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| Regional Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing |
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Course Descriptions
SEMESTER ONE
Basic Concepts and Contexts of Psychiatric Nursing
The basic concepts of psychiatric nursing will be introduced in this course, as well as describing psychiatric nursing within a number of relevant contexts. Content will include the concepts of mental health and mental illness, the historical context of mental health/ill health, historical and contemporary political contexts of mental health care, and sociological and cultural aspects. The course will cover differing perspectives of mental health, the genesis and development of psychiatric nursing through the years, theoretical underpinnings of mental health care and psychiatric nursing, principal theories of psychiatric nursing, treatment and care paradigms of the person with mental health problems. The psychiatric nursing roles from micro to macro and the interpersonal focus of psychiatric nursing will be examined.
Therapeutic Relationships and Communication Skills
In order to help students form therapeutic relationships, this course will provide students with an introduction to the theory, practical skills, and development of the personal qualities required to be an effective RPN. Students will be introduced to theories and models of communication skills which will be enhanced by practicing in communications skills labs. The theoretical content will include Peplau’s (1988) theory of interpersonal nursing, Altschul’s (1970) work on nurse-client interaction, models of therapeutic relationship formation such as Egan’s (1975) ‘Skilled helper’, ‘ending’ in nurse-client relationships, John Heron’s Six Category Intervention Analysis, Transactional Analysis (Berne, 1962), different types of helping, giving and receiving feedback, proxemics, and therapeutic use of self. A high priority of the course is the development and enhancement of one’s own self-awareness. Accordingly, some work will focus on methods and exercises to increase one’s own self-awareness and help students monitor themselves during interactions.
Study Skills
The Study Skills course has multiple goals, with the overall aim being to directly enhance student success in the on-line program. The course includes technical, personal and academic skills development so that the student can fully participate in the program and contribute to the building of a strong and vibrant on-line learning community. During the orientation sessions, students will be instructed in computer techniques (e.g. using Moodle effectively, conducting online database searches) and will have workshops to increase self-awareness and develop effective study skills. In the on-line segments, students will further their student success skills and discover effective study habits based on their own personal learning styles.
Anatomy and Physiology
The Anatomy and Physiology course is an introduction to human structures and functions, focusing on basic physiological principles and normal human body functions and maintenance; the systems of the human body; and organ, cell, and tissue structures. In addition, students will be introduced to the utility and application of these basic concepts within a psychiatric nursing context.
Clinical Supervision
Students will be introduced to the rudiments, principles, and practices of clinical supervision within psychiatric nursing. Content will include definitions of clinical supervision and the different types and approaches, the historical origins of clinical supervision, the value and utility of clinical supervision for psychiatric nurses, the principles of setting up clinical supervision, including contracting, values of the relationship, roles and responsibilities, boundaries, and skills. Importantly, students will also be introduced to the principles and practice of "reflecting on practice”. It will be demonstrated how clinical supervision and engaging in meaningful reflection on practice are inextricably linked, and students will be introduced to the practice of keeping a reflective journal.
SEMESTER TWO
Pathophysiological Concepts
This course will focus on pathological mechanisms and processes of altered human states of physiology. Content will include the topics of etiology, metabolism, and age-related alterations to body function and functional changes. Specific diseases, especially those commonly encountered in nursing situations, will be examined and discussed, in addition to the application of these basic concepts within a psychiatric nursing context.
Pharmacology
This course will provide students with an introduction to the basics of pharmacology and its role and function within psychiatric nursing. The course will focus on the mechanisms and actions of common psychotropic agents and on the more common pharmacological agents used and encountered in general medical/surgical practice. The therapeutic effects and side-effects of these agents will be examined, as will drug interactions and the notion of "polypharmacy”. The various routes of administration and safe administration practices will also be covered.
Psychiatric Nursing Care of the Older Adult – Theory
This theory course will introduce the basic principles and practices of psychiatric/mental health nursing care of the older adult. Through examination of required readings students will develop an awareness of the holistic changes in a person who experiences a psychiatric disorder associated with older adults (e.g. Alzheimer-type dementias, Parkinson’s disease). The key theories of providing care to these people will be covered. Crucial overarching positions (e.g. Kitwood’s work on retaining and promoting the older adult’s "personhood”), current and historical problems of this psychiatric/mental health nursing domain (e.g. recruiting adequate numbers of appropriately trained psychiatric/mental health nurses to this "Cinderella” service), and future issues related to this domain (e.g. the significantly increased numbers of older adults expected to develop psychiatric problems) will be covered.
Psychiatric Nursing Care of the Older Adult – Clinical
This course will introduce the principles and practices of psychiatric/mental health nursing care of the older adult, enabling students to gain the basic knowledge and ability required. Clinical practice occurs in a range of healthcare settings and with a variety of older adult client populations requiring psychiatric nursing care, treatment, and intervention. Students will be expected to apply previously learned theory and begin to acquire and apply clinical skills. Students are provided with the opportunity to practice basic interpersonal communication skills, physiologically oriented interventions, and skills and interventions geared towards meeting the social, intellectual/emotional, and spiritual needs of the older adult.
