Table Of ContentRapid Mental
Health Nursing
Rapid Mental
Health Nursing
Grahame Smith
Principal Lecturer and Subject Head (Allied Health)
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool
Rebecca Rylance
Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Smith, Grahame, author. | Rylance, Rebecca, 1969– , author.
Title: Rapid mental health nursing / Grahame Smith, Rebecca Rylance.
Description: Chichester, West Sussex ; Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2016. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015042381 | ISBN 9781119045007 (pbk.)
Subjects: | MESH: Mental Disorders–nursing–Problems and Exercises. |
Psychiatric Nursing–methods–Problems and Exercises.
Classification: LCC RC440 | NLM WY 18.2 | DDC 616.89/0231–dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015042381
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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Cover image: ©Alina Vincent Photography, LLC/Getty Images.
Set in 9.5/11.5pt Frutiger by SPi Global, Pondicherry, India
1 2016
v
Contents
Introduction, viii
Essential skills and knowledge
Assessment, 3
Care planning, 5
Clinical decision-making, 8
Clinical observations, 10
Clinical risk in mental health, 12
Communication, 14
Diagnosis and classification, 17
Documentation, 19
Early intervention services, 21
Electroconvulsive therapy, 24
Elimination, 25
Infection control, 27
Leadership, 29
Lifelong learning, 31
Managing aggression and violence, 34
Managing people, 36
Managing risk, 39
Medication, 41
Medicines management, 44
Mental health law, 46
Nutrition and fluid management, 50
Organising care, 52
Physical well-being, 54
Psychiatric examination, 57
Psychological interventions, 59
Psychological therapies, 61
Recovery, 64
Reflection, 66
Research, 68
Suicide and self-harm, 71
vi Contents
Therapeutic relationships, 74
Time management, 76
Values-based practice, 78
Conditions
Acute confusional state, 85
Alcohol misuse, 87
Anxiety and related conditions, 89
Bipolar affective disorder, 91
Child and adolescent mental health, 92
Dementia, 95
Depression, 97
Disorders associated with pregnancy, 99
Drug misuse, 102
Eating disorders, 104
Functional disorders in older adults, 106
Learning disabilities in mental health, 108
Neuropsychiatry, 110
Personality disorders, 112
Schizophrenia, 114
Sexual disorders, 117
Sleep disorders, 119
Trauma and other stress-related conditions, 122
Unresolved grief, 124
Specific issues
Asylum seekers and refugees, 131
Culture and ethnicity, 132
Homelessness, 133
Older adults, 134
Safeguarding vulnerable adults, 135
Sexual abuse, 137
Sexuality and gender, 138
Spirituality and religion, 140
Contents vii
Appendices, 141
Revision questions, 150
Glossary, 162
References, further reading and useful resources, 168
Index, 179
viii
Introduction
This book complements Mental Health Nursing at a Glance and,
similar to that text, is written with the pre‐registration mental health
nursing student in mind as a ‘revision or notes’ text; it is also designed
to be a refresher text for registered mental health nurses. The structure
of each chapter is intended to support the UK student’s learning
journey; each chapter is explicitly underpinned by the Nursing &
Midwifery Council’s (NMC’s) Standards for Pre‐registration Nursing
Education (NMC 2010). As befits a Rapid series text, each chapter is a
concise summary of the subject being explored and, in addition, this
book has been designed to be easy for the mental health nursing
student to carry around.
To place the book within a professional context, the NMC’s Standards
for Pre‐registration Nursing Education aim to:
…. enable nurses to give and support high‐quality care in rapidly
changing environments. They reflect how future services are likely to
be delivered, acknowledge future public health priorities and address
the challenges of long‐term conditions, an aging population, and
providing more care outside hospitals. Nurses must be equipped to
lead, delegate, supervise and challenge other nurses and healthcare
professionals. They must be able to develop practice, and promote and
sustain change. As graduates they must be able to think analytically,
use problem‐solving approaches and evidence in decision‐making, keep
up with technical advances and meet future expectations.
(NMC 2010: 4–5)
Further to this aim, the NMC expect that by the end of training a pre‐
registration nursing student will be competent and possess the required
knowledge, skills and attitudes. These requirements are set out in a
competency framework for each field of nursing, which is organised
into four domains:
• professional values;
• communication and interpersonal skills;
• nursing practice and decision‐making;
• leadership, management and team working.
Each domain describes the competencies the student is expected
to achieve by end of their training, and each chapter of this book is
underpinned by these domain competencies. In addition to generic skills,
mental health nursing students are expected to develop field‐specific
skills. These different skill types complement each other to ensure that,
at the point of registration, a mental health nurse has a holistic set of
