This course focuses on nursing concepts foundational to mental health and wellness across the lifespan. This includes common mental illnesses, nursing interventions, pharmacotherapeutics, therapeutic relationships, crisis intervention, coping with acute and chronic illness, and stress management.

• Videbeck, Shelia L. (2023). Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing (9th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. ISBN: 978-1-9751-8477-3
• Content Mastery Series Review Module. RN Mental Health Nursing: Edition 11.0. Stilwell, KS: Assessment Technologies Institute. ISBN-10: 1565335708 / ISBN-13: 9781565335707

• Apply factors that create a culture of caring and advocacy in providing safe & high-quality patient-centered care for individuals, families, and communities experiencing mental health challenges.
• Integrate evidence, clinical judgment, interprofessional perspectives, and patient preferences in assessing, planning, and implementing comprehensive mental health care.
• Apply self- knowledge gained through reflection on one’s own beliefs and values to therapeutically interact with patients and demonstrate informed empathy skills & practices.
• Demonstrate competency to successfully pass the NCLEX as it pertains to mental health in nursing.

Grade Scheme

Grades will be determined in the undergraduate programs using the following grading scale. To progress in the undergraduate program, students must pass each course with a C (74%) minimum.

Assignment Outline

Weekly Content Quizzes – 20%

Beginning week two there will be a quiz, at the beginning of class that covers content from readings and presentations of the previous week. There will be one minute per question on the quiz. (12 questions=12 minutes to take the quiz). Completion of the pharmacology worksheet also goes into this assignment group.

Unit Exams – 25%

There are four unit exams. These exams may cover assigned readings as well as class content and include ATI exams. Exams may include a variety of formats including multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the blank, and short answer.

Terminology list – 10%

You will find a terminology list on Canvas which covers important mental health specific terms to help you study for the exams and ensure you become familiar with the specialized terminology within mental health. Provide definitions for each term to receive points. The goal is for you to understand and know the terms, so they are to be paraphrased in your own words. However, the definitions must appropriately match the terms as they relate to mental health care (e.g., compensation should not include a definition referencing money). They can be handwritten or typed (tip: you learn better from handwritten therefore you will receive full points only for hand written). Make sure you dedicate time to do them throughout the course. It is your responsibility to manage your time appropriately so that you are not rushing to get them all done right before they are due -- time management is a critical nursing skill.

The list has been carefully and intentionally curated of terms for you to know. While you are completing this and/or using this list to study, make sure you can understand why each term is listed. For example, priapism or agranulocytosis were not random selections; they are each associated with certain drugs. Know which conditions and/or drugs are associated with the terms describing symptoms (e.g., ataxia, echolalia, etc.). They don't all match with conditions or drugs (e.g., ethical principles, defense mechanisms) but for the ones that do have associated drugs/conditions, it's not enough to know what the terms mean, you need to know what they match with.

ATI – 30%

You will have two comprehensive ATI exams on Mental Health Nursing content in this course.

The doors close right at the beginning of the scheduled testing time. If you are late to the test and the door is closed you will need to contact the Professor to set up a time to take the test, do not knock or open the door. You are not allowed to have anything with you during the exam except a pencil and paper which will be provided. All personal electronics including smart watches must be left at the front of the classroom.

Current ATI Proficiency levels for the exam are:
Level 3: 85.0% - 100%
Level 2: 66.7% - 84.9%
Level 1: 56.7% - 66.6%
Below Level 1: 0.0% - 56.6%

ATI Proficiency Level Definitions*

LEVEL 1 = Scores meeting the Proficiency Level 1 standard can be considered to meet the absolute minimum expectations for performance in this content area and likely to just meet NCLEX-RNae standards in this content area.

LEVEL 2 = Scores meeting the Proficiency Level 2 standard can be considered to exceed minimum expectations for performance in this content area and fairly certain to meet NCLEX-RN standards in this content area.

LEVEL LEVEL 3 = Scores meeting the Proficiency Level 3 standard can be considered to exceed most expectations for performance in this content area and likely to exceed NCLEX-RN standards in this content area.

Grades will be assigned according to proficiency level achieved and are as follows:
For students that reach Level 3 their grade will be 100%
For students that reach Level 2 their grade will be 85%
For students that reach Level 1 their grade will be 70%
For Students who get Below Level 1 their grade will be equivalent to the score they achieved. (i.e. if achieved 53% that is the score they will get for the ATI.

Remediation: for Level 1 and below level 1 scores
Any student that gets a LEVEL 1 or BELOW LEVEL 1 proficiency score on the first ATI exam must do remediation consisting of a professor approved study plan that is a minimum of 8 hours. Remediation time will be tracked through your online access. You are responsible for logging this time & emailing the log to the professor weekly before class. This time is in addition to course assignments/exams and any time spent doing course assignments/ATI exams (e.g., exam tickets or exams) will not count towards this required remediation time. It is the student’s responsibility to meet with the professor within 3 business days of taking the ATI to develop an approved study plan. You must come prepared with a SMART goal plan to present. You must meet with the professor weekly to discuss your progress. Remediation must be completed at least one week prior to the next ATI exam date/time. Failure to complete remediation for any ATI exam or failure to meet with the professor will jeopardize your likelihood of passing the course.

