Informatics meshes technology and information into something useful. In nursing, informatics uses media such as health portals, mobile apps, social networking, and telehealth to aide nurses, patients and other stakeholders in decision making. When utilizing informatics our knowledge increases, we communicate better, we become more efficient with our job, and we provide better patient care. As a hospice nurse, I often admit patients with very little to no medical history. My scenario would be to have a database that shares all health information for patients. If this would be available, decisions could be made that is in the best interest of the patient immediately and not have to wait for information to be sent. When having to wait, it impedes patient care and often has to backtrack and change the plan of care. Many times there is vital medical history missed because the patient/family member is a poor historian due to disease process or stress of the situation. If there is one database for all information potential medication errors could be avoided because you would know information such as allergies, current and previous medications prescribed. This technology is already available to some extent in the prescription pain medicine world. The prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) is a database that keeps track of controlled substances being prescribed. This is used in the fight against the opioid epidemic occurring today. This idea is not new but has not come to fruition yet. If this was to occur, HIPPA would have to be strictly maintained. This could happen by having the patient sign an agreement allowing their information to be in the database and every provider having access to it. Many people travel even state to state and if there was a national database, all health records would be available at the fingertips of the provider no matter where the patient was allowing efficient and knowledgeable patient care. Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). What is Informatics? [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Health Informatics and Population Health: Trends in Population Health [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. Discussion Topics, Mohr Chapter 6, Culture Discussion Topics Learning Objective 1. During her first semester of nursing school, Felecia was assigned to a patient belonging to the American Indian culture. Felicia began to compare her own cultural beliefs with that of her patient. a. To what ethnic, socioeconomic class, and community do you feel a part of or belong? b. What are the values of your cultural group? c. What are your attitudes toward people who are different from you in appearance or behavior? 1, 2, 10 2. When caring for an individual who belongs to a different culture, there may be variations in health concept and promotion. a. List a cultural group, what their concept of health may be, and discuss variations as well as potential health promotion beliefs. 6 3. Maria is a .

1. Informatics meshes technology and information into something
useful. In nursing, informatics uses media such as health
portals, mobile apps, social networking, and telehealth to aide
nurses, patients and other stakeholders in decision making.
When utilizing informatics our knowledge increases, we
communicate better, we become more efficient with our job, and
we provide better patient care.
As a hospice nurse, I often admit patients with very little to no
medical history. My scenario would be to have a database that
shares all health information for patients. If this would be
available, decisions could be made that is in the best interest of
the patient immediately and not have to wait for information to
be sent. When having to wait, it impedes patient care and often
has to backtrack and change the plan of care. Many times there
is vital medical history missed because the patient/family
member is a poor historian due to disease process or stress of
the situation. If there is one database for all information
potential medication errors could be avoided because you would
know information such as allergies, current and previous
medications prescribed.
This technology is already available to some extent in the
prescription pain medicine world. The prescription drug
monitoring program (PDMP) is a database that keeps track of
controlled substances being prescribed. This is used in the fight
against the opioid epidemic occurring today.
This idea is not new but has not come to fruition yet. If this was
to occur, HIPPA would have to be strictly maintained. This
could happen by having the patient sign an agreement allowing
their information to be in the database and every provider
having access to it. Many people travel even state to state and if
there was a national database, all health records would be
available at the fingertips of the provider no matter where the
patient was allowing efficient and knowledgeable patient care.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). What is Informatics?

2. [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Health Informatics and
Population Health: Trends in Population Health [Video file].
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Discussion Topics, Mohr
Chapter 6, Culture
Discussion Topics
Learning Objective
1. During her first semester of nursing school, Felecia was
assigned to a patient belonging to the American Indian culture.
Felicia began to compare her own cultural beliefs with that of
her patient.
a. To what ethnic, socioeconomic class, and community do you
feel a part of or belong?
b. What are the values of your cultural group?
c. What are your attitudes toward people who are different from
you in appearance or behavior?
1, 2, 10
2. When caring for an individual who belongs to a different
culture, there may be variations in health concept and
promotion.
a. List a cultural group, what their concept of health may be,
and discuss variations as well as potential health promotion
beliefs.
6
3. Maria is a 26-year-old woman who lived in Mexico until the
age of 20. She has been experiencing severe depression but is
afraid to seek treatment.
a. List and explain one of the reasons why minority groups may
display resistance to, and feel uncomfortable about, seeking
mental health services.
b. What religious or spiritual influences may be affecting
Maria’s decision?
c. How could racial bias affect Maria?