Introduction to the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada
The culture, beliefs, history, and social/political realities that continue to impact on Aboriginal Canadians are introduced in this course. It will provide an invaluable insight into the rich and varied nature of these populations. Specific historical and contemporary aboriginal issues will be covered, framed around the stages of history as described by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Separate Worlds, Contact and Cooperation, Displacement and Assimilation, and Negotiation and Renewal. Students will gain an understanding of both national and local perspectives and associated cultural diversity. Additional content will focus on oral histories, the fur trade, historical military alliances/treaties, the Indian Act and the residential school system.
SEMESTER THREE
An Introduction to Philosophy
The basic themes of philosophy are introduced in this course. Content includes the fundamental philosophical questions, including existence, morality, beauty, the reasonableness of religious conviction, the nature of persons, the existence of free will, the relation of mind and body, and the idea and structure of a just society. Attention is given to the notion of ideas and how they shape/influence society, such as moral/legal rights, humanism, the nature of social and interpersonal relationships, and the rise of science. Additional perspectives from ancient philosophy (e.g. ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, and medieval philosophers Aquinas and Augustine), existential philosophers (e.g. Satre, Marcel, Kiekergaard, Nietzsche, and Heideggar), and contemporary philosophers such as Foucault, Derrida, Wittgenstein, and Rorty are covered as well.
Ethics and Law in Healthcare
This course provides an introduction to ethics and law within the context of mental health care. The major ethical approaches are examined (e.g. deontology, consequentialism, and others), as are the historical and current mental health legislation in BC and other parts of Canada. Students will be required to begin to apply these ethical and legal positions to a variety of clinical psychiatric nursing situations and the concept of the "ethical dilemma” will be used as a means to help students explore ethical structure and thought. Importantly, rather than being an exercise in academic thinking, students will be encouraged to explore how they can become an ethical practitioner. This course is not intended to provide answers to the awkward and ethically problematic scenarios encountered in psychiatric nursing practice, but students will be expected to consider these scenarios from a number of different ethical positions. Possible situations that will be explored include forced administration of psychotropic medication, the use of seclusion rooms, the use of physical control and restraint, assisted suicide, and nurses’ holding power.
An Introduction to Psychology
This introduction to the science of psychology covers an examination of the history and development of psychology, biological and cognitive processes of the brain, and more specifically, how these processes relate to understanding human behaviour and the human mind. Other subjects, such as sensation, perception, consciousness, memory, learning, conditioning, thought, and language acquisition, will also be studied.
Acute Psychiatric Nursing Practice – Theory
This theory course will introduce the basic principles and practices of acute psychiatric/mental health nursing. Through examination of specified readings, students will develop an awareness and knowledge of a range of important issues. The key aspect here is not to provide simplistic answers to nursing-related questions, nor is it to equip students with automatic responses to care situations and problems, but to help transform students into a more thoughtful, more critical, and more judicious practitioner
Acute Psychiatric Nursing Practice – Clinical
This clinical course will introduce the principles and practices of acute psychiatric nursing, enabling students to gain the basic knowledge and ability required. Clinical practice occurs with a variety of client populations requiring acute psychiatric nursing care, treatment, and intervention. Students will be expected to apply previously learned theory and begin to acquire and apply clinical skills. Students will be provided with the opportunity to practice the basic interpersonal communication skills that are involved in providing care to a person in need of acute psychiatric nursing.
SEMESTER FOUR
First Nations Health
Focusing on the health of First Nations Canadian populations, cross-cultural and indigenous approaches to health and healing will be covered, as well as issues of offering western society’s approaches to healthcare. Issues of offering culturally specific mental health care to these populations will also be covered. Specific attention will be given to demystifying and de-romanticizing indigenous medicine. Students will also learn about local indigenous beliefs and knowledge, preparing them to practice in a culturally sensitive way.
Introduction to Nursing Research
This course covers the empirical approach to the development of nursing knowledge and reviews aspects of quantitative and qualitative methods. It explores the central ideas and issues of evidence-based practice, and will introduce students to a range of ways of critiquing nursing research.
Introduction to Counselling
Students will be introduced to the rudiments, principles, and practices of the common theoretical approaches to counselling. They will explore how to use counselling theory and skills within their practice as a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse, and the differences between formal counselling practice, working in a "counselling way”, and using counselling skills. Content includes definitions of counselling, the historical origins of counselling within psychiatric/mental health nursing, and the three principle theoretical approaches: psychodynamic (psychoanalytical), cognitive-behavioural, and humanistic (person-centered). Key attitudes and skills that are associated with these approaches are setting up counselling (including contracting), values of the relationship, roles and responsibilities, negotiating boundaries, and working towards healthy endings.
Medical/Surgical Nursing Practice – Theory
This theory course will introduce the key concepts, principles, and practices of medical/surgical nursing relevant in an acute care setting with various client populations across the life span. Specific content will include problem solving, management of complex client situations, organization of care, and a deepened understanding of the professional role of the nurse. Students will be introduced to the nursing care theory pertaining to the more commonly encountered physiological conditions and diseases.
