Children First
Scenario For this exercise you are expected to assume the role of the Registered Psychiatric Nurse. You are assigned to a Community Mental Health Team as a staff nurse. As part of your role you provide 1:1 support to service users. One day, Mary, attends for her appointment and discloses to you that her boyfriend, John, is having “a tough time of it” and as a result, she is not coping very well at present. She reports his behaviour has become unpredictable and that he regularly uses drugs and has become aggressive towards her. Mary reports that last week John hit her and “started to throw things around the flat”. Mary reports she is having difficulty sleeping because she is afraid of John and has no energy during the day owing to the lack of “sleep. She reports John takes most of her money to buy drugs which leaves her with very little each week to feed her 6-month old baby, Sarah.
With due consideration to the roles and responsibilities of the Registered Psychiatric Nurse outlined in the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland 2021) and the Children First Act (Government of Ireland 2015), outline in essay style, what actions must be taken and why, in this hypothetical scenario.
