Outline for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing

I. Human behavior and personality a. Neuroanatomy and

a. Behavior neurophysiology
i. Characteristics i. Neurons
ii. Influences ii. Central nervous system
iii. Dynamics iii. Role of genetics
b. Personality b. Other topics in neuroscience
i. Characteristics i. Memory, repetition and
ii. Determinants learning
ii. Circadian rhythm
iii. Psychoimmunology
II. Psychosocial nursing iv. Neuroimmaging
a. Mental hygiene techniques
b. Importance
c. Result
VII. Conceptual frameworks and theories
a. Theories of human behavior
III. Historical perspectives of the treatment and personality
of mental illness i. Psychoanalytic theory
b. Developmental theories
i. Psychosocial theories
ii. Piaget’s cognitive
IV. Mental health and mental illness
theory of development
a. Mental health
iii. Kohlberg’s theory
b. Elements of mental health
c. Interpersonal theories
c. Influences of mental health
i. Sullivan’s life stages
d. Mental illness
d. Humanistic theories
e. Diagnosis of mental illness
i. Maslow’s hierarchy of
i. DSM-IV-TR
needs
f. Prevention and treatment of
mental illness

VIII. Therapeutic relationship and

communication
V. Psychiatric –mental health nursing
a. Therapeutic relationship
a. Guiding principles
i. Essential elements
b. Roles of a psychiatric nurse
ii. Obstacles
iii. Phases of therapeutic
relationships
VI. Neuroscience: biology and behavior b. Therapeutic communication
 i. Communication
1. Elements
2. Criteria
3. Problems in
communication
ii. Therapeutic
communication
1. Goals
iii. Privacy and proxemics
iv. Touch
IX. Nursing process in psychiatric-mental
healthcare
X. Legal and ethical aspects of psychiatric
mental health nursing
a. Legal issues in psychiatric-
mental health nursing
i. Nursing practice acts
and the expanding role
in nursing
ii. Malpractice
iii. Basic rights of clients
receiving nursing care
iv. Client status and
specific legal issues
v. Types of admissions
b. Ethical issues in psychiatric-
mental health nursing
i. Ethics
ii. Code of ethics
iii. Bioethical principles in
the nursing practice
iv. Boundaries in ethical
nursing care
XI. Psychopharmacology
a. Important principles of
psychotherapeutics and
psychodynamics
b. Important psychotherapeutic
drugs
c. Medications mood disorders
i. Anxiolytics
ii. Antipyschotics
(neuroleptics) agents
iii. Cognitive enhancers
XII. Violence and abuse within the
community
a. Youth violence
b. Family violence
i. Intimate partner
violence
ii. Child maltreatment
c. Elder abuse
d. Rape and sexual assault
i. Types
ii. Rape syndrome
XIII. Crisis intervention
a. Crisis theory
i. Phases
ii. Types
b. Crisis prevention
c. Crisis intervention and
stabilization
XIV. Therapeutic environment
a. Goals
b. Characteristics