Internship

Clinical practice represents 50% of the undergraduate nursing programme and the development of skills, knowledge, professional behaviour and attitudes represents a key component in the undergraduate nursing students’ attainment of competence to practice as a registered psychiatric nurse (NMBI, 2017). The NMBI (2016) defines competence as the attainment of knowledge, intellectual capacities, practice skills, integrity and professional and ethical values required for safe, accountable and effective practice as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse. Thus the aim of Internship module is to facilitate the student psychiatric mental health nurse in making the transition to the role of Registered Psychiatric nurse and seeks to include opportunities to utilise the skills of critical analysis, problem solving, decision making, reflective practice skills and to facilitate the student to competently apply a systematic approach to the provision of person centred practice to an allocation of 4-6 service users under the distant supervision of a registered psychiatric nurse (NMBI, 2018). It further aims to enable competency assessment at Competent Level at end of Internship placement period.

Competence encompasses six domains of practice and these statements provide an enabling framework to facilitate acquisition and assessment of the intern psychiatric nurse’s practice learning:

Domain 1: Professional values and conduct of the nurse competences

Knowledge and appreciation of the virtues of caring, compassion, integrity, honesty, respect and empathy as a basis for upholding the professional values of nursing and identity as a nurse.

Domain 2: Nursing practice and clinical decision making competences

Knowledge and understanding of the principles of delivering safe and effective nursing care through the adoption of a systematic and problem-solving approach to developing and delivering a person-centred plan of care based on an explicit partnership with the person and his/her primary carer.

Domain 3: Knowledge and cognitive competences

Knowledge and understanding of the health continuum, life and behavioural sciences and their applied principles that underpin a competent knowledge base for nursing and healthcare practice.

Domain 4: Communication and interpersonal competences

Knowledge, appreciation and development of empathic communication skills and techniques for effective interpersonal relationships with people and other professionals in health care settings.

Domain 5: Management and team competences

Using management and team competences in working for the person’s wellbeing, recovery, independence and safety through recognition of the collaborative partnership between the person, family and multidisciplinary health care team.

Domain 6: Leadership and professional scholarship competences

Developing professional scholarship through self-directed learning skills, critical questioning/ reasoning skills and decision-making skills in nursing as the foundation for lifelong professional education, maintaining competency and career development.

1. Acquire the knowledge, professional values and psychiatric mental health nursing competences to fulfil the role of the Registered Psychiatric Nurse to deliver safe, high quality, compassionate, ethical, legal and accountable practice across the life spectrum and in diverse mental health care settings.

2. Demonstrate knowledge, clinical skills and professional behaviours that are underpinned by the Scope of Nursing and Midwifery Practice Framework (NMBI 2015) and the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurse and Registered Midwives (NMBI 2014).

3. Apply theoretical principles to the practice of psychiatric mental health nursing using professional judgement, critical reasoning, problem-solving and reflection derived from an evidence base of nursing and from the applied life, health and social sciences.

4. Deliver person-centred, high quality and safe psychiatric mental health nursing care based on a collaborative relationship with service users and their supporters, that respects her/his dignity, autonomy, self-determination and rights to make health and life choices across the health spectrum

5. Demonstrate skills of effective communication, delegation, inter-professional liaison and team working to promote the quality and safety of the mental health care environment

6. Maintain competence to develop and enhance the capacity for self awareness, reflective practice, leadership and professional scholarship

7. Apply evidence from an appraisal of research studies relevant to psychiatric mental health nursing to the practice of psychiatric mental health nursing

8. Practice at Competent Level to assess, plan, prioritise, deliver and evaluate psychiatric mental health nursing care based on a comprehensive and systematic assessment of health and psychiatric mental health nursing needs in consultation with the person receiving such care, their representative and the multi-disciplinary team