Working on a newly opened observation unit in the hospital
You are working on a newly opened observation unit in the hospital. Recently there has been an overflow of suicidal clients awaiting placement at the psychiatric facility. The staff recognizes there is not a fully developed policy on how to safely care for a suicidal client. Working together with case management and other staff nurses, you have been asked to create policy recommendations. Your recommendations should include:
How to create a safe environment
Considerations or actions needed when a client is admitted or discharged
Considerations or actions during the client’s admission (length of stay)
Identify allowable and restricted personal items for the client
Expectations of client monitoring
Describe the requirements of how the client is to be monitored, how often, and by whom.
Nursing Considerations
Expectations of nursing interactions when dealing with suicidal client
Required documentation expectations
Describe the roles of CNA, LPN, RN
Format:
Standard American English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.)
Logical, original and insightful
Sample Solution
Our society`s awareness of mental health has increased greatly over the past twenty years, but, sadly, psychiatric services found in emergency departments have not evolved in the same manner. Today, these emergency departments seem outdated in their efforts to treat psychiatric conditions. However, putting more effort to transform the typical environments found here could be the key to weakening the stigma surrounding psychiatric departments. As the population that suffers from mental health conditions increases every day, we owe it to those individuals to update psychiatric services to provide safe, secure environments where we can ultimately focus on their long-term health. This may be accomplished by updating staff training so healthcare providers are more knowledgeable in how to respond to behavioral emergencies.
