assessment

Desired Clinical Skills for Students to Achieve

Confident (Can complete independently)

Mostly confident (Can complete with supervision)

Beginning (Have performed with supervision or need supervision to feel confident)

New (Have never performed or does not apply)

Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation skills in: 

Recognizing clinical signs and symptoms of psychiatric illness across the lifespan

X

Differentiating between pathophysiological and psychopathological conditions 

X

Performing and interpreting a comprehensive and/or interval history and physical examination (including laboratory and diagnostic studies) 

X

Performing and interpreting a mental status examination 

X

Performing and interpreting a psychosocial assessment and family psychiatric history 

X

Performing and interpreting a functional assessment (activities of daily living, occupational, social, leisure, educational).

X

Diagnostic reasoning skill in:

Developing and prioritizing a differential diagnoses list

X

Formulating diagnoses according to DSM 5 based on assessment data 

X

Differentiating between normal/abnormal age-related physiological and psychological symptoms/changes

X

Pharmacotherapeutic skills in:

Selecting appropriate evidence based clinical practice guidelines for medication plan (e.g., risk/benefit, patient preference, developmental considerations, financial, the process of informed consent, symptom management) 

X

Evaluating patient response and modify plan as necessary 

X

Documenting (e.g., adverse reaction, the patient response, changes to the plan of care)

X

Psychotherapeutic Treatment Planning:

Recognizes concepts of therapeutic modalities across the lifespan

X

Selecting appropriate evidence based clinical practice guidelines for psychotherapeutic plan (e.g., risk/benefit, patient preference, developmental considerations, financial, the process of informed consent, symptom management, modality appropriate for situation) 

X

Applies age appropriate psychotherapeutic counseling techniques with individuals, families, and/or groups

X

Develop an age appropriate individualized plan of care

X

Provide psychoeducation to individuals, family, and/or groups

X

Promote health and disease prevention techniques

X

Self-Assessment skills:

Develop SMART goals for practicum experiences 

X

Evaluating outcomes of practicum goals and modify plan as necessary 

X

Documenting and reflecting on learning experiences

X

Professional skills:

Maintains professional boundaries and therapeutic relationship with clients and staff

X

Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to improve clinical practice in mental health settings 

X

Identifies ethical and legal dilemmas with possible resolutions

X

Demonstrates non-judgmental practice approach and empathy

X

Practices within scope of practice

Selecting and implementing appropriate screening instrument(s), interpreting results, and making recommendations and referrals:

Demonstrates selecting the correct screening instrument appropriate for the clinical situation 

X

Implements the screening instrument efficiently and effectively with the clients

X

Interprets results for screening instruments accurately

X

Develops an appropriate plan of care based upon screening instruments response

X

Identifies the need to refer to another specialty provider when applicable

X

Accurately documents recommendations for psychiatric consultations when applicable

X

This practicum experience has provided me with in-depth knowledge and expertise in important clinical skills and competencies. When interacting with patients and their families, we always strive to treat them with compassion. I can identify clinical signs of mental illness. I have evaluated various people suffering from various mental disorders. During my clinical rotations, I interacted with a variety of people facing different challenges. I try to find out, for example, if the patient has lost interest in normal activities or is persistently depressed. Able to build and maintain trusting relationships with patients. I avoid having multiple relationships with one patient. I know when to refer a patient to the next available therapist if I feel that a patient's emotional connection to me may be detrimental to their treatment. I treat my patients with respect and compassion, regardless of their race, sexual orientation, gender, age, or health condition. I believe that everyone should have access to quality health care, no matter how different they are. According to Bennett (2017), one of the most effective ways to increase patient trust and diversity is to maintain a nonjudgmental attitude in healthcare.

spending more time with my preceptor is one area I need to make an effort, to clarify some points that still need to be worked on. One such issue is improving the process of conducting and analyzing psychosocial assessments and family psychiatric backgrounds. I still lack specialized knowledge in conducting psychological assessments. It would be helpful if this information could be linked to the psychological background of the family. Data allows you to make more informed diagnoses for a wider range of patients. The knowledge gained from preceptors in conducting and analyzing psychosocial assessments and family mental health histories will be invaluable. As a nurse, I need to expand my knowledge base and access additional professional tools by participating in networking activities. Providing mental health care to low-income households through volunteering is a fourth development possibility. Volunteer work allows me to interact with a variety of patients and gain insight into different aspects of mental health treatment (Wills et al., 2020). I plan to use some of my free time on weekends and certain days of the week to volunteer. An example is the prevalence of depression and other mental health issues among Louisiana's diverse population as they prepare for the onslaught of Hurricane Ida. I want to use Walden Library to improve my knowledge and skills. We will be looking at peer-reviewed publications to find the most up-to-date, accurate, evidence-based data. Thanks to the reliable data you provided, we can now better identify trends in mental health care.

1. Goal: To develop appropriate analysis, differentiation, treatment and monitoring strategies

a. Objective: To be able to arrive at a diagnosis, using a variety of methods within 10 weeks of training.

b. Objective: To develop a possible diagnosis using my expert nursing judgment within 10 weeks of training.

c. Objective: To be able to make a therapy and monitoring strategy that will work within 10 weeks of training.

2. Goal: To know how to correctly select the psychiatric diagnostic screening techniques that are most useful for a particular patient.

a. Objective: To be able to use my understanding of nursing to locate and evaluate potential screening methods within 10 weeks of training.

b. Objective: To be able to apply my in-depth knowledge as a nurse to determine the specific signs that indicate a certain mental disorder within 10 weeks of training.

c. Objective: To be able to make professional nursing judgments regarding the selection and use of diagnostic equipment within 10 weeks of training.

3. Goal: To enhance my ability to effectively convey knowledge to patients, relatives, as well as interdisciplinary groups.

a. Objective: To be able to provide information to patients and their loved ones using a variety of ways, within 10 weeks of training.

b. Objective: To establish open communication channels to foster productive partnerships with interdisciplinary groups within 10 weeks of training.

c. Objective: To be able to connect with the interdisciplinary groups via my words and build trusting relationships with them within 10 weeks of training.

4. Goal: To gain confidence of patients by always doing the right things with respect to legal and professional ethics

a. Objective: To ensure constant, cordial communication with patients within 10 weeks of training.

b. Objective: To respect applicable laws and ethical guidelines while caring for patients from diverse backgrounds within 10 weeks of training.

c. Objective: To utilize my nursing expertise to improve my understanding of cultural differences and shifts within 10 weeks of training.