Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Research Essay
1. Introduction
The field of psychiatric mental health nursing is employing evidence-based practices that focus on the provision of effective and high-quality care. By conducting well-designed research and using data to tailor patient care, psychiatric mental health nurses can ensure that their patients receive the most up-to-date and effective treatments available. As a psychiatric nurse today, however, one needs to be as keenly aware of the major societal and treatment trends underway like neuroscience. But psychiatric nurses today need to be aware not only of the scientific and clinical knowledge of behavior and molecular science, but also of sociocultural issues and the influence of managed care on the mental healthcare delivery system. The pivotal role of psychiatric mental health nurses in research specifically and the healthcare system in general is hinted at by the paper’s title. The term nursing science can be defined as the “emerging and critical area of study that is the development of theoretical knowledge and research studies to evaluate and support nursing practice”. This essay constructs and develops an argument which puts forward an opinion that supports the principles governing psychiatric nursing and research. However, in addition to this, the essay will also explore some of the broader patient-oriented benefits to evidence-based practice within mental health. Ultimately, the essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of psychiatric mental health nursing in the healthcare system. As this essay has proven, there is a growing body of nursing research which indicates that there are numerous benefits to evidence-based practice. This is a procedure that is patient-centered and seeks to tailor illness-prevention and care managing activities to the unique attributes and circumstances that characterize the individual patient’s life. It also involves a careful consideration of the patient’s hopes and expectations in the context of their illnesses and successfully delivering patient-oriented care. On the one hand, the value of evidence-based practice to the psychiatric nurse and the patient is that making clinical decisions must be guided by the “best available evidence” combined with the individual patient’s treatment goals. It is therefore a clinical governance requirement that psychiatric nurses are able to demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of their care and clinical decision-making, and it is a benchmark of quality and care that psychiatric nurses are utilizing up-to-date methods. On the other hand, good psychiatric mental health nurses can anticipate what is coming next and can forecast outcomes, all from experience, as Dr. Sadie St. Louis says. But experience can also be misleading and it is not always safe to act on what one thinks that one knows – that’s where evidence-based practice comes in. It is a timely, united and holistic approach to provide care to all of the patients, each and every time that can take the field of psychiatric mental health nursing as a whole into a new era. From an acute inpatient psychiatric treatment center to laypeople’s notions of the mentally ill, managed care is a profitable and controversial multi-billion dollar operation in the United States today. Well, managed care “emphasizes cost-effective treatment outcomes as well as accountability and social control of clients. It also introduces bureaucratic intrusions into the previously exclusive domain of the physician-patient relationship.
2. The Role of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
As a mental health and psychiatric nursing expert, the psychiatric nurse plays a crucial role in the care team that focuses on patients with mental illnesses in a mental health setting. He or she is responsible for the well-being not only of the patients, but also for the running and management of the nursing team and ensuring that they work within the law, and their practice meets professional and clinical standards. He or she carries out the various duties in line with their job description, where they differ in most cases; being the primary care giver, the psychiatric nurse must be able to work autonomously and be capable of making a clinical decision within a patient-centred care. However, this does not mean that the psychiatric nurse should disregard collaborative working with either the service user, colleagues or members of the wider care team. Rather by including the service user and focusing on their involvement he or she is able to maintain an essential recovery focus to care whilst not diluting the effectiveness of any treatment given. He works to empower them and facilitate their eventual independence. This means showing them respect and maintaining their dignity, teaching people to make healthy lifestyle choices, providing a variety of creative and physical activities to promote social integration and helping the service users to build or rebuild the confidence and the self-esteem in their lives. Also, as in common with all nurses the psychiatric nurse must respect the patient’s values and beliefs. He will need to gain and use understanding skills that are suitable for a patient-nurse relationship. He should also work towards establishing therapeutic and professional relationships with not only the people in his care but with their families as well. The role of the psychiatric nurse can often be stressful and fast-paced and as such, increasingly employers are asking them to undertake their clinical supervision and reflection either on off duty time or in some cases in work hours so as it may be more closely monitored and in the instance of problems the supervisor is at hand. As well as working on the upkeep of the ward and contributing to managerial decision making and development of care, the psychiatric nurse must also be prepared to work on maintaining and eventually improving his own interpersonal skills and patient focused care. He will preceptorship helps the newly qualified nurse, to develop their confidence, leadership, management and clinical decision-making skills specific to the care of a specific group of patients. So any expertise that has been earned from preceptorship should be used as an enhancement of personal and professional clinical skills, and it is hoped that with the continued development and broadening of his personal care and knowledge, the continued delivery of high standard care can help create opportunities and further his career such as becoming not only a team leader but a matron or a clinical nurse specialist or to move into helping with training and development as a mentor.
