March 7, 2008

Contact:
Van Jensen, 404-413-1357
University Relations

Georgia State nursing school adds master’s option to address psychiatric care needs

ATLANTA – In the past year, media and government investigations have revealed stark problems within Georgia’s mental health care system, including the deaths of more than 100 hospital patients in recent years. One contributing factor is an ongoing shortage of health care professionals trained to treat psychiatric conditions.

In response, Georgia State University’s Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing will add new emphasis to mental health training. Beginning in the fall, the school will offer a new psychiatric/mental health track to its master’s degree program for clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners.

“The mission of the school and the university is to meet the needs of the public and the state of Georgia. I think this program is just tailored to do that,” said Barbara Woodring, director of the school. “Some of the tragedies that have been reported on the news occurred because there were not sufficient nurses and there were not health care providers that were trained to recognize problems other than psychiatric mental health problems.

“It’s just so important to have nurses who care for those who aren’t fully competent mentally,” Woodring said.

Whereas many nurses are now trained to provide either general health care or psychiatric care but not both, Georgia State’s new program will prepare health care nurses to handle both needs. This is important since many patients with mental health issues also have other health care problems.

“We really need to have a program where nurses are prepared to handle adult health. Currently, psychiatric nurses aren’t trained to do that,” said Cece Grindel, a professor of nursing.

The new degree track is the first of its kind in the state, and one of the few in the entire southeast, Woodring said. Because of that, classes in the program will be held largely online using interactive classroom programs. Students will only have to physically visit campus four times a semester, making it more accessible to nurses across the state.

Students also will be required to spend 720 hours studying in a clinical setting. The school already has partnerships in place with several mental health facilities throughout Georgia.

Nursing school faculty hopes the program draws not only those who’ve just completed their undergraduate nursing degrees, but also working nurses who want additional certification in psychiatric care.

“We’re looking for students who are really dedicated to mental health care. There’s a desperate need for those kinds of nurses in the state,” Grindel said.