HELP! Any ideas for evidence-based project for inpatient psych?

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Dear fellow psych. nurses,

Hi! My name is Ken, and I am finishing my BS degree in nursing... although I have been a registered nurse for over 17 years. I have worked in psych. for my entire career.

My final project for school is a proposal for an evidenced-based project for an inpatient psych unit (for adult patients). I was hoping for a project that would-- help reduce falls on our unit or achieve some other goal...

Does anyone have any evidence-based project ideas for nurses in the inpatient psychiatric setting? Thanks so much! I will reply to all ideas... Thanks again!

Truly,

Ken

Chicagoland, USA

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The role of nutrition in treating psychiatric illness? I am trying to find articles but having a heck of a time. We have all of these constipated opiate detoxers on my unit and the hospital food is certainly not helping. Also I was thinking with my methadone mothers, most have poor nutritional status, so I wonder if some nutritional counseling and improved diet could at least help improve neonatal outcomes.

I know that food is the one thing we consistently get dinged on during patient satisfaction surveys, yet we keep getting yelled at for being over our patient snack budget. I know that my patients certainly appreciate an extra snack or more choices during meals.

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Dear Lucky,

Thanks for your reply! On our adult inpatient unit, we have meals served buffet-style with few restrictions. Oddly, those patients on a special diet eat with all of the other patients--but they get a "tray" and are not allowed to pick from the buffet!

I agree with you that nutrition is extremely important and often overlooked--especially in the department of mental health. Almost all of my patients have an inadequate or poor nutritional status when they arrive for admission.

We have "healthy" snacks available at almost all times. This includes Quaker granola bars, baked chips, low-fat pretzels, fresh fruit, gummi snacks, and Nutri-grain bars.

Do you have any other ideas? Thanks again!

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

lotta qualitative and quantitative nonsense out there about the relationship between psych pts & type 2 diabetes ...

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

Vitamin D deficiency is getting some notice lately

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Thanks for your ideas! Thank-you all!

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