Role of a Nurse in Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Promotion - Essay Sample

Proper mental health is essential in the process of acquiring general physical health. The World Health Organization refers to mental health as a condition of social, psychological, emotional, and physical well-being. An individual is at their productive state and able to correlate with the environment. Undiagnosed or untreated cases of mental health illnesses may be associated with a lack of treatment access and stigma with regards to psychological well-being. Teenagers and youths have been reported to attempt suicide more than the rest of the population within a region. Suicide is referred to as self-inflicted death-based om evidence to prove an intention to die by the victim. The roles of a nurse in suicide prevention take the form of both systems and patient-level interventions.

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At the systems level of suicide prevention and mental health promotion, the nurse assesses and maintains environmental safety, develops practices non-tolerant to suicide, develops protocols and policies for patient relations. The patient-level of prevention, on the other hand, the nurses follow various procedures that involve suicide risk assessment, provision of psychotherapy interventions designed specifically regarding mental illness, and then monitoring the results.

Nurses manage personal reactions, beliefs, and attitudes as mental health promotion and suicide prevention strategies. The nurses attempt to demonstrate a connection between the type of emotional responses, ideas, and perspectives by these patients with previous suicide experience (McDevitt & McDevitt, 2020). To achieve this, the psychiatric nurses examine the impact of their emotional responses on the patients. Root Cause Analysis and the failure mode and effect analysis are also further conducted whenever they attempt suicide within the hospital.

Nurses promote mental well-being and prevent suicide through the formation of a collaborative relationship with these patients. Nurses treat suicidal patients without judgment and provide support to both the patient and his family. The emotional safety that develops in a patient increases their mental stability and prevents suicide. This relationship is also educative as the nurse educates their patients regarding aspects of suicide without ignoring the patient’s mental health condition hence recognizing their need for hopefulness. Through the collaborative relationship between nurses and patients, suicide is also prevented through realistic assessments conducted beyond the available service settings. Plans and outcomes constant comparison enables the application of proper interventions due to data tracking and follow-ups.

The psychiatric nurses collect accurate assessment data and alert the treatment teams in cases of risks. Psychiatric nurses are responsible for conducting an independent risk assessment for self-aimed harm; this may be an event after admission or constantly occurrent through the hospitalization duration. In this context, risk factors may be modifiable or non-modifiable (Slemon, Jenkins & Bungay, 2017). The independent risk assessment is facilitated by mental status exam, full suicidal inquiry, and triggers to mental health deterioration. Nurses also analyze patient behavior in this category through minimization or exaggeration of illnesses, which may serve as indicators for the cute disease of dysfunction. Experience with self-directed violence is also used by nurses to ensure the prevention of suicide and poor mental health.

Risk assessments conducted by the psychiatric nurses serve a significant role in suicide prevention and proper mental health promotion. The risk assessment process involves a clinical judgment of the type of risk that the patient is likely to commit suicide both in the long-term and short-term basis. The nurse, therefore, contributes to their participation as a team player in the interprofessional team through these risk-based assessment data collection and analysis. Through risk assessments, a patient’s character is distinguished from self-aimed harm to die and the difference between their chronic and acute suicidal behavior. The nurses further identify a patient’s intent with risk minimization or exaggeration.

Nurses reduce the rates of suicide and promote proper mental well-being through the care-based programs for psychiatric patients conducted with continuous assessments. The patient’s variable for safety is provided with the least limitations (Thomas et al., 2016). Psychological well-being is enhanced and attained through the highly modified caregiving programs drawn by the nurse with a patient's family and friends through this method. A nurse collaborates with other mental health professionals for treatment and interdisciplinary teamwork. Through this method, the nurse's role in the documentation of medical records and reviewing and comparing standards of medication is also essential.

Nurses play a role in preventing suicide through their understanding of ethical and legal issues associated with suicide. The nurses, therefore, are granted by the state a right to privacy for their suicide data; they also use this understanding to create functioning relations with suicidal patients. Nurses also promote better psychological well-being and prevent suicide through risk documentation. Suicide risks, when documented with compatible intervention methods, act as a hindrance to suicide. Documents also serve as initial assessments as they may be referred to later for evidence-based strategies and advancements.

References

McDevitt, D., & McDevitt, M. F. (2020). Behind the shield: Promoting mental health for law enforcement personnel. Nursing2020, 50(6), 62-65.

Slemon, A., Jenkins, E., & Bungay, V. (2017). Safety in psychiatric inpatient care: The impact of risk management culture on mental health nursing practice. Nursing Inquiry, 24(4), e12199.

Thomas, S., Jenkins, R., Burch, T., Calamos Nasir, L., Fisher, B., Giotaki, G., ... & Millington-Sanders, C. (2016). Promoting mental health and preventing mental illness in general practice. London journal of primary care, 8(1), 3-9.