A Coordinated Consultation Program for Nurses and Psychiatrists

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Abstract
Because independent consultation services were inefficient, a coordinated consultation program was established for psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses working with medical and surgical patients. Joint participation in regular case-conferences and work-rounds facilitated communication, provided cohesion of purpose, and enlarged the sources of referral for nursing consultations. Staff nurses and patients benefitted: emergency management problems were forestalled, the team approach was reinforced, and opportunities for teaching multiplied. The false dichotomy between functional and organic aspects of medical care disappears when psychiatrists, nurses, and students work together with patients who are both medically and psychiatrically ill.

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