Course Description
This course examines a person’s experience with episodic variances in wellness throughout the life cycle and their impact on client system stability and harmony. Health care trends related to primary prevention are built upon from semester II. The Douglas College Psychiatric Nursing conceptual framework is expanded upon and applied to the health assessment of the individual client. Human pathophysiology and pharmacological management related to selected exemplars will be integrated within this course. The course will provide opportunities for the ongoing development of professional relationships and for the understanding of legal and ethical issues of psychiatric nursing practice.
Course Content
In this course, within the context of the Douglas College Psychiatric Nursing’s philosophy and conceptual framework, students will focus on developing the psychiatric nursing role and promoting health in clients through an understanding, acquisition and utilization of psychiatric nursing theory.
Specific concepts that will be addressed are:
VARIABLES
- Physiological Variable
- Metabolism
- Variances in endocrine function
- Oxygenation
- Variances in respiratory function
- Circulation
- Variances in circulatory functioning
- Cellular Dynamics
- Variances in responses: Cancer, Sexually transmitted diseases
- Elimination
- Variances in bladder and bowel functioning
- Mobility
- Reproduction
- Variances in reproductive
- Neuro-sensory
- Variances in neuro-sensory functioning: CNS and peripheral
- Protection
- Variances in protection: bone and tissue repair
- Psychological Variable
- Integration: as an organizer for the assessment of self-concept, emotions & cognition
- Problem-solving in psychiatric nursing
- Patterns of communication
- Crisis theory and intervention
- DSM-5 (as a tool for assessment)
- Exemplars: Variances in responses: anxiety, bipolar disorders,
Variances in self integration: self-destructive behaviours
- Sociocultural Variable
- Relationships; significant others
- Continued awareness of diversity issues
- Spiritual Variable
- Purpose & meaning
- Interconnectedness
- Faith
- Forgiveness
- Religion
- Creativity
- Transcendence
- Developmental Variable
- Growth
- Lifespan
- Transition
CURRICULAR THREADS
- Wellness-Illness Continuum
- Holism
- Primary Prevention
- Variance from Wellness
- Prevention as Intervention:
- Health Promotion:
- Preventative health practices to various episodic health challenges
- Promoting health practices to enable the person to increase control over and improve their own health
- Health promotion to allow the person to make informed choices
- Universal experiences: Crisis, Hope, Comfort, Loss, Power, Integrity, Resiliency
- Professional Values & Professional Caring
- DCPN & College policies
- Professional attributes: Compassion, Comportment, Commitment, Conscience, Competence, Confidence, Collegiality
- Legal & Ethical issues, Client rights & guidelines
- Change theory
- Professional Role, professional nurse-client relationships
- Cultural Competence
- Advocacy
- Health Care Delivery System
RELATED PHARMACOLOGY
- Application of pharmacological principles to exemplar
PSYCHIATRIC NURSING CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
- Application of the conceptual framework to episodic health challenges to:
- Variables
- Client system
- Basic structure, process, function
- Environment
- Lines of Defense & Lines of Resistance
- Health, Wellness-Illness continuum
- Prevention as Intervention
- Stressors, stability
- Recovery
Learning Activities
It is the intent of faculty to facilitate student learning, foster ways of knowing and promote critical thinking through a variety of teaching/learning methods including lecture, audio-visual aids, group discussion, case study analysis, computer assisted learning programs and group and/or individual research and presentations.
Means of Assessment
The course evaluation is consistent with Douglas College evaluation policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course.
This is a graded course.
Learning Outcomes
Students will continue to develop their understanding and application of the Douglas College Department of Psychiatric Nursing conceptual framework and the Psychiatric Nursing curricular threads (wellness-illness continuum, professional values, professional caring & health care delivery system), and within the context of the environmental, health and psychiatric nursing domains, to integrate the care of the person domain (client system, psychological, physiological, sociocultural, spiritual & developmental variables) for clients experiencing acute variances in wellness. Students will acquire and begin to apply knowledge pertaining to pathophysiology and pharmacology concepts related to selected illness exemplars.
Textbook Materials
A list of required and optional textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of each semester.