School Of Nursing And MidwiferyPsychopharmacology for Advanced Practice Mental Health NursesWestern Sydney University Unit Code: 400858.3
Discipline: MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Student Contribution Band: 1
Level: 7
Credit Points: 10
Assumed Knowledge
Students are expected to have a working knowledge of mental health assessment and treatment procedures, including basic pharmacological principles and knowledge of drugs used for mental illnesses and disorders.
Prerequisite
Students enrolled in 4673 Master of Mental Health Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) must pass the following units to be able to enrol in this unit: 400238 Policy, Power and Politics in Health Care Provision AND 400777 Leadership for Quality and Safety in Health Care AND 400957 Biological Considerations in Mental Health and Mental Illness for Advanced Practice.
Students in 4673 must be working in mental health services at an advanced clinical practice level and must nominate a primary supervisor/mentor/assessor a clinical support group.
Unit Enrolment Restrictions
Students must be enrolled in 4673 Master of Mental Health Nursing (Nurse Practitioner), 4719 Master of Mental Health Nursing or 4745 Master of Nurse Practitioner (Mental Health).
About this Unit
This unit examines pharmacological principles including functional neuroanatomy review, pharmacokinetic principles, pharmacodynamic principles, and neuropharmacology. Students examine a number of psychotropic drugs: antipsychotic, mood stabilisers, complementary medicines, drugs of abuse/misuse, antidepressant, anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs in relation to targeted symptoms, titration, side-effects, and monitoring of clients from across the lifespan. Decision-making in psychopharmacology is explored. The importance of appropriate collaborative processes between the nurse practitioner, clients across the lifespan and their families in medication management is addressed.