culturally-competent care.

 

 TOPICAL OUTLINE:

 

 I.  Application of key concepts to the care of patients with mental health issues

  A. Patient centered care

  B. Quality/safety measures

  C. Critical thinking/clinical reasoning

  D. Collaborative relationships

  E. Information technology

  F. Advocacy

  G. Professional/Legal & Ethical  Considerations

 H. Culture of caring

 II.  Parameters of mental health/illness on a continuum

 A. Adaptive and maladaptive responses

 1. stress/coping

 2. defense mechanisms

 3. support systems

 4. family dynamics

 5. chemical and other dependencies

 6. abuse and neglect

 B. Biological, psychological, and socio-cultural basis of health/illness

 1. Impaired cognition

 2. Schizophrenia

 3. Bipolor disorder

 4. Depression

 C. Clinical manifestations of disrupted psychosocial integrity

 1. phobias

 2. panic disorder

 3. Post traumatic stress disorder

 4. Obsessive Compulsive disorder

 5. Generalized anxiety

 6. Eating Disorders

 D. Treatment modalities

 1. Behavioral/Cognitive Therapies

 2. Pharmacologic Therapies

 3. Crisis intervention

 4. Relaxation/meditation

 III. Nursing as an interpersonal process to promote and maintain integrated psychosocial functioning with caring and communication

  A. Developing and maintaining therapeutic relationships

  B. Developing and implementing individualized plan of care

  C. Applying nursing interventions

  D. Implementing patient centered communication skills