ABSTRACT
Eighty-five program coordinators responded to a survey concerning Psychiatric Mental Health (PMH) graduate-nursing education. Twelve of these 85 program coordinators reported their programs had closed. Data from the remaining 73 indicated that the number of students entering PMH graduate programs is small. In the past 2 years, most programs have undergone some redesign. A significant curricular trend is the inclusion of pharmacology, physical assessment, and pathophysiology. Another trend is the shift to a Nurse Practitioner (NP)-type curriculum. PMH curricula seem increasingly modeled on a primary mental health care model and training in a broad base of skills.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing, Graduate/trends , Psychiatric Nursing/education , Clinical Competence/standards , Curriculum , Humans , Models, Educational , Nurse Administrators , Nurse Practitioners/education , Primary Health Care , Surveys and Questionnaires , United StatesABSTRACT
The results of a national survey of Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (APPN) are presented. Results are based on the Society for Education and Research in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing's (SERPN) Primary Mental Health and Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nursing monograph. Characteristics of the nurses, the clients they serve, and their practice patterns are described. Documenting the cost-effectiveness of these practitioners and increasing the number of younger APPNs is recommended.
Subject(s)
Psychiatric Nursing , Educational Status , Humans , Managed Care Programs , Personnel Staffing and Scheduling , Psychiatric Nursing/trends , Salaries and Fringe Benefits , United States , Workforce , WorkplaceABSTRACT
Health care in the 1990s requires Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (APPNs), like other health care providers, to identify and evaluate the outcomes of their practices. Many APPNs report that they are not currently engaging in outcome evaluation, and many report that they would like more resources on outcome measurement. This study identifies outcome evaluations currently in use, through an analysis of the responses of 364 Certified Clinical Nurse Specialists in a survey conducted by the Society for Education and Research in Psychiatric Nursing in 1994-1995. Specific tools that APPNs report using to assess outcomes are also identified and referenced.
Subject(s)
Data Collection/methods , Health Services Research/methods , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Psychiatric Nursing/standards , Outcome and Process Assessment, Health CareABSTRACT
A conceptual framework of psychiatric nurse labor use is developed based on organizational and economic theories. The relationship between staffing decisions and quality of care is presented. Implications for restructuring the workforce within the context of managed care and increased cost containment pressures are discussed. The importance of using a conceptual framework to guide staffing evaluations, research, and management decisions is emphasized.
Subject(s)
Models, Economic , Models, Nursing , Models, Organizational , Personnel Staffing and Scheduling , Psychiatric Nursing , Cost Control , Humans , Managed Care Programs , Quality of Health Care , WorkforceABSTRACT
Human resource issues related to the provision of mental health care in rural areas under the proposed health care reform are addressed. Rural areas continue to utilize more non-specialty providers in the provision of mental health care. First, issues surrounding the training, recruitment, and retention of specialty mental health providers differ between urban and rural areas. Next, innovative strategies currently being used to attract and retain specialty providers to rural practice are presented. Finally, implications for expanding the knowledge base related to rural providers are explored.