Medical/Surgical Nursing Practice – Clinical
This clinical course will introduce the principles and practices of medical/surgical nursing, enabling students to consolidate and extend knowledge and ability in acute care nursing practice. Clinical practice occurs with client populations requiring acute medical/surgical care, treatment, and intervention. Students will be expected to apply previously learned theory and clinical skills, and they will have an opportunity to learn and practice the basic psychomotor skills that are involved in providing care to the person in need of medical/surgical nursing.
SEMESTER FIVE
Working in Groups
Students will gain insights into the rudiments, principles, and practices of groups and group work within mental health care. They will explore how to plan, organize, participate in, and utilize a variety of groups within psychiatric/mental health nursing. The context of group relations within a social setting will be covered. Specific therapeutic factors, processes, qualities, and interventions that can be utilized within groups will also be explored. In addition, theoretical elements of groups and group work will be covered, including the stages of group development, roles within groups, aspects of group leadership/facilitation, types of groups, beginning and ending in groups, and appropriate forms and mechanisms of supervision.
Health Policy
Learning about Canadian health policy will provide essential context material with regards to how health policy is formed and amended. It will enable students to examine how health policy has both a direct and indirect impact on psychiatric/mental health nursing practice. In considering the macro aspects of it, students will begin to critique, discuss, and consider the particular values underpinning certain health policies and their construction. Students will be encouraged to ask questions around why these policies and not others, and whose needs/interests does the policy serve?
Psychosocial Rehabilitation Psychiatric Nursing Practice – Theory
This course will introduce the basic principles and practices of psychosocial rehabilitative in psychiatric/mental health nursing care. Through examination of certain specified texts students will develop an awareness of key issues related to psychosocial rehabilitative psychiatric nursing care including the concept of recovery, the importance of the concept of hope and ways to inspire/instill hope, the notion of empowerment, and ways to encourage individual choice. Key theories of providing care to this client group will be covered including consumer/significant other involvement, the reacquisition of life skills, community and social support systems, reducing stigma, and attention to the broader macro psychiatric nursing role.
Psychosocial Rehabilitation Psychiatric Nursing Practice – Clinical
Clinical practice will enable students to extend and consolidate their knowledge and ability in the principles and practices used with client populations requiring psychosocial rehabilitative psychiatric/mental health nursing care, treatment, and intervention. Students will be expected to apply previously learned theory and clinical skills, and they will be provided with the opportunity to enhance their interpersonal communication skills, and the skills, attitudes, and interventions geared towards meeting the social, intellectual/emotional, and spiritual needs of the person engaged in psychosocial rehabilitation.
SEMESTER SIX
Substance Use/Misuse Psychiatric Nursing Practice – Theory
The course will introduce the concepts, principles, and practices of substance use/misuse psychiatric nursing practice in various care settings with various client populations across the life span. Through examination of certain specified texts students will develop an awareness of key issues related to substance use/misuse psychiatric nursing practice care including the notion of "dual-diagnosis” or "co-morbidity”, the holistic experience of "withdrawal”, the practices of substance use throughout history, the concept of recovery, socio-political perspectives of substance misuse, examination of our own attitudes, community and social support systems, reducing stigma, and attention to the broader macro psychiatric nursing role. Further key theories will be covered, including the approaches of harm reduction and abstinence (and the 12-Step Program), sliding scale pharmacological regimes, and the value of various therapeutic and support groups.
Substance Use/Misuse Psychiatric Nursing Practice – Clinical
This course will enable students to consolidate the principles and practices, and extend their knowledge and ability in substance use/misuse psychiatric nursing practice. Clinical practice occurs with client populations requiring substance use/misuse psychiatric nursing care, treatment, and intervention. Students will be expected to apply previously learned theory and clinical skills, and you will be provided with the opportunity to enhance your interpersonal communication skills, and the skills, attitudes, and interventions geared towards meeting the social, intellectual/emotional, and spiritual needs of the person engaged in psychosocial rehabilitation.
‘Specialist’ Area Psychiatric Nursing Practice – Theory
This Specialist theory course will introduce the principles and practices of specialist area psychiatric/mental health nursing. Specialist practice refers to those areas including (but not restricted to) child and adolescent, forensic settings, street-based outreach, emergency room psychiatric nursing, learning disability settings, school-based psychiatric nursing, and psychotherapy in individual and group settings. You’ll focus on concepts and practices relevant to specialist area psychiatric nursing in various care settings with various client populations across the life span. Through examination of certain specified texts, supplemented by additional appropriate readings, students will develop an awareness of key psychiatric nursing practice issues related to the specialist areas including: dealing with violence/aggression, family care approaches, mental health promotion, and managing a case load.
‘Specialist’ Area Psychiatric Nursing Practice – Clinical
The Specialist clinical course will introduce the principles and practices of specialist area psychiatric nursing practice. It will enable students to consolidate and extend knowledge and ability in specialist area psychiatric nursing practice. Clinical practice occurs with various client populations, specific to the specialist area that you will select, who require specialist psychiatric nursing care, treatment, and intervention.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR THE ELECTIVES ARE NOT INCLUDED AS THEY ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. |
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