Report on Progress of Professional Portfolio

Competency M-1 Mental Health and Addition Nursing

M-1-5
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of mental
health conditions/illness including:
IDENTIFY
COMPETENCY
NUMBER, LETTER
AND SUBCATEGORY

DESCRIBE ONE
SIGNIFICANT
LEARNING
EXPERIENCE IN THIS
COURSE RELATED
TO THE CLPNA
COMPETENCY.
PROVIDE AN
EXAMPLE

DESCRIBE WHAT

YOU LEARNED AND

HOW IT RELATES TO
THE COMPETENCY.
EXPLAIN WHY IT
WAS MEANINGFUL.

adjustment disorders, alcohol/substance, disorders,

Alzheimer's disease/dementia, anxiety disorders, brain
injury, neurocognitive disorders, developmental
disorders/spectrum disorders (autism, fetal alcohol),
eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa),
learning and behavioral disorders, mood disorders
(unipolar, bipolar, depression), personality disorders,
post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis,
schizophrenia, suicidal ideation
One area that I had significant learning in this course
was with Schizophrenia, most people have heard about
someone being Schizophrenic or paranoid
Schizophrenic, but for myself I never really thought
about what the condition was, and how it affected the
individual. In taking this course, reviewing the chapter
on Schizophrenia and watching the movies the Soloist
and Beautiful Mind, I was able to gain a better
understanding on what the illness/disease is and how
and what the person is experiencing life and how hard it
is to deal with the symptoms of the disease. And the
hallucinations that they are experiencing are so real
that they cannot separate the hallucinations for real life.
When I first entered this course, I know some of the
different disorders but never thought that they
belonged in the Mental Health and Additions
competency. I guess you always think of the common
ones, Bi polar, schizophrenia, PTSD, depressions and
anxiety, but you never think about everything that can
be included in a Mental Health spectrum of nursing. I
think that by gaining knowledge and understanding of
all the areas that Mental Health and Additions covers
you are able to gain a better understanding of Mental
health and additions as a whole, and how some of the
issues can be interrelated. As a nurse you may have to

treat a patient for not just one condition, but multiple

conditions.

Proficiency: Fair

USE THE
PROFICIENCY
CATEGORIES TO
RATE YOUR
PROFICIENCY IN THE
CHOSEN CLPNA
COMPETENCY.
EXPLAIN WHAT WAS
DONE TO ACHIEVE
THE COMPETENCY.

In this course, I never got hands on experience, but

thought reading about the different condition, and I
actually watch all the movies that we could have
chosen in for Assignment #1, because I found the
characters very interesting. It is amazing how in A
Beautiful mind the main character was able to realize
his reality and what was only in his mind, and was able
to function. He must have been a very intellectual
person who was able to find logical and reason. Or for
the main character in 28 days, how she used alcohol
and drugs because she did not want silence, because it
made her remember a painful time in her past, the
main character probably never dealt with her grief over
losing her mother. The Beaver was my favorite of all
the movies, Depression, and how it can affect the
individual in so many ways, and how treatment does or
does not work.
In my personal life, I have had close friends and family
suffer from depression and anxiety and addition to
alcohol and drugs, and have seem them struggle with
their illness or disease. I have seen how it can tear a
family apart, and how suicide can devastate a family. It
is why have knowledge in mental health and additions
is so important, and why it is so important to be able to
very proficiency in this competency.

DESCRIBE HOW YOU

WILL APPLY THIS
LEARNING IN YOUR
CURRENT AND
FUTURE NURSING
PRACTICE

At the started this course, I never thought that I would

be interested in Mental Health Nursing, it was just a
course that I had to get thought, but I was surprised to
find out that I really like the course and I enjoyed
learning about the different types of Mental health and
addition areas covered. There was so much more to
this course and it might be an area that I would
consider entering. No matter what area of nursing you

go into having an understanding regarding mental

health and addition is so important, as you do not
always know who you next patient is and if they have
any mental health or addition issues. By having
knowledge, you will be able to deal with the patient
properly without causing further harm, and you will be
able to understand why the patient is the way they are,
not just assuming that they are just acting weird, or
have difficult behaviors.
Student Name: Kerry Murphy_________________________________________________
Course: NFDN 2007 Mental Health Nursing____________________________________
Date: April 24, 2016__________________________________________________________
Instructor/Tutor: Heather Zirk