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Course Syllabus

NURS 1113 Mental Health Clinical

  • Division: Business and Applied Tech
  • Department: Health Professions
  • Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 1; Lecture: 0; Lab: 3
  • Corequisites: NURS 1103
  • Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Semester Approved: Spring 2021
  • Five-Year Review Semester: Summer 2026
  • End Semester: Fall 2026
  • Optimum Class Size: 5
  • Maximum Class Size: 10

Course Description

This is a companion course to NURS 1103 that provides clinical application of psychiatric/mental health nursing methodology. Students will focus on patients in a variety of health care settings with mental health needs. The course requires 45 clinical hours per semester. To enroll, students must be accepted into the Registered Nursing program. This course is part of a required series preparing students to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Justification

Students have the opportunity in this course to apply concepts learned in theory to the mental health clinical setting. It is imperative for students to come in contact with mentally ill patients in the nursing role in order to gain practical experience in establishing a therapeutic relationship, employ the nursing process, and gain therapeutic communication skills.

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. The student will develop therapeutic communication skills to help meet the psychosocial needs of both psychiatric and non-psychiatric patients.
  2. The student will demonstrate an ability to establish a therapeutic relationship with patients.
  3. The student will maintain professional relationships and advocate for and support patients through interdisciplinary partnership and collaboration.
  4. The student will demonstrate cultural and generational competence in caring for patients and families across a variety of psychiatric settings.
  5. The student will participate as a member of the psychiatric community within the discipline of nursing.
  6. The student will utilize safe, ethical, patient-centered, humanistic, and evidence-based practices to participate in nursing care of psychiatric patients.

Course Content

Course topics may include:Orientation to clinical psychiatric nursing - mental health issues across generationsCommunication skills - therapeutic communication and process recordingTherapeutic relationships - boundaries, ethics, legal issuesCultural competence in caring for patients and families with mental health issuesWorking with the interdisciplinary psychiatric care teamApplication of evidence-based psychiatric nursing principlesClinical experiences include a mix of the following:Attending a 12-step meetingViewing the video series "On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying" and "Close to Home: Moyers on Addiction"Completing a clinical rotation at Utah State HospitalTime at inpatient psychiatric units, hospice organizations, and substance use disorder treatment programsTime with psychiatric-outpatient, day treatment, or other community based facilitiesCompleting a process recording that demonstrates an understanding of therapeutic communication skills.