Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Certification Examination Content Outline

This is a computer-based test (CBT)

There are 175 questions on this examination. Of these, 150 are scored questions and 25 are nonscored pretest questions. Questions are pretested to determine how well they perform before they are used in the scored portion of the examination. The pretest questions cannot be distinguished from those that will be scored, so it is important that a candidate answer all questions. However, a candidate's score is based solely on the 150 scored questions. Performance on pretest questions does not affect a candidate's score.

This Test Content Outline identifies the areas that are included on the examination. The percentage and number of questions in each of the major categories of the scored portion of the examination are also shown.

Test Content Outline

1. Theories and Principles of Development Across the Life Span (including normal vs. abnormal) – See Note 1: Life Span (12.00%)
   1. Physical development
   2. Cognitive development
   3. Stages and milestones
2. Communication (16.00%)
   1. Confidentiality Issues
   2. Therapeutic skills (e.g., interpersonal, active listening, boundary issues, verbal vs. nonverbal, client sensitivity, cultural/spiritual awareness)
   1. Interviewing skills and techniques (e.g., building rapport, timing)
   2. Group facilitation
   3. Milieu
   3. Written communication/documentation (e.g., objective/subjective, interdisciplinary, restrictive measures, treatment plan/outcome documentation, risk assessment documentation, mental status, occurrence report)
   4. Communication barriers/accessibility (e.g., physical and cognitive impairments, language, culture)
3. Nursing Process - See Note 1: Life Span1 (20.00%)
   1. Physical/psychosocial/psychomotor assessment
   1. Problem-based
      1. Falls
      2. Pain
      3. Violence (e.g., threats, acts, verbal, physical, directed toward self/other/animals/environment)
      4. Suicide/homicide
   2. Symptom-based (e.g., gastrointestinal, cardiac, respiratory, somatic)
   3. Tools/scales (e.g., Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, McGowan Risk Assessment, Pain Scale, Suicide/Homicide Risk Scale)
   4. Vital signs and/or lab values (e.g., drug levels/screening, basic chemistry, nutritional)
   5. Review of systems (including skills - auscultation, inspection, palpation, percussion)
   2. Forming nursing diagnoses using clinical critical thinking/priority-setting
   3. Interventions (e.g., individualized plan of care, setting measurable goals, non-violent crisis intervention, seclusion and restraints, advocacy, behavior modification, one-to-one observation, medications)
   4. Evaluation
   1. Reviewing data
   2. Evaluating outcomes
   3. Reassessing plan
4. Provision of Care (6.00%)
   1. Resources for continuing care (e.g., interdisciplinary collaboration, community resources, alternative funding, discharge planning)
   2. Pain management (e.g., alternative to medications, effective medication regime, potential for addiction or withdrawal from medication)
   3. Cost-effective care (e.g., length of stay, medications, outpatient providers/programs)
   4. Electroconvulsive therapy (e.g., when is it warranted, pre- and post-teaching and care, safety considerations, age considerations, comorbidity)
5. Basic and Applied Science (11.33%)
   1. Anatomy and physiology (e.g., gender differences)—See Note 1: Life Span
   1. Normal and abnormal anatomy (e.g., body symmetry, swallowing, gait, involuntary movement, systems review)
   2. Identifying abnormal symptoms in psychiatric-related illness/conditions
   3. Effects of medications on activities of daily living and body system functioning
   2. Disease process—See Note 1: Life Span
   1. Psychophysiology (e.g., mood disorders, thought disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, anxiety disorders)
   2. Pathophysiology (e.g., addictions, dementia, delirium, metabolic disorders)
   3. Comorbidity (e.g., dual diagnosis, co-existing medical conditions)
   4. Psychological responses
   3. Pharmacology (e.g., withdrawal, side effects, expected outcomes, compliance/non-compliance, classification, drug-drug/drug-food interactions, dosing, education)
   1. Perscription
   2. Herbals
   3. Complementary
   4. Over-the-counter
   5. Recreational drugs/street drugs
   4. Nutrition (e.g., recent weight loss/gain, change in appetite, hydration, nutritional guidelines) - See Note 1: Life Span
6. Behavioral Sciences (8.67%)
   1. Family theory (e.g., roles, interactions, traditional vs. non-traditional caregivers) - See Note 1: Life Span
   2. Counseling
   1. Individual
   2. Group (e.g., family meetings, education, socialization)
   3. Crisis concepts and interventions
   1. Stages of crisis
   2. Types of crises (e.g., maturational, situational, global)
   3. Coping and adjustment (e.g., stress, anger, hostility, grief/loss)
   4. Human sexuality (e.g., individual sexual activity/preference, gender identity, effects of drugs on sexual ability/relationships, consequences of behaviors/sexually transmitted diseases (STDs))
   5. Abuse/neglect of vulnerable (at-risk) adult/child
   1. Indications of abuse/neglect (e.g., self-esteem, poor self-image, self-mutilation, promiscuity, unexplained injuries, financial problems, borderline behavior, substance abuse, hesitancy in reporting)
   2. Identification of abusers/victims
7. Education - See Note 1: Life Span (4.00%)
   1. Theories and principles of learning and teaching
   1. Learning styles (e.g., auditory, verbal, hands-on, visual)
   2. Readiness to learn/motivation
   3. Barriers to learning (e.g., visual, hearing, physical and/or cognitive impairments, ability/inability to learn, cultural and language barriers)
   4. Cultural/spiritual awareness
   2. Methodology and evaluation
   1. Teaching plan (e.g., patient education content, incorporating learning styles, readiness to learn, barriers to learning, cultural/spiritual awareness)
   2. Outcomes, evaluation, and revisions
8. Health Promotion and Wellness (3.33%)
   1. Wellness principles and health maintenance (e.g., guidelines for basic health and wellness, challenges, spiritual issues, Healthy People 2010, medication compliance, hygiene, nutrition, exercise, sleep, socialization, coping skills, financial issues)
   2. Safety issues (e.g., routine safety checks, milieu, environmental/chemical hazards, suicide precautions)
9. Management/Leadership (12.00% )
   1. Quality/performance improvement (e.g., client records, incidents, patient surveys, family surveys, appropriate medication administration, recidivism, National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI))
   2. Principles and styles of management (e.g., peer review, data collection tools, supervision, performance planning/evaluation, conflict resolution, problem-solving, resource management)
   3. Delegation (e.g., accountability in delegation, licensed vs. unlicensed staff, regulations)
   4. Professional development (e.g., maintaining competency, mentoring, precepting, role modeling, peer review/appraisals, specialty certifications, continuing education requirements, professional organizations)
   5. Collaboration (e.g., interdisciplinary groups, alliance groups, referral sources, benchmarking, consultation liaison)
   6. Presentation skills (e.g., presenting patient case to interdisciplinary team and/or accreditation agencies, presenting quality improvement data, portfolio, interviewing, public speaking)
10. Research (2.67%)
    1. Procedure for data collection (e.g., consistency, accuracy, tools)
    2. Research utilization (e.g., optimal care delivery, accepted evidence-based literature and guidelines, best practice, evidence-based practice)
11. Provision of Care (6.00%)
    1. Regulatory guidelines (e.g., life safety codes, biomedical management, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), accrediting bodies, risk management, Patients' Bill of Rights)
    2. Standards of care/practice

Note1: Life Span

1. Child
2. Adolescent
3. Adult
4. Aging Adutl
5. Non-age specific

This page last revised 1/24/2007.