The department strives to excel its services, based on the objectives statement. As a part of the prestigious premiere institutions- Father Muller charitable Institutions, the department of psychiatric nursing of Father Muller College of Nursing always works hard to maintain quality of services. Beside the basic nursing education programme being delivered, our department carries out a number of other well planned and organized programmes, which are ever helping the students to achieve the best outcome beyond their curricular requirements, and we foster the learners to develop and execute a strong sense of their social responsibilities for the suffering fellow men. The following programmes are regularly being planned and implemented by the department.
1. Nursing Education
Department takes its whole hearted effort for achieving the goal of providing nursing education in the field of mental health nursing par excellence. Well qualified and experienced faculty members, plenty of resources, departmental library, periodical evaluation of students' performance, hands on training in the clinical area under the direct supervision and guidance of lecturers/professors and the unconditional commitment of the faculty ensures that our role in imparting nursing education-theoretical, clinical, teaching skills and in nursing research of students fulfill the demand of the needs of society in this regard. Plenty of books and journals available in the departmental library and at the 'Knowledge Center' help the students to meet the need of their quest for knowledge.
2. Research and publications
Staff and students of the department conducts periodical research studies in the field of clinical area and issues/ trends relating to teaching strategies. The scientific proposals are approved by the ethical committee of the institution and would be evaluated by experts in the field before the process of study. Study results are presented in national /international conferences and published in peer reviewed journals. As far as possible, the study results are taken in to consideration for evidence based practice in the clinical area. Students are doing the research study under the expert guidance of Professors and Associate Professors. At present the department has undertaken research study funded by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) as well.
3. Direct care of patients/ Assisting in various therapies
Faculty and students are actively involved in the patient care at the psychiatry and de- addiction wards. coordinated activities with the staff of ward and other members of mental health team ensures the quality care of the patients based on our motto 'heal and comfort'. The physical and psychological needs of the clients are met by the staff and students. Each client is like a text book for the students and the students gain a vast knowledge on the disease aspect, communication techniques, psycho pharmacology, non pharmacological therapies and ECT care from the clinical area. Case presentations and case analysis of different patients by the students help them to improve the clinical skills, hence the teachers guide them minutely in these process.
4. Training and Supervision of the students
Both under graduate and post graduate nursing students are being trained under the department in the area of Mental Health Nursing. The faculty members mentor each students and individual attention is given to each one of them. The students are given excellent skill development in the area of class room teaching, case presentations, incidental teaching, drug presentations, process recording, work book preparation, and individual/ group research work and in the development of various psychiatric nursing techniques apart from mere theoretical learning. Individual assignment of the patient for students help them to learn and understand the case history, psycho dynamics and holistic care in depth.
5. Clinically coordinated activities with department of psychiatry
Department of psychiatric nursing plans and executes most of the patient centered activities in collaboration with department of psychiatry, Father Muller Medical College Hospital. The guidelines and interventions conceived by experienced doctors of the department always help in the smooth execution of various objective based activities collaboratively in the wards. Regular inter- departmental collaboration meetings under the chairmanship of the Administrators help in planning different cost effective programmes and evaluate the effectiveness of the programmes executed in the wards.
6. Nursing care for patients admitted in De-addiction Unit
Vailankanni ward (De- addiction Unit) of Father Muller Charitable Institutions is one of the oldest and famous de addiction centers of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka State. The students and faculty actively involve in assessment and intervention for the clients admitted in this ward. Various programmes including health education, and therapeutic sessions coordinated with psychiatric social workers and counselors of this ward helps to maintain a very strong therapeutic environment for the clients admitted, and thus providing an excellent place for the students to achieve clinical skills in the management and care of clients with substance abuse and alcohol addiction.
7. Psycho education for the patient and family members
Students are specially trained and assessed for providing psycho education for mentally ill clients and their family members. Clinical instructors and subject coordinators help the students in materializing the talk. The talk is based on the felt need of the client/ family members during assessment. Group of students plan, organize and conduct this session very effectively for the benefit of clients and their family members. Psycho education is given in the language of the clients, using different teaching strategies, power point presentations and video footage and the traditional methods like role play, psycho drama, puppet show, folk dance are also incorporated in the sessions.
8. Day care services and rehabilitation
Day care services mainly focuses on the rehabilitative achievement of the clients. Students find it as a special area of mental health nursing to understand the process of skill development of the clients during the re- transition stage to their previous stage of life. Trained psychiatric social workers and psychologists along with faculty of the department give every opportunity for the students to get maximum out of this exposure. Students get opportunity to actively involve in the day care activities of clients, like painting, paper bag making, and other games etc.
9. Community mental health services
Students are posted in the community area to provide community mental health services, which include assessment of mental health and illness, reporting the case to our hospital, imparting psycho education and conducting follow up care services for discharged clients. This posting helps the students to experience the pre - morbid, co - factors of mental illness in the community and make the people aware on the importance of mental hygiene and in the eradication of stigma against mentally ill, by educating the people on various issues and aspects on mental health and mental illness. The faculty monitor and guide the students in each step of their learning programme.
10. Clinical orientation workshop for the students
Usually students find mental health nursing involves a lot of soft skills requirement for the nurses, so the department has planned a clinical orientation programme of two different modules, designed for under graduate and post graduate nursing students separately. During the first week of the clinical posting of mental health nursing, the faculty conduct this programme in a series of sessions, covering both theory revision of the clinical skills and hands on demonstration for acquiring these soft skills which is absolutely necessary when dealing with mentally ill clients. This programme helps the students to refresh themselves to develop the clinical skills, so that by the end of clinical posting in the psychiatry and de-addiction unit, the learners are experts in the use of self, therapeutically by demonstrating the soft skills effectively.
11. Organizing regional level workshops and seminars
As we have a very good mental health unit (with a handsome number of in patients and out patients) attached with the department, lots of cases can be studied by hands on experience. Different strategies we developed and executed in clinical teaching and learning has been demonstrated its success undoubtedly. Evidenced based practices resulting from our own students' and faculty's scientific research methods have proven the effectiveness. Thus department organizes regional level workshops and seminars to impart this knowledge to the students and staff of other institutions those who utilize our Mental Health Center for training. This helps everybody to enrich their knowledge and keep them updated. Department has successfully organized a number of such workshops and staff development programmes.
12. Health Talks for the public
Mental illness is most stigmatized in many communities. We know that education helps the people to have light of wisdom with in them. The department conducts public talk for people, on various mental health issues and concerns. This periodical programme is done in association with various social organizations in and around Mangalore city. Faculty members deliver the lecture and discussion sessions in the local language, by adapting various Audio Visual aids.
13. Health Talk / Show in radio and TV channels
Faculty members of the department organize health talk on various mental health issues on the local television and radio channels. This programme usually being organized during mental health days of international significance. A large number of population is being benefited by this programme and it is been popularized so fast among the local and distant communities. The department actively take part in such programmes with all the seriousness of the topic.
14. Organizing and executing coordinated programmes with other departments
Mental health is the sum total of the holistic health of a person. By understanding this fact, the department organizes and conducts numerous educational, research, and skill development programmes with other departments of Father Muller College of Nursing. These programmes include workshops, seminars, community mental health programmes, women's mental health, students' teaching skills assessment, research studies etc.
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