Psychiatric-Mental Health Advanced Practice Nursing Clinical Practicum I

This first precepted clinical practicum provides students the opportunity to obtain a comprehensive psychiatric history, apply advanced psychiatric and physical assessment skills, and utilize advanced physiology/pathophysiology, psychopathology, and pharmacology knowledge to promote health, prevent illness, and manage acute and chronic conditions in psychiatric patients across the lifespan. Selected psychological, health promotion, stress and coping, cultural theories and evidence-based findings will be applied to manage the psychiatric conditions of people from diverse backgrounds (e.g. age, culture, ethnicity, race, sexuality, and socioeconomic status). Students will evaluate laboratory and diagnostic data along with family and community systems data to determine psychiatric status and prioritize differential and nursing diagnoses. Regular seminars provide a forum for students to receive instructions, consultation, and supervision from faculty and to share this learning process with their classmates. Seminars build upon an evidence-based practice model and emphasize diagnostic reasoning, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making. Case study examples are used as the basis for discussion. Students will be placed with clinical preceptors appropriate to their role (e.g. CNS or NP).