Question

Discuss the role of the Registered nurse in the behaviour unit

Answer 1

The behavioural unit of a hospital is specialized to provide mental health care to the patients and hence a registered nurse has got an inevitable role to play here.The physical and psychiatric assessment skills combined with knowledge in psychopharmacology makes them experts to deal with a behavioural unit.

They provide direct as well as indirect care to their patients, which includes facilitating social and emotional needs, supervising medication schedules and evaluating patient progress,all of which is done by collaborating with a variety of interdisciplinary professionals to determine and provide the best possible care for their patients.

The most important roles can be discussed under the following headings:

1)As care managers:They can assess the patients' overall state and coordinate along with other health care providers in developing a treatment plan.Moreover,they can also review the condition of the patient periodically and make necessary interventions to prevent a relapse.

2)As patient educators:Registered nurses with their advanced level of knowledge and expertise can educate the patients as well as caregivers on the importance of compliance to therapy and on non pharmacological options as well.

3)As risk managers:Nurses who work as risk managers perform the task of reducing the probability of adverse outcomes related to patient care. They are commited to identifying various risk factors, individual problems, corrective actions and provides guidance to reduce risk and prevent loss.

4)As a liasion between the patients and the physician:This helps in optimising the therapy for the patient by enabling proper communication and conveyance of the problems and solutions.