welcome unit psychiatric - mental health nursing...

Welcome Unit Psychiatric - Mental Health Nursing Program

Welcome Learning Outcomes Information Instructional Activities Resources

COPYRIGHT and Acknowledgements

Copyright 2015 Registered Nurses Professional Development Centre and Department of Health & Wellness – Nova Scotia Government.

No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic

or mechanical without permission in writing from the:

Registered Nurses Professional Development Centre Room 231C, Bethune Building

1276 South Park Street Halifax, Nova Scotia

B3H 2Y9

Welcome learners to the part-time Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Program (PMHNP). The PMHNP is a performance based certification program, which prepares registered nurses for the professional practice of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. The PMHNP utilizes a competency-based methodology to achieve its performance–based certification. The competencies for the PMHNP are arranged under six general areas person-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-informed practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics. Upon completion of the program the learner will be able to provide safe and effective nursing care to individuals and their families at the level of the advanced beginner.

The PMHNP also uses a conceptual learning approach. This approach organizes knowledge and skills into concepts that are illustrated using real-life situations. Learners study a concept, actively apply the concept to a scenario of a person in care, and then learn a new concept. Each concept is then integrated with others so, by the end of the program graduates can apply all concepts to various populations and in a variety of clinical practice settings. The PMHNP is organized around four main concepts. Optimal health and wellness and 3 concepts related to the primary domains of brain function that are affected by psychiatric disorders. These 3 concepts are: thinking/perceiving, feeling and behaving. There are many different types of psychiatric disorders all of which affect these domains of brain functioning to varying degrees. Although any or all of these domains may be affected in any one of the psychiatric disorders, the classification of the psychiatric disorders is based on the primary symptom domains affected. Mental illnesses whose symptoms are predominately expressed as disorders of feelings include the mood disorders and anxiety disorders. Mental illnesses that are expressed as primary disturbances in thinking include the psychotic disorders and cognitive disorders. Other psychiatric disorders manifest with predominant behavioral symptoms such as conduct disorder. However, while there may be predominant symptoms in a specific domain that characterize a certain disorder, most involve at least some disturbances in one or more of the other domains. For example, while schizophrenia is characterized by disturbances of thought, individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia also often demonstrate disturbances of mood and behaviour. Similarly, while children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may demonstrate significant disturbances of motor behavior, they often exhibit cognitive difficulties with concentration and executive functions such as problem solving and serial planning.

The PMHNP consists of 20 comprehensive on-line modules/units. Units 1 – 4 focus on the concept of optimal health & wellness; Units 5 – 9 focus on the concept of think/perceiving; Units 10 – 13 focus on the concept of feelings and; Units 14 – 20 focus on the concept of behaving. Modules are supported with required readings, and computer based interactive activities. Classroom interactive opportunities, which include learning labs, are provided to enhance knowledge and skill development. Knowledge is assessed through examinations/assignments and skills are assessed in an Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) prior to precepted clinical experiences.

Clinical learning experiences are provided in psychiatric care areas at selected hospitals under the guidance of a preceptor and PMHNP faculty. The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing program is designed to allow learners to work full-time while studying using a part-time distance format.

NOTE ABOUT LANGUAGE Following the example of the Tidal Model, which focuses on person-centered care, in this program the ‘patient’, ‘client’, ‘user’ or ‘consumer’ will be referred to as the person. To get started Read a message from your facilitator 3

Find out how to move through the course 4

Find out how to access additional documentation 5

Find out how to access the discussion board 6

Find out how to access Blackboard Collaborate 7

Find out how you will be evaluated 9

Next steps 11

Welcome to all Psychiatric - Mental Health Nursing Program online learners.

My name is Loretta Whitehorne and I will be your facilitator for this course. You can find more information about my education

and work background in the Program Manual found in the handouts.

At the side, you’ll see my telephone number and email address. Email works best and I try to respond to my messages promptly.

Please read this guide along with the Program Manual carefully.

It has information about how to properly use this course, the evaluation weighting for each component of the course, general expectations of you

as a learners, and the evaluation timetable (to show you when your

assignments are due).

To get started, check out The Learning Manager (TLM). Take a look at a few of the Unit boxes to get a feel for what you need to do in this

course, plus check out the sidebar links to track down handouts, and

schedules.

Distance learning does have its challenges, but it makes it very convenient to fit into our very busy lives, so I encourage you to

participate and ask questions.

Please feel free to contact me at anytime if you are having difficulties.

Loretta Whitehorne P.S. There is a lot of new information in the next few pages. Don’t be

alarmed! I’m here to help, and your success is my success!

Loretta Whitehorne BScN, MN, CNE, RN, CPMHN(C), CPRP

Registered Nurses Professional Development Center

[email protected]

Phone: (902) 473-5530 Fax: (902) 473-7590

mailto:[email protected]

To make it easier for you to work through this course we have divided the material into Units. Each unit is displayed as a “Unit Block” and appears on what we call a “Course map”. As you work through the course you will complete one unit block at a time and progress through the course map one step at a time. Typically you will work from top to bottom, and then left to right when you encounter additional sections that belong to a unit. Behind each unit block there is typically a “Study Guide” that will contain information, readings, and activities for you to accomplish in order to successfully complete the unit, or section. In order to properly access material on the course map, plus record your progress, you will work with each Unit block to view the material. Once you have completed the Unit you will then want to mark the Unit complete. You can still go back and view a unit that you have marked complete but all units must be marked completed before you can move forward and access the mid-term & final exams To view material in a Unit Block click on the Block, then choose “View”. When you have completed the unit click on the Block, and then choose “Mark Unit Complete”.

