VNRS 173: Psychology for Vocational Nurses
Citrus College Course Outline of Record
| Heading | Value |
|---|---|
| Effective Term: | Fall 2021 |
| Credits: | 2 |
| Total Contact Hours: | 36 |
| Lecture Hours : | 36 |
| Lab Hours: | 0 |
| Hours Arranged: | 0 |
| Outside of Class Hours: | 72 |
| Prerequisite: | VNRS 160. |
| Corequisite: | VNRS 172. |
| Transferable to CSU: | No |
| Transferable to UC: | No |
| Grading Method: | Standard Letter |
Catalog Course Description
Mental health care for patients and their families who are experiencing the pain of mental disorders. Teaches the nurse to plan and deliver care and provide health teaching so that effective self-care is possible when discharge occurs. 36 lecture hours.
Course Objectives
- Demonstrate knowledge of theoretical concepts of psychiatric nursing
- Describe the role of the psychiatric nurse in clinical practice in local community facilities
- Define safe, ethical and legal principles of nursing in compliance with the nurse practice act and rules and regulations of the Board of Vocational Nurses and Psychiatric Technician Examiners
- Understand and use Mental Status Evaluation tool (MSE)
- Describe patient coping mechanisms and how to intervene
- Demonstrate knowledge of, therapeutic uses for, and deleterious effects of, current psychiatric/mental health psychopharmacology
- Demonstrate an understanding and application of "least restrictive environment" within the psychiatric/mental health setting
Major Course Content
- Roles of the psychiatric/mental health nurse within the framework of the Vocational Nursing Scope of Practice (scope).
- Providing safe, basic, and culturally competent care and comfort (i.e., physically, mentally, and spiritually)to the psychiatric/mental health patient.
- Use of therapeutic communication to provide client support and nursing interventions.
- Establishing and maintaining a therapeutic relationship with the psychiatric/mental health patient.
- Nursing education and health promotion of the psychiatric/mental health patient and patient's family.
- Providing support when dealing with the life stressors and changing roles of the psychiatric/mental health patient.
- Working with patient, family, and community for risk of or actual violence.
- Address psychiatric/mental health patient's needs in the areas of mental distortions (i.e., delusions, illusions, hallucinations).
- Dealing with the psychopathologies and related nursing interventions of the psychiatric/mental health patient.
- Use of pharmacological therapies in the treatments of psychiatric/mental health patients.
- Drug and alcohol addiction and abuse.
- End of life issues.
Examples of Required Writing Assignments
Psychiatric Nursing Care Plan and Case Study: Utilizing the nursing process (ADOPIE) and a scenario provided by the course instructor, the student will write a nursing plan of care on a mental health patient. The care plan will be used to write a case study from a framework supplied by the course instructor.
Examples of Outside Assignments
Students will be required to complete the following types of assignments outside of the regular class time:
Study: preparation of exams, final, and class discussion.
Practice skills: perform mental health assessment on friend or family member as subject.
Read required materials: chapter assignments and colateral readings on psychiatric topics such as schizophrenia, depression, mood disorders, anger and hostility.
Homework assignments: weekly homework on chapter subjects such as schizophrenia, depression, mood disorders, anger and hostility. Review of videos using examples of psychiatric situations and answering questions related to those situations.
Instruction Type(s)
Lecture, Online Education Lecture