Mental Health Nursing Care of the Adult with a Serious Mental Illness

The aim of this module is to enable the student Mental Health Nurse to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to support people who are experiencing a serious mental illness. Students will learn about the complexity and impact of serious mental illness. The module will explore the range of pharmacological treatments available in practice for managing serious mental illness. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome, lithium toxicity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular and other consequences of psychotropic drugs.  Long-term outcome of psychotropic medications. Students will explore the nature of psychosis and related disorders and holistic nursing care for patients experiencing these disorders. 
Students will further explore substance abuse, disorders and their impact at individual, family and societal level and their co-occurrence with other mental illnesses. Dual Diagnosis will be discussed and the treatment approaches for management of the same. Students will understand the Model of Care for people experiencing Mental Disorder and Co-existing Substance Use Disorder: Dual Diagnosis (HSE, 2023) and its provisions for care of people experiencing Dual Diagnosis. 
Furthermore, the student is encouraged to think beyond the symptoms of mental ill health to the person who is experiencing it, their families and supporters. This module will look at personality disorders and their management and will cover personality disorders, clinical presentation, epidemiology, comorbidity, aetiology, and nursing management options.

1. Discuss the pathophysiology of acute neuropsychiatric presentations of relevance to practice as a Mental Health Nurse.

2. Critically discuss the impact of psychosis on the individual, the family and society and how this can be ameliorated.

3. Explain the concept of Dual Diagnosis, the National Model of Care (HSE, 2023) and the evidence-based treatments for this.  

4. Appraise early intervention and recovery work in relation to the nursing care of people who have a serious mental illness and contextualise this to the National Programme for Early Intervention Psychosis (HSE, 2019) and The Quality framework: Driving excellence in mental health services (2023). 

5. Critically discuss the principles of delivering safe and effective nursing care for the person with a severe and enduring mental illness.

6. Identify the presentation, aetiology and epidemiology of personality disorders.

7. Clearly articulate the importance of collaboratively working to develop a recovery based individual care plan based on an assessment of risk for those experiencing mental ill health.

8. Critically analyse the clinical risks associated with the delivery of psychopharmacological treatments for psychotic disorders.