3. d. Identify some cultural barriers to treatment Maria may face.
4, 5
4. During your fourth semester of nursing school, you are peer
mentoring a first-semester nursing student. You are discussing
culturally competent nursing care.
a. Identify the four critical skills that nurses need in order to
provide culturally sensitive and competent care for the mental
health client.
b. Describe an example of how each of these skills could be
incorporated into the care of a client of Asian descent.
8, 9
Discussion Topics, Mohr
Chapter 7, Spirituality in Psychiatric Care
Discussion Topics
Learning Objective
1. While caring for a mental health client, the client begins to
discuss issues he is having related to religion and spirituality.
He says, “My parents go to church all the time and because I
don’t go, they think I am not a good person. I believe in God, I
just don’t believe in everything my parents’ religion teaches.”
a. In your opinion, what is the difference between spirituality
and religion?
b. Would you feel comfortable talking with a client about
religious or spiritual issues? Why or why not?
c. If you do not feel comfortable talking with a client about
religion or spirituality, to whom would you refer the client?
1, 5, 6
2. You are having a conversation with a client about values.
After the conversation, you begin to think about your own
values and what they mean to you.
a. What values are important to you?
b. What influences your values?
c. Why is it important to be aware of your own values?

4. 5
3. Shandra is a 54-year-old woman who has severe clinical
depression. She was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago
and went through chemotherapy. She describes the experience
as “the worst time of my life.” Six months ago, she was told
that the cancer had returned. She has made the decision not to
go through chemotherapy a second time. She has been overheard
saying, “What did I do to deserve this?” and “God must really
be mad at me for something.” After talking with Shandra, the
mental health nurse arrives at a nursing diagnosis of Readiness
for Enhanced Spiritual Well-being.
a. What interventions may be implemented for Shandra?
b. When would spiritual interventions be contraindicated?
c. What ethical concerns need to be considered when developing
nursing interventions related to religion and spirituality?
5, 8, 9
4. A mental health client presents to your psychiatric facility.
You are the nurse conducting the spiritual assessment.
a. Why do you believe a spiritual assessment is important?
b. What are the components of a spiritual assessment?
c. What are some open-ended questions you could ask to
facilitate better communication with the client?
Discussion Topics, Mohr
Chapter 8, Nursing Values, Attitudes, and Self-Awareness
Discussion Topics
Learning Objective
1. It has been found that in a group setting, people may act in a
way that is not within their typical character.
a. Read the information in the chapter about Zimbardo’s
“Stanford Prison Experiment.” How do you think you would
have acted as a prison guard or as a prisoner?
b. Have you ever been influenced by a group to behave in a

5. manner that you normally would not have if you were alone?
How do you feel about that behavior now?
2
2. Jessica is a 24-year-old woman who is suffering from
depression. Her boyfriend of 2 years recently committed
suicide, and she has been trying to figure out why.
a. What is the difference between dispositional and situational
factors?
b. Jessica overhears someone say that Jessica has been a
“psycho” ever since her boyfriend killed himself. Discuss the
implications of labeling and social perception.
c. Discuss Rosenhan’s study and how it relates to labeling.
2, 3
3. Mark is a psychiatric nurse who has been working in a mental
health facility for 15 years. At the end of his shift, the nurse to
whom he needs to give report walks into the nurse’s station.
Mark says, “I can’t wait to get out of here, I can’t deal with
these crazy people any more.” A patient overhears his statement
and begins to cry.
a. What are the signs of professional burnout in the workplace?
b. What methods could Mark use to manage his stress/burnout?
5, 6
4. You are a nursing student doing your clinical rotation in the
local emergency department. You witness a case of horizontal
violence between a nurse of 25 years’ experience against a new
graduate nurse. Your nursing instructor asks you to discuss in
class what you witnessed.
a. What is horizontal violence?
b. From what you witnessed, how do you believe horizontal
violence affects the nurse?
4
Discussion Topics, Mohr
Chapter 9, The Nursing Process in Psychiatric–Mental Health
Care

6. Discussion Topics
Learning Objective
1. Wanda is a 34-year-old woman who was raped at the age of
17. She has never told anyone about her experience. Whenever
she starts to think about the event, Wanda drinks heavily to
forget about the emotional pain. She has been avoiding social
situations because being in a crowd makes her very anxious.
Two weeks ago while shopping, she suffered a panic attack and
had to be taken to the hospital. She has pushed away all family
members and has no one left in her immediate support system.
a. Develop a nursing diagnosis that would be appropriate for
Wanda.
b. What assessment information from the case supports your
diagnosis?
c. Create a list of at least three short-term and one long-term
outcome for the nursing diagnosis.
1, 3, 5
2. You are conducting an admission interview with Linda, a 47-
year-old woman whose husband died from a car accident 2
months ago. She was admitted due to a suicide attempt and
states during the interview that she has “nothing to live for.”
She says that she has been drinking alcohol regularly to “numb
the pain” and to help her sleep at night. After the interview, you
develop a list of nursing diagnoses, which includes the
following:
· Dysfunctional Grieving related to lack of adequate support
secondary to loss of spouse as evidenced by client’s statement
of having “nothing to live for.”
· Ineffective Individual Coping related to substance abuse and
inappropriate coping mechanisms as evidenced by client’s
statement of using alcohol to “numb the pain.”
· Sleep Pattern Disturbance related to lifestyle disruption as
evidenced by client’s statement that alcohol is used to assist
with sleeping.
a. For each nursing diagnosis, develop appropriate long-term