Mental Health Presentation – 15%

Create a presentation about one of the major mental health diagnosis, write a case study and 2 NCLEX style questions on your assigned topic. You will present the case study in class to advance everyone’s knowledge and clinical judgement through experience and sharing.

You will prepare a focused, approximately 15-minute presentation including a case study.

The presentation needs to include the following:

• 1. BRIEF overview of the condition/topic – what do we NEED TO KNOW?
• 2. Common or expected signs/symptoms (S/S) (DSM-5 criteria)
• 3. What conditions/etc. can mimic these S/S or present similarly (i.e., what other causes should be considered or ruled out?)
• 4. Most relevant/important pharmacological measures
• 5. Most relevant/important non-pharmacological measures
• 6. Potential issues/complications
• 7. Nursing assessment & intervention priorities.

You present your assigned topic on the corresponding assigned date, or the late policy will apply. You upload your work onto Canvas by 11:59pm the Monday BEFORE you present. You may include the NCLEX style questions in your presentation. They will be used in quizzes.

Mental Health Presentation Rubric

CompleteIncomplete
BRIEF overview of the condition/topic
10 pts Or missing-0 10 pts

CompleteIncomplete
DSM Criteria clearly presented
10 pts Or missing-0 10 pts

CompleteIncomplete
What conditions/etc. can mimic these S/S or present similarly
10 pts Or missing-0 10 pts

CompleteIncomplete
Most relevant/important pharmacological measures
10 pts Or missing-0 10 pts

CompleteIncomplete
Most relevant/important non-pharmacological measures
10 pts Or missing-0 10 pts

CompleteIncomplete
Potential issues/complications with illness and/or treatment.
10 pts Or missing-0 10 pts

CompleteIncomplete
Nursing assessment & intervention priorities
10 pts Or missing-0 10 pts

Clear Picture
Case Study (Case studies for all mental health conditions presented that day should be combined at the end of the presentation.
Unclear picture of illness.
10/5
5 pts.
10 pts.

On time Late
NCLEX style questions submitted by the Monday before your presentation-with correct answers
10/5
10 pts. 5 pts.

Within the 15 minute time frame 10pts. <12 or>20= 0 pts. 10/0

TOTAL POINTS: 100

Assignments are due at the time designated by faculty. Due dates/times are posted in the syllabus/course calendar. If you know you will miss a class in advance of the due date/time submit materials early IF the assignment permits. Anything submitted after the deadline may earn a zero.

Regular attendance at all classes is expected. You will not be allowed to take the daily quiz if you are not in class and will lose attendance points for that day.

Prerequisite(s): NURS 3212 and NURS 4322 and NURS 4332 and NURS 4367 and NURS 4342 and NURS 4352

Prerequisite Min. Grade - C

Registration Restriction(s): Admittance into the HP to BSN Nursing program

Two (2) credit hours (two classroom hours per week). Must be completed with a grade of “C” (2.0) or better. (Fall) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

Semester long course guidelines: Emails from students in semester-long classes must be responded to within three business days (Definition of business day: Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and does not include holidays). All assignments must be graded within seven calendar days of due date for semester-long courses. If faculty need an extension to grade assignments because of assignment length, holiday, or other circumstances, faculty will notify students in advance. Assignments need to be graded in sufficient time to allow students to improve and build upon their learning for subsequent assignments.

You are expected to manage your own transportation and assume your own risks when traveling to and from classes, labs, or clinical experiences and when performing duties in class, lab, or clinical experiences. There are inherent risks involved in travel and in lab and clinical experiences. The most obvious risks are accidents, contracting infections or other communicable diseases, or workplace violence. Please take common precautions to prevent accidents, infections and violence.

When students use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process for this course, students should only use these technologies to improve readability and language, or to generate a basic skeleton of ideas for assignment content. Applying these technologies should be done with careful oversight, and students should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate good-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. SUU Policy#6.33 on academic integrity should be followed when using AI. If you are unsure to what extent to use AI as part of an assignment, please reach out to me before the assignment is due. If a student uses AI-assisted technologies, the student should disclose in their assignment the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the assignment by following the instructions below. This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement. Any assignment which has been determined by the professor (using the tools provided by SUU to monitor academic integrity) to have been created using these technologies which were not disclosed by the student is subject to failure.

Disclosure Instructions:
Students must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding this statement at the end of their assignment:

Statement: During the preparation of this work [THE STUDENT(S)] used [NAME TOOL /SERVICE] in order to [REASON].