Psychiatry is one of the areas that experienced changes in the 20th century that were directed toward evidence-based practice. The change is defined by switching from intuitive, unsystematic, and non-protocol work to nursing with consideration of the last scientific findings and more emphasis on medical guidance (Judd, 2013). Previously, the prevalent work of nurses in psychiatry was less efficient in these terms – sometimes, nurses could even negatively affect the course of treatment or the state of patients trying to complete their direct tasks. There was no understanding that these tasks had to be achieved by carefully following all the factors that could affect the health of a patient.
Psychiatrically ill ones require a deep understanding of their diagnosis and history of their condition when nursing them. The reason for that is that general stress that can be caused by the actions of a nurse can have a drastically negative effect on the state of a patient. More importantly, the specific triggers should be addressed when nursing such patients, especially if they have disorders that were induced by specific events in their life (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). It is important to avoid similar behaviors to keep the condition of a patient relatively stable, which is crucial in psychiatric treatment. Any stress may cause long-term issues in the treatment and lessen its efficiency.
The findings in psychiatry in the 20th century were specifically related to the issues in treatment before. Methods adopted earlier, even without considering their low efficiency, were often traumatic and dangerous for the health of patients (Nolan, 2022). Implementation of these new findings not only in the practice of psychiatrists but also in nurses’ had a significant positive effect in terms of the well-being of patients and the dynamics of their treatment.
References
Judd, D. (2013). A History of American Nursing (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. Web.
Nolan, P. (2022). Enlightenment ideas and mental health nursing in the early 20th century. British Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 11(1), 1-7.
Townsend, M. & Morgan, K. (2017) Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: Concepts of Care in Evidence-Based Practice. F.A. Davis.