RCN Improving Physical and Mental Health Outcomes

• Improve the quality of life for people with complex physical and mental health needs
• Create health environments to support people to get the best outcome for their physical and mental health
• Improve someone’s day to day experience when accessing health servicesHelp people access support within their community e.g. through social prescribing

This programme builds on RCN’s Parity of Esteem Programme. Its primary focus is to promote understanding and improve nurse’s awareness and understanding of people’s physical and mental health needs.

It is open to all those working in clinical settings that treat people with physical and mental health needs. It would also be of interest to clinical leads and service managers who want to better meet the complex needs of their patients in an inclusive way.

It has been designed to benefit from the skill and experience mix offered by registered nurses from Adult (RGN), Mental Health (RMN) and Learning Disability (RNLD) specialties.

 The student will be able to:

• Explore ‘parity of esteem’ work and possible application of the learning to their current contextsExplore the impact of inequality in care provision with those with lived experience expertise and use narratives to co-produce service change
• Explore the overlap between mental and physical health for nurses, and develop knowledge and skills across this interface
• Develop an understanding of change management processes, considering working across professional and organisational barriers
• Apply your learning through the development of a service improvement project in your local area, implementing evidence-based practice to improve standards for the benefit of patients, the public, health care workers and employers
• Explore ideas for on-going and sustainable collaborative working practice between traditionally separated physical and mental health services
• The impact on service users experience - family and service user 

Three half days of live virtual delivery:8th October, 5th November, 3rd December 2020

Three half days of individual online learning: 7th October, 4th November, 2nd December 2020

Online pre-programme preparation will be required prior to live virtual delivery (three half days) accompanied by wrap-around online learning and discussion forum. The learning will be supported by telephone coaching sessions and a workbook to reflect on learning and skill development.

Total study time: 200 hours

The programme delivery will consider the training needs and organisational responses about the following issues:

• Critical appraisal and exploration of current healthcare provision and outcomes; national policy, frameworks and guidance; taking into account the obstacles and barriers to healthcare equality and ‘parity of esteem’ in the local and national context
• The individual practitioner’s role in addressing inequalities in access to holistic healthcare, such as the mortality gap for those with serious mental illness (SMI).
• Mapping ‘organisational ecology’ in relation to physical and mental healthcare provision, unmet need, service gaps and opportunities for change
• Reciprocal learning and debate around areas of clinical skills overlap, including self-harm and wound care, assessment of the deteriorating patient and assessment and promotion of mental wellbeing
• Exploration of contemporary practice in service development, drawing on current ‘live’ projects that are focused on ‘impact areas’ at the interface of physical and mental health
• Exploration around the development of responsive services for current and future populations