3.1 Introduction
Learning Objectives
- Describe nursing assessments when providing mental health care
- Incorporate respectful and equitable practice
- Consider developmental levels when providing care
- Identify common nursing diagnoses/problems related to mental health conditions
- Promote a therapeutic environment
- Apply the subcategories of the Implementation standard of care to mental health care
- Create effective nursing care plans for patients with various mental health disorders
- Compare Next Generation NCLEX terminology to the nursing process
Psychiatric-mental health nursing is, “The nursing practice specialty committed to promoting mental health through the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral problems, mental disorders, and comorbid conditions across the life span. Psychiatric-mental health nursing intervention is an art and a science, employing a purposeful use of self and a wide range of nursing, psychosocial, and neurobiological evidence to produce effective outcomes.”[1]
This chapter will review how nurse generalists apply the nursing process, the Clinical Judgement Model, and the ANA Standards of Professional Nursing Practice to clients experiencing a mental health condition. Assessments, analysis, generating solutions, and taking actions pertaining to mental health will be reviewed while incorporating life span and cultural considerations. For information related to specific mental health conditions, see each corresponding “disorder” chapter
- American Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses. (2014). Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2nd ed.). Nursebooks.org ↵
A nursing speciality in which registered nurses with a bachelor’s degree, two years of full-time work, and 30 hours of continuing education can receive board certification.
