Examining the Care Plans and Interviews of Intern Nurses Practicing in the Psychiatry Clinic in Terms of Caregivers1

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to examine the care plans and interviews of intern nurses practicing in the psychiatry clinic in terms of caregiver patient relatives.
METHODS: The sample of this descriptive study consisted of psychiatry nursing intern students of the nursing department of a public university (n = 230). In the study, the data were obtained from the clinic practice files of the patients for whom the students provided care (n = 237 files). The data were obtained between July and September 2018 from the patient information form, care plan, and interview reports prepared based on Gordon’sFunctionalHealthPatternsModelusedby intern nurses in clinic practice. A structured data collection form prepared by the researchers was used to collect data. The data were assessed using the SPSS 20.0 package program. Number, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used in the data assessment.
RESULTS: It was determined that 1178 nursing diagnoses were reported in the care plans. These diagnoses for caregiver patient relatives (n = 108; 9.2%) focus on the domain of Role relationships and Coping/Stress tolerance. Of the interviews made by students, 21.7% were about the patient relatives. These interviews were conducted with the patients about their caregiver relatives (92.5%) or directly with the caregiver patient relatives (7.5%). The purpose of 47.2% of the interviews made with the patients on their caregiver relatives was “to get information on the family structure.” It was aimed to “get information on the patient/medical history” in 40%of the interviews made by the intern nurses directly with the caregiver patient relatives. “Strengths and weaknesses of the caregiver patient relatives” were examined in 27% of the examined care plan and interviews.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It was observed that the rate of collaboration with the caregiver patient relatives was considerably low in the practice of the intern nurses in the psychiatry clinic. For this reason, it is considered necessary to guide and support intern nurses in clinic practice to increase collaboration with the caregiver patient relatives.