Mental Health In The Community

ANSWERS

Community mental health nurses work in various settings, including community mental health centers, detoxification centers, group homes for people with mental retardation or serious mental illnesses, and residential substance abuse treatment programs. As the population, they care for ages and the number of comorbid conditions increases, different skills or roles may be required. This can present difficulties regarding role competencies, nursing preparation, and time management. The overall goals of this project were to compare the competencies of basic and advanced practice nurses with accepted psychiatric-mental health nursing competencies, as well as to evaluate the nurses’ roles and work time allocation among various roles. The findings support the need for nursing roles and job description changes. Based on the findings, specific recommendations have been implemented.

Future nursing graduates will face difficulties finding employment in a changing healthcare system. A managed-care system based on community-based sites is the way of the future, with cost-effective care as the norm. The authors describe one model for preparing students to deal with community mental health issues. Chronically mentally ill people have historically been underserved in the community, resulting in costly readmissions to psychiatric hospitals. Appropriately prepared graduates can manage these clients’ care in the community on a budget. That challenge is met by incorporating community mental health into the community health course group.

QUESTION

Mental Health In The Community

Part 1:

1. Go to the Healthy People 2020 website

2. Search for the option in “M” for Mental Health and Mental Disorders and click into this option

3. After reading the Overview section for Mental Health and Mental Disorders, click into the Objectives for this section.

4. From the Objective section, pick TWO objectives/goals from the list that  affect a community (either  county, city, or state)

5. Note the number of the TWO objectives chosen as well as the names and explain why these TWO were chosen related to the chosen community.

6. As a nurse in this community, what can be done to help the community move towards these two objectives/goals? Use of first person is ok.

Part 2:

1. Explain how physical health and mental health are correlated. What impact does each have on the other?

2. Give at least one detailed example of how either a specific physical ailment leads to a breakdown in mental health or how a specific mental health disorder can lead to physical issues. Be specific and detailed.

Part 3:

1. Explain Trauma Informed Care in detail.

2. As a nurse, how can Trauma Informed Care be used to assist a child who has been impacted by trauma?