While nurse practitioners initially work with the identified patient, Murray Bowen maintains it is the reciprocal functioning of all the members of the family which contributes to the emotional intensity of the patient. The emotional symptoms of an individual are an expression of the emotional symptoms of the family, which are often embedded in patterns of behaviors from past generations. The purpose of this paper is to facilitate understanding Bowen's theoretical concepts of family systems theory and apply these concepts to a family in therapy.

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BackgroundEvidence shows that smoking cessation interventions are effective in reducing individual's smoking behavior. Despite tobacco cessation efforts, individuals with mental illness smoke more than do members of the general population.ObjectiveThis study's objective was to determine whether educating nurses to use an evidence-based brief tobacco intervention would improve educating patients on smoking cessation and lead to more patients accepting nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).MethodsThis study was conducted on a 28-bed mood disorder unit of a Midwestern U.S. psychiatric teaching hospital and used a pre/postchart review. Fourteen nurses participated in the education program that included a PowerPoint presentation, handouts, and weekly e-mails.ResultsEight weeks after the educational program, statistically significant increases were found in nurses' electronic health record documentation of providing patient education on smoking cessation and patients' acceptance of NRT.ConclusionsThis study's education program was successful in promoting smoking cessation education among psychiatric nurses, with an increase of patients accepting NRT.Implications for NursingTraining nurses to use a brief tobacco intervention proved to be an effective short-term method for addressing the high rate of smoking among a group of psychiatric patients.

BackgroundAlthough interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has been discussed for over 40 years, in nursing education as well as the majority of health professionals, education continues to primarily take place in silos with curricula that is discipline specific. Educators need to implement models of education that are linked to collaborative practice and team-based care.ObjectivesTo introduce the principles from the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioners Faculties Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies into the coursework. To demonstrate an application process for incorporating collaboration in their future nurse practitioner roles.MethodStudents in the Doctor of Nursing Practice mental health nurse practitioner program participated in a set of assignments to develop essential knowledge and skills for integration of IPC into practice. A pretest–posttest design was used to evaluate student attitudes towards IPC following immersion in IPC subject matter and experiential learning with other healthcare providers working together to coordinate patient care.ResultsThere were significant findings for six of the 18 survey questions. This project can serve as an example for successful implementation of IPE in the nursing curricula.

Depression is the most common mental health disorder in children and adolescents, and primary care is often the first point of contact for children and adolescents with depression. Depression impacts all areas of life, impairing academics and interactions with family and friends. The purpose of this article is to help NPs identify and treat children and adolescents presenting with depression in the primary care setting.