Psychiatry Nursing
Welcome to psychiatry nursing at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. We believe that nursing here exemplifies a comprehensive, multidisciplinary commitment to excellence and to the highest standards of professional practice, education, and research.
The treatment approach at Johns Hopkins recognizes the multiple dimensions of individuals that contribute to their mental illness. Nurses on the treatment teams have a key role in identifying the behaviors, temperament, disease process, and life story that patients bring to the care setting.
Whether leading patient-focused education groups or presenting in daily rounds, our nurses practice with autonomy in a highly collaborative setting. Nurses play a central role as well in teaching patients that mental illnesses are treatable diseases, like diabetes or heart disease, and that new treatments make recovery or stability within their grasp.
The patient population is comprised of adolescents, adults, and the elderly. Nurses work across the care continuum, from the psychiatry emergency department and acute inpatient units to post-anesthesia care after electroconvulsive therapy, specialty day hospitals and community mobile-treatment. Nursing professionals can select from among many specialty care teams for their practice, so that each nurse develops niches of clinical expertise.
In addition, the department is actively engaged in many research initiatives and its clinicians are continually learning about the biological and genetic components of mental illnesses, always with an eye to providing the most effective care to patients.
We invite you to explore our nursing web pages as well as descriptions of the general and specialty units under Specialty Areas and learn more about a career in psychiatry nursing at Johns Hopkins. If you have further questions, please give us a call at 410-955-6152.
Kelly (Elizabeth) Caslin, MSN
Director of Nursing, Neurosciences and Psychiatry
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The Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Psychiatry Nursing is committed to providing excellent nursing care. The nursing process (assessment, development, implementation and evaluation of nursing plan of care for psychiatric problems) is utilized to assist the patient to achieve optimum health. The nurse utilizes the art of the therapeutic use of self and the sciences of nursing, psychology, and biology to deliver evidenced-based, patient-centered care in a variety of clinical settings.
Professional nursing encompasses clinical practice, education, research, and leadership. Within our functional unit, there are nurses practicing as psychiatric mental health nurses who use the nursing process and the nurse-patient relationship to promote health. Nurse Practitioners autonomously diagnose and treat mental illness through psychotherapy, psychopharmocology, case management, and clinical supervision.
Professional nurses function independently when meeting patient care needs within their scope of practice. Nurses function collaboratively with other team members to achieve optimal patient outcomes. The nurses also provide leadership as part of the Patient Care Delivery Model (PCDM), on each unit. The PCDM includes nurses, clinical nursing externs, clinical associates, support associates, and clerical associates. Nursing assumes a broader responsibility in clinical care management, while other staff are utilized to support the increasing complexity of patient care at the bedside. The goals of the team are to:
- Achieve service excellence
- Identify and improve clinical outcomes for patients
- Create a learning environment on each unit for staff and students:
- support staff development through inservice training and certification
- support academic coursework
- Create an environment conducive to retention of staff
- Participate in evidenced-based practice activities and research
- Acquire leadership and organizational skills
- Create an environment of safety through teamwork, communication and partnering with patients and families.
- Support continuous quality improvement
- Support team building/leadership
- Support peer review
The Department of Psychiatry Nursing advocates and supports the concepts of shared governance and management by practice models. Further, nurses are actively encouraged to acquire and maintain professional certification and to continuously improve their skills via peer review.
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Kelly (Elizabeth) Caslin, MSN
Director of Nursing, Neurosciences and PsychiatrySandra Dearholt, MSN, RN
Assistant Director of NursingKristine Mammen, BSN, RN-BC
Coordinator, Nursing ProgramsPatricia Sullivan, MS, RN
Nurse Manager
Meyer 3, Intensive Treatment Unit, Psychiatry Emergency DepartmentKarin Taylor, PMHCNS-BC
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Meyer 3
Clinical Instructor, Johns Hopkins University School of NursingPadmini Paul, PMHCNS-BC, CRNP-BC
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Meyer 4
Clinical Instructor, Johns Hopkins University School of NursingTerry Goodwyn, MScN, RN
Nurse Manager
Meyer 5, First Step Day Program, Schizophrenia Step-Down ProgramTracy Haley, RN-C, BSN
Nurse Manager
Meyer 6, Inpatient and Day Hospitals