Function of Psychiatric Nurse

In mental health nursing, a patient or client may be dealt with as an individual, family, group, organization, or community. In a variety of settings, various direct and indirect functions based on concepts of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention are discussed below.

1. Primary Functions: Primary prevention is a community concept that involves lowering the incidence.

a. Health teaching regarding principles of mental health.

b. Improved living conditions, freedom from poverty, and better education.

c. Consumer education in such areas as normal growth development and sex education.

d. Initiating appropriate referrals before mental disorder occurs based on assessment of potential stressors and life changes.

e. Assisting patients in a general hospital setting to avoid future psychiatric problems.

f. Working with families to support family members and group functioning.

g. Becoming active in community and political activities related to mental health.

2. Secondary Prevention involves the reduction of actual illness by early detection and treatment of the problem.

a. Screening and evaluation service

b. Home visits for preadmission and treatment service.

c. Emergency treatment and psychiatric service in the general hospital.

d. Providing a therapeutic milieu.

e. Supervising patients for receiving medication.

f. Suicide prevention services.

g. Counselling on a time limited basis

h. Crisis intervention.

i. Psychotherapy with individuals. Families and groups of various ages ranging from children to older adults. Intervening with communities and organizations based on an identified problem.

3. Tertiary Prevention involves reducing residual impairment or disabled laities resulting from the illness. Direct nursing care functions include the following. Promoting vocational training and rehabilitation.

b. Organization aftercare programs for a patient discharged from psychiatric facilities to facilitate their transition from the hospital to the community.

c. Providing partial hospitalized options for patients.

In addition to these direct nursing care functions, psychiatric nurses engage in indirect activities that affect all three levels of prevention. These activities include educating nursing personnel, continuing, generic, or advanced educational programs, administrating in mental health settings to facilitate the provision of optimal nursing care, supervising nursing personnel to improve the quality of nursing services, and professional, consumer groups.

Community care gives local and national agencies the and research clinical nursing problems.

• Describe the early history of psychiatric nursing.

• Identify direct and indirect nursing care functions using the concept of primary secondary and tertiary prevention.