I wanted to briefly address the need to emphasize suicide risk assessment in the acute care setting. I see in this inpatient setting a hesitancy by many nurses to assess patients for suicide risk. As acute care nurses, we often overlook the psychiatric components to our patients health and as a result, do not give the care often needed by our patient population. As psychiatirc illness can play the role of contributing factor in some physical illness, I do see it as necessary to not forget this aspect of our nursing assessment, espcially on patient admission. We are often afriad of offending or creating an awkward introduction to our patient/ nurse relationship, however I do see this as an obstacle that we, as nurses need to overcome to provide adequate care to our patients. The more open we are in addressing psychiatric needs, such as suicide risk or other chronic psych illnesses, the better trust we will build with our patients.
Technorati Tags: Forensic Nursing, Forensic Nursing Chronicles, Forensic Nursing Theories, Suicide Risk Assessment
Forensic Nursing Chronicles 