Besides the information found in

each study guide, potentially

there are additional resources for

you to review. You can access

these additional resources by

using the “Sidebar”. You will

find the Sidebar to the left of the

course map. Under content you

will also find such things as

Announcements, Links, Outlines

and Schedules if available.

In this case you will look for “Content” and click the “Handouts” link to find a complete list of all available resources. All handouts are listed in alphabetical order and are accessible by clicking on each one. At any time you wish to return to your course map under “Course” click the “Map” link.

There are 8 discussions in this course. The minimal requirement for each learner is three substantive posting per discussion.

1. Each learner will answer the discussion question(s) and post answers by noon on Friday. Your first post should include significant information/ideas on the topic with links to the course theories, lessons or text. You should cite new or existing sources whenever possible.

2. Each learner is then responsible for reading all posts and responding to one of your colleagues posts by Sunday at midnight (try to choose a post that someone else has not already responded to). Your second post should attempt to motivate group discussion. Provide your thoughts about one colleague’s post. Compare the colleague’s example to your experience or to your thoughts about their suggestion. Intersperse probing questions into your post which will move the discussion forward and clarify/challenge your colleague’s assumptions. For example:

Conceptual clarification - questions that get your colleague to think about concepts behind their ideas for example, What exactly does that mean? Can you give me an example?

Probing assumptions - questions that get your colleague to think about the beliefs that they base their ideas on for example, What else could we assume? What would happen if...?

Probing rationale, reasons and evidence – questions that get your colleague to think about the support for their ideas for example, Why is that happening? What do you think causes...?

Question viewpoints and perspectives – questions that get your colleague to consider other viewpoints for example, What are some alternative ways of looking at this? Who benefits from this?

Probe implications and consequences – questions that get your colleague to think about what follows from their idea/argument for example, What would happen? What are the consequences of that assumption?

3. In your third post you will further the discussion by answering the questions posed by one of your colleagues relating to your initial post by Wednesday at midnight.

You will be given a mark for your participation in the discussions and this is worth 20% of your overall knowledge mark. Please review the full assignment including a marking rubric in your program manual.

You can access the Discussion on the TLM under Communication in the sidebar on the left hand side of the course map.

Blackboard Collaborate During this course we will get together via the

internet using a tool called Blackboard Collaborate

Web Conference. Blackboard Collaborate allows us to

meet as a group, to talk, share and learn in real time.

Look at Blackboard Collaborate as an online

teleconference call. You will need a quiet spot, a

computer, and internet connection, and a headset

with a microphone.

Keep your eyes peeled for an invitation to the

Blackboard Collaborate session. Your facilitator will

send a link to your session along with some basic

instructions.

The link will send you to a web site where you can log in.

Type in your email address in the user name area.

You DO NOT need a password.

Click Login to proceed.

Once you log in, Blackboard Collaborate will launch … it takes a few minutes. Below is an

overview of the Blackboard Collaborate tool.

The course has three knowledge evaluation components. In order to successfully complete the knowledge portion of the course, you’ll need to successfully participate in all components:

Assignment Discussion Forums Written Exams

How will you achieve those outcomes? In this course you will be asked to participant in online discussion forums; video tape assignment, plus you will need to successfully complete two written exams. The breakdown of these activities is as follows: Discussion Forums

Unit: 6 Section 1 - Discussion Forum #1 2.5








Subtotal 20

Assignment Video tape assignment 20

Subtotal 20

Exam

Exam I 30

Comprehensive Exam 2 30

Subtotal 60

Total 100

As you progress through the course I’m sure you will have many questions. Feel free to contact me for clarification. My expectations are for you to actively participate in this course, by reading the study guides; completing the readings and instructional activities as outlined in the study guides; participating in the discussions; and finally by completing the exams.

So really my expectations are:

Read the Unit Study Guides.

Complete the Instructional Activities/Quizzes.

Participate in discussions when required.

Complete the Exams.

Be self-directed and self-motivated.

Ask for help when you need it.

Progress through the course on a weekly basis.

Tip To learn more about your reading Assignments and Instructional Activities, read your study guides carefully. You’ll find all the study guides and course materials in your course map and the sidebar in The Learning Manager (TLM). Some people like to print all their study guides, assignment information, handouts, and schedule, etc. at the beginning of the course and organize them in a binder. The pass mark for this course is 70%.

Tip The more organized you are, the better. On the sidebar you will find a tentative schedule. Take note of when your assignments are due. You might find it helpful to mark due dates on a calendar.

Post a message to introduce yourself on the discussion board, and start exploring the course. You will want to take a look at the Handout section, and Schedule on the Sidebar. After you have completed reading this document Mark the Welcome Units Complete on the course map!

welcome unit psychiatric - mental health nursing...

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