Professional Experience Placement 3 Nursing Mental Health

This unit provides students with the opportunity to deliver person-centred care within a professional practice environment to consolidate nursing care and management developed in HNB2002 Contemporary Nursing and Mental Health A; HNB2005 Contemporary Nursing and Mental Health B, and HNB2001 Contemporary Nursing A, in a mental health setting. Students will gain experience in the process of ensuring consumer and carer participation is at the centre of all care planning. Legislation, government policy and population health data that inform the care of people with mental health issues will be integrated as students are placed in various mental health settings in the current health system. The professional practice experience provides students with the opportunity to be competent as a novice practitioner in the assessments, planning approaches and evaluations utilised in the care of consumers and families where psychological distress, mental health issues and mental illness are present or suspected. Novice knowledge of pathophysiology, pharmacotherapeutics and common issues of psychotropic medications and quality use of medicines will be achieved.

Students are required to complete 160 hours of Professional Experience Placement (PEP).

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Exemplify timely therapeutic and professional communication and documentation to achieve safe mental health nursing practice within the current student scope of practice, within intraprofessional and inter professional teams;
2. Articulate clinical reasoning and a person-centred approach to the mental health nursing management of individuals across various contexts of care across the lifespan, taking account of cultural concerns and diversity;
3. Adapt knowledge and skills in mental state and risk assessment and the safe practice of medication management;
4. Contextualise the legislative, policy, standards, ethical foundations and code of conduct enacted in the roles and responsibilities of the registered nurse in mental health settings; and
5. Apply reflexivity and responsiveness to feedback regarding performance and behaviour during PEP.