Rules of Thumb: Hints for the psychiatric nursing student.

The eight "rules of thumb" offered here are representative of numerous more that have been helpful stimulators for psychiatric nursing students. The suggest to the students a consistent approach based upon a rationale and do not encourage rote memorization of techniques. Students are encouraged to critically analyze the reasons and conceptual underpinnings for each encounter they have with patients. The "rules of thumb" encourage this self-exploration and attention to "What is it I'm really asking, or feeling, or thinking?" Only with this sort of continuous evaluation and reassessment can even the most novice of students begin to establish a therapeutic treatment approach with psychiatric patients.