Course Description
This course examines a person’s experience with ongoing variances in wellness throughout the life cycle and their impact on client system stability and harmony. Health care trends related to primary prevention are built upon from Semester I. The Douglas College Psychiatric Nursing Conceptual Framework is expanded upon and applied to the health assessment of the individual client. Human pathophysiology and pharmacological management related to selected exemplars will be discussed. Ongoing exploration of legal and ethical issues of psychiatric nursing practice will occur.
Course Content
In this course, within the context of the Douglas College Psychiatric Nursing’s philosophy and conceptual framework, students will focus on developing the psychiatric nursing role and promoting health in clients experiencing chronic variances of wellness through an understanding, acquisition and application of psychiatric nursing theory. Specific concepts that will be addressed are:
VARIABLES
- Physiological Variable
- Metabolism
- Oxygenation
- Circulation
- Cellular Dynamics
- Elimination
- Mobility
- Reproduction
- Neuro-sensory
- Protection
- Psychological Variable
- Self-concept (self-esteem, body image, identity, self-ideal, roles, sexuality)
- Emotion (affect, mood)
- Communication (verbal/non-verbal, speech patterns, use of gestures, language proficiency, accent)
- Cognition (thinking processes, insight, judgment, intelligence, abstraction, orientation, memory)
- Perception (perceptual abilities/deficits, meaning-making, alterations: hallucinations, delusions, illusions)
- Use of Mental Status Exam as an assessment tool
- Sociocultural Variable
- Relationships; significant others
- Social history: family, education, work
- Awareness of diversity issues, into to culture, sub-culture
- Genogram, ecomap, lifeline (as tools for assessment)
- Spiritual Variable
- Purpose & meaning
- Interconnectedness
- Faith
- Forgiveness/Religion
- Creativity
- Transcendence
- Developmental Variable
- Growth
- Lifespan
- Transition
CURRICULAR THREADS
- Wellness-Illness Continuum
- Holism
- Determinants of Health
- Variance from Wellness
- Prevention as Intervention--Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Universal experiences: Crisis, Hope, Comfort, Loss, Power, Integrity, Resiliency
- Professional Values
- Professional attributes: Compassion, Comportment, Commitment, Conscience, Competence, Confidence, Collegiality
- Legal & Ethical issues & guidelines
- Professional Standards for Psychiatric Nursing
- Professional Role
- Cultural Competence
- Advocacy
- Professional Caring
- Nursing Process
- Therapeutic Use of Self
- Clinical Skills
- Teaching & Learning
- Group Process
- Health Care Delivery System
- Primary Health Care
- Psychosocial Rehabilitation
- Case Management
- Interprofessional Collaboration
- Leadership
- Information Technology (Infomatics)
- Program Management
RELATED PHARMACOLOGY
- Cursory application of pharmacological principles to exemplars
Douglas College Psychiatric Nursing Conceptual Framework
- Variables
- Client system
- Basic structure, process, function
- Environment
- Lines of Defense & Lines of Resistance
- Health, Wellness-Illness continuum
- Prevention as Intervention
- Stressors, stability
- Recovery
Methods Of Instruction
It is the intent of faculty to facilitate student learning, foster ways of knowing and promote critical thinking through a variety of teaching/learning methods including lecture, audio-visual aids, group discussion, case study analysis, computer assisted learning programs and group and/or individual research and presentations
Means of Assessment
The course evaluation is consistent with Douglas College evaluation policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course.
This is a graded course.
Learning Outcomes
Students will continue to develop their understanding of the Douglas College Department of Psychiatric Nursing conceptual framework and the Psychiatric Nursing curricular threads (wellness-illness continuum, professional values, professional caring & health care delivery system), and within the context of the environmental, health and psychiatric nursing domains, will integrate the care of the person domain (client system, psychological, physiological, sociocultural, spiritual & developmental variables) for clients experiencing chronic variances in wellness. Students will acquire and begin to apply knowledge pertaining to pathophysiology and pharmacology concepts related to selected illness exemplars.
Textbook Materials
A list of required and optional textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of each semester.