Course

Emergency Mental Health Nursing

Faculty
Health Sciences
Department
Nursing - Psychiatric
Course code
PNUR 4574
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
32
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course examines psychiatric nursing in relation to mental health emergencies. Students will explore relevant legislation, legal and ethical issues, triage processes, and strategies that support the psychiatric nurse in the provision of care to those experiencing a mental health crisis. Students will develop skills in performing mental status exams and risk assessments, managing crisis calls, and implementing urgent psychiatric nursing interventions to respond to episodic mental health challenges. Assessment criteria, tools, interventions, and emergency mental health dispositions are addressed in the context of variances in wellness. Throughout the course, there is a focus on developing advanced interviewing skills to effectively assess and respond to mental health emergencies.
Course content
  • Psychiatric Nursing Conceptual Framework
  • Psychiatric nursing scope of practice in mental health emergencies including legal and ethical issues, best practices, advocacy, and leadership
  • Mental health and risk assessment tools including documentation
  • Relevant legislation for mental health emergencies such as emergency procedures, extended leave, duty to warn, and consent
  • Crisis and emergency intervention, triage, and referrals in community and hospital settings
  • Psychiatric nursing role and responsibilities in the management and treatment of episodic mental health challenges
  • Advanced psychiatric nursing interviewing skills

 

Learning activities

In this course, students may engage in the following learning activities: discussion, case studies, debate, problem-solving, and group work.

Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. This is a letter-graded course.

Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor’s Course Outline.

 

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Describe relevant provincial/territorial legislation related to emergency mental health nursing;
  2. Develop advanced psychiatric nursing interviewing skills to facilitate assessment and intervention;
  3. Analyze legal and ethical issues related to emergency mental health nursing practices;
  4. Demonstrate competency when completing mental health assessments, risk assessments, and triaging emergency mental health calls; and
  5. Examine a variety of mental health challenges in relation to emergency mental health nursing practices. 
Textbook materials

Textbooks and materials are to be purchased by students. A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Currently active in the Psychiatric Nursing Degree Completion program. 

Students in the Degree Completion program are required to maintain a minimum grade of 65% (C+) in all courses in order to progress in the program. 

Corequisites

None

Equivalencies

None

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers to Other Institutions

Below are current transfer agreements from Douglas College to other institutions for the current course guidelines only. For a full list of transfer details and archived courses, please see the BC Transfer Guide.

Institution Transfer details for PNUR 4574
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) No credit

Course Offerings

Fall 2026

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
32
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
32
On waitlist
0
Building
Online
Room
ONLINE
Times:
-
Section notes

PNUR 4574 090 is offered on-line is and restricted to Degree Completion students. It is strongly recommended that students take PNUR 3700 prior to taking other PNUR Degree Completion courses. All course activities will be asynchronous. Students will not be required to be online at specific scheduled times