No abstract

There are growing concerns identified in the literature about the lack of quality clinical placements in mental health for undergraduate nursing students. This study outlines an innovative student programme, designed and implemented by clinicians, committed to providing a quality clinical placement for students. The programme was evaluated by the use of an open-ended questionnaire administered to a sample of 10 undergraduate nursing students. Results of this evaluation suggested that the programme was able to provide a positive clinical experience in mental health for nursing students and is worthy of a more controlled investigation.

Families play a major role in promoting recovery and preventing relapse following the first psychotic episode. This paper presents a multiple family group education programme for the families of clients with first episode psychosis. The educational needs of the families are also discussed. The results of this evaluation show that the programme improved the families' perceptions of their overall knowledge and understanding of mental illness and its treatment. This evaluation demonstrates the efficacy of such groups and the key role of community mental health nurses in providing family interventions.

Care zoning remains a highly applicable model for the psychiatric intensive care unit environment and is a useful tool in guiding nurses to carry out routine patient risk assessments.