Condensed Notes + Bonus Clinical Worksheets
Psych-Mental Health Nursing Bundle
Condensed exam notes and medication reviews from psychiatric-mental health nursing, plus
anonymized clinical documentation examples.
Includes:
- Exam 1 notes
- Final review notes
- Psych med guide
- 3 bonus clinical worksheets used in real patient care (HIPAA-compliant)
**Bolded content reflects material emphasized and tested in a top 10 BSN program in the U.S.**
Perfect for exams, care plan practice, or NCLEX prep.
Page 1
,Lecture 1: Theoretical underpinnings for holistic mental health
What is mental health?
● Accurate appraisal of reality
● Thinking clearly
○ Problem solve
○ Good judgement
○ Logical reasoning
○ Reach insightful conclusions
○ Be creative
● Ability to control one’s own behaviors
● Ability to negotiate developmental tasks
● Ability to relate to others
○ Form relationships
○ Experience love, joy
○ Experience empathy towards others
○ Manage interpersonal conflict constructively
● Capacity to deal with conflicting emotions
● Ability to work and be productive
● Ability to play and laugh
● Maintain a healthy self-concept
● Have a sense of “self” and value “self”
● Ability to live without (undue) fear, guilt, anxiety
● Ability to take responsibility for one’s own actions
● Attain self-defined spirituality
What influences mental health?
● Family
● Personality
● Developmental events
● Demographic variables
● Psychosocial stressors (ex: poverty, divorce, bullying)
● Cultural and subcultural values
● Health practices and beliefs
● Hormonal influences
● Genetics
● Inherited factors (ex: intergenerational trauma)
● Environmental factors
● Available support systems
● SDOH
● Cumulative advantage theory
○ Ex: a white cisgender male vs. a homeless minority
, ● Minority stress model
○ Ex: why are gay individuals seeking the same healthcare as straight individuals
having worse health outcomes? → can be adapted to many different minorities
What is “recovery” from mental illness?
● Social life and involvement in meaningful activities
● Relationships with others based on understanding, trust, acceptance, and valuing of the
individual
● Treated with respect and given opportunities to be involved in their treatment
Lecture 2: The psychiatric nurse-patient relationship, overview of
the nursing process and legal and ethical issues
Legal and ethical issues
● Right to refuse treatment
● Informed consent
● Confidentiality
○ Exceptions:
■ Duty to warn
● If somebody wants to hurt someone:
○ Notify person?
○ Commit to hospital
○ Call 911
■ Child abuse
● Call
● Online registration
■ Elder abuse
● File
■ Reporting of certain communicable diseases
● Department of public health
■ Reporting of gunshot wounds
■ Testimonial privilege
● We can go to court to:
○ Deem someone incompetent
○ Have someone confined to hospital
○ Give someone medication against their will
● Adolescent considerations
○ Someone at 16 or 17 can hospitalize themselves
● Admission
○ Section 12 “emergency restraint and hospitalization of persons posing risk of
serious harm by reason of mental illness”
, ■ Harm to themselves, harm to others, mental illness poses a risk to their
safety
■ w/ a section 12, but no signed 10+11, they have a 3 day hold. After that →
is this person safe to go?
● Yes- they can go home
● No- wait 3 days, then can go to court if they need longer
○ “Three day notice”- three days to decide if you can leave,
or we come up w/ other treatment plan
■ Conditional voluntary (section 10+11)
Psychiatric nurse-patient relationship
● Services provided by psychiatric mental health registered nurses
○ Health promotion and maintenance
○ Intake screening, evaluation and triage
○ Case management
○ Teaching self-care activities
○ Administration and monitoring of psychobiological treatment regimens
○ Crisis intervention and stabilization efforts
○ Psychiatric rehabilitation and intervention
○ Educating patients, families, and communities
○ Coordinating care
Mental health nursing
● Establishing a therapeutic relationship
○ Environment
○ Interruptions
○ Context
○ Time
○ Note taking
● Nonverbal communication (65%!!!)
○ Facial expressions
○ Tone of voice
○ Movements
○ Appearance
○ Eye contact
○ Gestures
○ Posture
● Verbal communication (35%)
● BE PATIENT!
● What factors impact a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship?
○ Stage of mental illness/recovery
○ Social factors (ex: economic factors)