Struggling with mental health nursing suggestions?

Crazed · Feb 28, 2014

What is it that's causing you issues? In the NCLEX world of psych nursing you can eliminate therapeutic answers that say why and what. Example Pt says to nurse, "I want to kill myself," the nurse shouldn't say, "Why do you want to kill yourself?"

If it's drugs you can group those fairly easily depending on how many you need to know.

What made mental health easier for me is I took more than the recommended number of psych courses heading into nursing school, and I've always found it fascinating so I read a lot over many years about different mental health issues and illnesses.

I'm sorry but without something more specific on what you need help with that's all I can give you generally.

gardenfan · Feb 28, 2014

there are many mental disorder lectures on YouTube . do some search and you might find some helpful to your study.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 28, 2014

You have to know your mental health disorders cold and your associated drugs and side effects of meds. Regarding therapeutic communication, as someone mentioned, no "why" questions. You can't sound accusatory. Also, maintaining boundaries is important. You also can't have answers that are too exclamatory, as if the nurse is very shocked or surprised at the patient's statement. The nurse has to remain professional. Validation is very important. Someones restating or rephrasing what the patient is telling you is the answer. Also, if a patient is having hallucinations, the proper response is I believe that you (the patient) hears/sees something, but I don't see anything. Making pacts with suicidal patients is effective. I did this with one of my suicidal patients (and I don't even work psych). "You won't try anything funny today. You will be alive at the end of the shift, ok." He had a sitter. I saw him trying to hide his fork under the mattress and I took it away from him.