Psychiatric Nursing Care I

Psychiatric Nursing Care I

NURS 5511

3 Credit Hours

Course Description

This course will provide a foundation in the specialty care of individuals and families experiencing a psychiatric disorder.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Evaluate the multiple factors that convey vulnerability for psychiatric disorders in individuals and families.
Analyze the utility of the multiaxial diagnostic schema of the DSM in identifying the behavioral health needs of individuals and families at risk for psychiatric disorders.
Apply understanding of the common psychiatric taxonomy systems to the process of diagnostic reasoning in identifying the behavioral health needs of individuals and families.
Evaluate the available standards of care for the treatment of selected psychiatric disorders.
Discuss the major professional issues that impact implementation of the diagnostic and treatment role of the psychiatric clinical nurse specialist.
Analyze trends in the incidence and prevalence of psychiatric disorders using

principles of epidemiology.

Analyze common models of mental health service delivery.
Discuss the alteration of care practices required as patients with psychiatric disorders are treated in different settings.
Discuss common population specific care practices for patients experiencing or at risk for psychiatric disorders.
Discuss the issues surrounding appropriate referrals for patients with behavioral health needs.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites: NURS 5103 Advanced Pathophysiology

Course Topics

I. Overview of common psychiatric disorders

a. Incidence of mental illness

b. Prevalence of mental illness

c. Access and parity issues

II. Vulnerability as a concept for psychiatric practice

III. Diagnostic assessment skills

IV. Standardized rating scales

V. Etiological models

VI. Differential liability

VII. Multi-axial diagnostic schema

VIII. Psychiatric taxonomy systems

IX. Standards of care

Course Requirements

Knowledge and skill in using WebCT.

Textbooks

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course: http://rodp.bkstr.com

Supplementary Material

Assigned periodicals, documents, position statements, and Internet online articles.

Hardware Requirements

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.

A video-camera is also required for this course.

Software Requirements

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.

Additional software requirements for this course include Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint), Acrobat Reader, and supporting software for video-conferencing.

Instructor Information

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

Testing Procedures

All course requirements are submitted online.

Assessment and Grading

The course grade is based on the following:

5 Case Study Reports (40 pts each) 200 points

Examinations 500 points

Midterm 100 points

Final 100 points

Grading Scale

A = 93-100
B = 85-92
C = 77-84
D = 70-76

F = <70

Assignments and Projects

Case study development--Each student will select 5 case studies to develop. These case studies will be due as designated on the calendar. Since the intention of the case studies is to develop critical thinking and decision-making, the case studies will be due before the topic is presented online. No cases will be accepted after the topic is presented online. All case studies are to be submitted online as a MS Word file.

On-line exams are given in this course. The date for the exams will be posted on the course calendar. Students are required to complete each exam on the posted date. Exam format may consist of multiple choice and short essay questions. The instructor will post the exam blue prints on the “Announcement” link.

Class Participation

Discussions are expected to demonstrate an understanding and synthesis of course material. Responses must be substantive and add to discussions in an educational manner.

Punctuality

Students are expected to:

• Check the course calendar for the due dates of assignments.

• Check the course bulletin board frequently for announcements.

Course Ground Rules

The student is expected to:

• Learn how to navigate in the WebCT system.

• Participate by responding to all discussion questions.

• Keep abreast of course announcements.

• Use the assigned college or university e-mail address as opposed to a personal e-mail address.

• Contact the instructor if unclear about assignment expectations.

• Address technical problems immediately.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

• Always include a subject line.

• Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way.

• Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.

• Use standard fonts.

• Do not send large attachments without permission.

• Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.

• Respect the privacy of other class members.

Discussion Groups:

• Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion.

• Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.

• Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group.

• Be respectful of others’ ideas.

• Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.

• Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.

• Be positive and constructive in group discussions.

• Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Chat:

• Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.

• Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.

• Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.

• Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.

• Be constructive in your comments and suggestions.

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.

Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with his/her home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

If you are having problems logging into the course, timing out of the course, using the course web site tools, or other technical problems, please visit the AskRODP Customer Support web page at http://help.rodp.org or call the AskRODP Help Desk at 1-866-550-RODP (1-866-550-7637)