3. Current Trends and Challenges in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
The last decade has seen an increase in the number of psychiatric mental health patients seeking care. Though the mental health workforce is expanding, much of the growth only occurred in certain professional disciplines, and it has not kept pace with the demand. In addition, most mental health professionals who deliver services such as psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialists, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners or psychiatrists work in urban areas with only 21% of these providers delivering care in rural or frontier areas. However, research shows that residents of rural and medically underserved areas have as much as 25% greater risk of experiencing mental health issues compared with people in urban areas. This health disparity is further exacerbated by the numbers of professionals involved in delivering mental health care to diverse individuals and communities. Although the mental health workforce is becoming more educated and ethnically and racially diverse, there is still a rather large need to establish working practice which reflects the diversity of the population. Moreover, although policy changes in mental health are slowly being enacted, it may still take a long time, for example, more cost-effective preventive and treatment service funding (Bradley et al., 2016). Currently, the majority of health care in mental health practice is delivered in isolated and time-consuming lengths of individual treatment which are not practical when patients are often moving between different localities. Such changes would make a significant difference in shaping current and future psychiatric mental health nursing practice. These trends and challenges point to the evolving nature of psychiatric mental health nursing and the need for nurses in this field to stay abreast of current research that can help them better understand patients, deliver evidence-based care, and adapt to how care is restructured and delivered.
4. Evidence-Based Practices in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
As this nursing approach has been gaining recognition and suitability of coming up with appropriate and robust treatments in the best health institutions internationally, there have been a range of best practices that have been realized in line with psychiatric mental health. These practices are largely based on the scientific research that is conducted involving nurses and is aimed at improving the outcomes of the patients in other parts of treatment process. The ultimate objective of evidence-based practices in psychiatric mental health nursing is not only to take care of the patients but also to come up with healthy and robust communities in the general public. This is very important as the changes taking place in the health sector has called for even more integrated treatment approaches which are only informed in light of the different pillars of evidence-based practices which are scientific research, clinical experiences and patient’s preferences. Full implementation of evidence-based practices in psychiatric mental health nursing can be best realized in a three-tier system namely; policies and legislations, acceptance by practitioners, families and consumers and a change of culture relating to the discipline. Since these practices are mainly based on coming up with the most effective diagnosis and treatment plans for the patients, the same has now been integrated in the various health based already and through policies and services that have been tailored from advancement of new research and knowledge. On the other hand, the realization of the best health institutions will require that all practitioners have shifted their focus from traditional nursing to embracing new ideas of evidence-based practices. This will be crowned by the fact that psychiatric mental health nursing has experienced a rapid change influenced by the acceptance and efforts towards these practices from professionals at different capacities. This means that there is the development of a clear roadmap for possible improvement when it comes to psychiatric mental health nursing in the future as the pillar of clinical experiences also begins to shape.
5. Conclusion
Over the recent years, there has been a remarkable growth and interest in psychiatric mental health nursing as one of the most challenging and absorbing fields in the medical sciences. Throughout this essay, the significance of psychiatric mental health nursing has been emphasized and discussed on many different levels. The primary and critical function of a psychiatric mental health nurse is the establishment and maintaining of a therapeutic relationship with the client, that is, in essence, doing positive things with the client, not to him. This requires the holding and promoting of hope, no matter how ill the client may be or troubled in mind and spirit. Secondly, the essay has explored the evolving nature of psychiatric nursing in the current healthcare system and the significance of evidence-based practices, and how research is critical in providing the most effective care. The technology-enabled care such as the development in tele-psychiatry and other medical e-health systems have also been highlighted as the new emerging trend in psychiatric nursing. A system-wide collaborative approach is needed to ensure an effective and efficient roll out of this technology-enabled models of care. Through the governmental and organizational policies set forth, the key objectives may be sought to provide efficiency and secure investment in psychiatric nursing. Like any other nursing specialties, psychiatric nursing should be integrated into other clinical practice and the wider research community must work together to ensure growth and optimal use of the evidence-based process in the years to come. While the essay has highlighted a few of those important trends and challenges which are faced by psychiatric mental health nursing professionals today, the overall sophistication and the level of knowledge transfer in the modern-day healthcare setting has also been beautifully explored. The writers and those who represented the academic visions have also sought to encourage and facilitate the meaningful professional debate and dialogue. I am increasingly enlightened to continue my study and to look for the ways in which the reading, learning, and idea exchanges can support my development as a psychiatric mental health nurse. This essay does not only provide me with a glimpse of the world in modern nursing but also helps me understand the kind of knowledge and level of responsibility and self-direction required in academic writing and research.
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