7. and short-term goals.
b. For each nursing diagnosis, develop appropriate
interventions.
c. How will you evaluate if these nursing diagnoses were
effective?
d. Where will you document these nursing diagnosis and
interventions and why?
7, 8, 9
3. After completing a care plan for a mental health client, you
have been asked to document in the client’s record.
a. Why is documenting in the care record necessary?
b. When documenting the nursing process, why key components
and principles need to remain consistent?
c. Compare and contract narrative, SOAP, and PIE charting.
9
4. Your nursing instructor has just demonstrated a psychosocial
assessment for you in the clinical setting. Your fellow nursing
student did not see this demonstration, so you decide to
enlighten her.
a. What is a psychosocial assessment?
b. Explain the components of the psychosocial assessment.
c. Provide an example question for each dimension.
2
5. You are doing your student nurse clinical rotation on the
inpatient psychiatric unit when you hear the physician mention
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). This interests you
and you decide to investigate.
a. What is the DSM-IV-TR? What is its purpose?
b. Why do you believe knowledge of the DSM-IV-TR is
important for psychiatric nurses?
Discussion Topics, Mohr
Chapter 10, The Interview and Assessment Process
Discussion Topics

8. Learning Objective
1. You have been asked to conduct an interview for a
psychiatric–mental health client.
a. What part of conducting an interview to obtain psychosocial
data on a client is most difficult for you?
b. What part of conducting an interview to obtain psychosocial
data on a client is relatively easy for you?
c. What are your strengths as an interviewer and what skills do
you need to develop?
1, 2
2. You are working at a psychiatric–mental health facility that
uses the PERSONS acronym for collecting data in the initial
patient assessment.
a. Choose one of the letters of this acronym and explain the data
that would be collected under that letter.
b. For your chosen area, list five questions that you would ask
to elicit information from a psychiatric–mental health client.
2
3. The nurse is caring for a 39-year-old American Indian
psychiatric mental health client.
a. What is the importance of assessing cultural needs in a
psychiatric–mental health client?
b. What is the importance of assessing spiritual needs in a
psychiatric–mental health client?
4
4. Your nursing instructor lectured on standardized tools in
class today. You took good notes and you are attempting to
explain these tools for a fellow nursing student who was sick
and missed class.
a. What are some of the standardized tools your instructor
discussed? Which healthcare professional would use the tools
discussed? What are the tools used for?
b. Why do healthcare professionals use standardized tools?
3
Discussion Topics, Mohr

9. Chapter 11, Therapeutic Relationships and Communication
Discussion Topics
Learning Objective
1. You are learning about therapeutic communication in your
mental health nursing course and begin to evaluate your own
communication techniques.
a. List two therapeutic communication techniques that you
could use more often and how you would incorporate these
techniques into your communication patters.
b. List a nontherapeutic communication technique that you use,
explain why it is nontherapeutic, and tell how you can change it
to a therapeutic technique.
6
2. Your nursing instructor tells you that therapeutic
relationships are very important in mental healthcare to help
clients solve problems, cope more effectively, and achieve
developmental goals.
a. Choose one of the essential elements of a therapeutic
relationship and describe how you can develop this element
with a mental health client.
b. List one of the obstacles to establishing a therapeutic
relationship and describe how you can prevent this obstacle in
your own professional relationships.
1, 2
3. You are working as a mental health nurse and you are caring
for a patient suffering from anxiety and another suffering from
psychoses.
a. What techniques would you use to therapeutically
communicate with an individual suffering from anxiety?
b. What techniques would you use to therapeutically
communicate with an individual suffering from psychoses?
7
4. You are working on the psychiatric nursing unit and the
charge nurse assigns you a client with a depressive disorder.
You must implement the phases of the therapeutic relationship.

10. a. What are the phases of the therapeutic relationship? Describe
each phase.
b. What would you do at each phase to develop a relationship
with the depressed client?
3
5. Your nursing instructor has just been lecturing in the mental
health course about the importance of listening in the
therapeutic nurse-client relationship.
a. Describe what active listening means to you. What are the
components of active listening?
b. How will you incorporate active listening into your practice
as a nurse?
5
Discussion Topics, Mohr
Chapter 12, Working With the Multidisciplinary Team
Discussion Topics
Learning Objective
1. As a nurse, you are a part of the multidisciplinary team.
While working in a hospital, you are able to interact with
individuals from several different specialties.
a. Describe your experience in coordinating services with
occupational therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, registered
dietitians, and social workers. If you have not had this
experience, describe the interactions that you have witnessed in
the healthcare setting.
b. What do you believe the benefits are to working with
individuals within these specialties?
1
2. A child is experiencing unusually high activity and is
diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The child is admitted to a mental health facility that
incorporates a multidisciplinary approach. When the child
returns to school, an individualized education program (IEP) is

11. developed.
a. Describe the role that a school psychologist, occupational
therapist, social worker, and a registered dietitian would play in
the care of this child.
b. Explain the purpose of the IEP and what is included in an
IEP.
2, 4
3. After being assessed by an occupational therapist, it is
determined that Katie, a 38-year-old woman, would benefit from
sensory integration.
a. Describe the systems, components, purpose, and dysfunction
manifestations identified in sensory integration.
2