Psychiatric Nursing

Despite several approaches, the primary goal of our staff of psychiatric nurses is to provide our patients with help as if they were the patient's official caretakers. A psychiatric nurse's job begins before the therapeutic process even starts. The responsibilities of the psychiatric nurse are to: keep in touch with the patient's relatives, provide them with information about the patient's condition; how the patient's therapy is going, what the treatment plan is, what diagnosis the patient has received and what the doctor's recommendations are for the patient and for organizing a detailed report about the patient's background. This includes: learning the patient's emotional condition, affect, perception, attention, consciousness, memory, tendencies, orientation, thoughts, behaviors, hobbies/activities and whether or not s/he is aware of his/her condition (insight or selfawareness). Also, learning the patient's problemsolving abilities and how the patient interacts with other people are all very imperative when planning a successful treatment for the patient.

All of this is done by assessment of the patient with a psychiatric evaluation and mental health consultation. The psychiatric nurse usually questions the patient and his/her relatives in order to obtain an objective perspective about the patient's history. Then, the psychiatric nurse evaluates the patient in a viewer's perspective and gives the patient a pre-diagnosis. Based on the psychiatric nursing approach, the data are evaluated, a therapeutic process is planned and determined.

Observing patients according to the psychiatric nurses' pre-diagnosis is how the therapeutic process begins. Along with the pharmaceutical therapy prescribed by the patient's psychiatrist, the patient may also receive other treatments such as: psychotherapy, ergotherapy and other activities. "Good morning meetings" and readings are held by psychologists daily which help all patients to feel at home. Activities such as handwork, hobbies, musical therapy, the Marbling- on -paper Study, yoga and others are planned under the authority of our nurses and teachers on staff. But, prior to the scheduling of these activities, the patient has to consult his/her psychiatric nurse beforehand.