Nursing an Adolescent in an Adult Inpatient Mental Health Unit

Abstract

In New Zealand many adolescents in need of acute mental health care are admitted to adult mental health units. This situation results in mental health nurses working in the inpatient setting, working with increasing numbers of adolescent patients. Nurses are therefore often presented with the challenge of how to meet, and address, the specialised health needs of this particular group of health consumers. Nurses whose experience lies in adult mental health and who are not accustomed to nursing adolescents, may easily become frustrated or bewildered by the adolescent patient. Adolescent behaviour can be misinterpreted by nurses, and their physical appearances can misguide nurses into treating them either like a child or an adult. These misconceptions can often have a negative effect on the adolescent patient, and may impinge on their mental health as well as affecting their developmental growth. This research paper reports on an exploration of the key elements nurses need to be aware of to effectively nurse adolescents in an adult inpatient unit. It describes the developmental needs and significant influences that affect this age-group, that when incorporated into nursing care, nurses can gain a therapeutic relationship with the adolescent. By means of a literature review, sharing my experience in nursing adolescents and through vignettes of practice, an illustration of some common situations that may occur during the adolescent's inpatient stay are described. These situations are explored and a perspective is offered on how nurses may be effective in their nursing of an adolescent patient from the point of admission through to discharge. More research is needed on adolescent mental health nursing, however nurses will be able to use this report as a helpful resource in their current practice.