Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description



CODE MNH5006

 
TITLE Advanced Mental Health Nursing Practice

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Mental Health

 
DESCRIPTION The unit assists students to understand how community psychiatric/mental health nursing (PMHN) can respond effectively to the diverse needs of patients with mental health problems in an effective manner. Students will be encouraged to utilise and apply evidence-based practice to community PMHN as advanced nurse practitioners should be able to defend decisions for specified nursing interventions. This unit will also examine the assessment and treatment planning practices for advanced practice nurses, including those adopted through community case management and the in-patient-community liaison of the Care Programme Approach (CPA). The remainder of the unit will explore advanced community assessment skills, diagnostic decision-making, intervention and inter disciplinary referral skills.

Study-unit Aims:

To enable students to explore and critique evidence based practice in advanced community mental health nursing and demonstrate clinical efficacy as a member of a psychiatric multi-disciplinary/agency team.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- systematically apply evidence from research findings to answer clinical questions, solve clinical problems, and develop innovative nursing interventions for complex patient needs;
- critically evaluate and respond professionally to the unique needs of individual patients within a home, primary health care or community setting;
- establish how either community case management or CPA could be used to improve community PMHN practice.

2. Skills:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- conduct advanced nursing practice within an ethical-legal framework and guided by professional regulations, and standards of practice associated with a mental health community setting;
- demonstrate advanced mental health nursing skills in planning, implementing and evaluating mental health nursing care for people with mental disorders in a community setting.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Primary Text
Barker, P (Ed) (2009) Psychiatric and mental health nursing: the craft of caring (2nd edition) Section 2 - Assessment in Practice. Arnold and Sons. London.

Supplementary and Auxiliary Readings
Hannigan, B & Coffey, M (2003) Handbook of Community Mental Health Nursing Psychology Press. ISBN 0415280362.
O'Brien, P.G., Kennedy, W.Z., & Ballard, K.A. (2007). Psychiatric mental health nursing: An introduction to theory and practice.
Rose, M & Best, D (2005), Transforming Practice through Clinical Education and Professional Supervision and Mentoring, Elsevier, Churchill Livingstone: Sydney.

Web Material
Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador (2008) Advancing the role of the psychiatric/mental health nurse in the community: Policy Paper
http://www.arnnl.ca/documents/publications/role_of_the_psychiatric_mental_health_nurse_working_in_the_comm_apr_08.pdf

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Blended Learning

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation (30 Minutes) Yes 30%
Assignment Yes 70%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.


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