| Course | NSG 221 Mental Health Nursing |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 5 |
| Paper type | Coping strategy inventory |
| Length | About 610 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 221 Unit 5
Headphones, Pacing, and Staying Awake to Keep Watch: A Coping Strategy Inventory for a Young Man Hearing Voices at Night
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 221: Mental Health Nursing
Instructor Name
February 12, 2026
Headphones, Pacing, and Staying Awake to Keep Watch: A Coping Strategy Inventory for a Young Man Hearing Voices at Night
Profile and Distress Triggers
Six days into his admission, the young man followed since Unit 1 (a composite) is sleeping somewhat better. The voices have become quieter during the day but continue at night. From the scenario, four situations raise his distress: lying in bed in the dark when the voices are loudest; the day room when the television is on; the evening medication round; and phone calls from his mother, who asks when he is coming home.
Strategies He Already Uses, in His Own Terms
Listed before any category is applied: "I put my headphones on and play music loud." "I walk up and down." "I get up and go sit by the nurses' desk." "I draw." "I stay awake so I can keep watch." "I call Marcus" (a friend from college). "I hum." "I just tell them to shut up" (to the voices, silently).
The Inventory
Each strategy is classified in the terms of the course reading, which distinguishes problem-focused coping, aimed at changing the situation, from emotion-focused coping, aimed at managing the distress it causes (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Halter, 2022). A note records what the scenario shows about its effect.
| Strategy (his words) | Classification | What the scenario shows about its effect |
|---|---|---|
| Headphones, music loud | Emotion-focused; changes auditory input | Helps at night; staff note he falls asleep sooner on nights he uses them. Loud volume may affect hearing; ask about volume. |
| Walking up and down | Emotion-focused; physical activity | Reduces tension in the day; at night it disturbs his roommate and keeps him awake. |
| Sitting by the nurses' desk | Problem-focused (seeking safety and support) | Settles him within about 20 minutes; also gives staff a chance to talk with him. |
| Drawing | Emotion-focused; distraction and self-expression | He draws for long periods in the day room and is calmer afterward. |
| Staying awake to keep watch | Problem-focused in intent, but maladaptive | Rooted in the belief that he is being watched; it prolongs lack of sleep, which the team links to his symptoms. |
| Calling his friend | Problem-focused (social support) | He is more relaxed after calls; his friend is supportive and does not argue with him. |
| Humming | Emotion-focused; subvocal activity | He says the voices are "harder to hear" while he hums. |
| Telling the voices to shut up, silently | Emotion-focused; direct engagement with the voices | Mixed; sometimes it helps, sometimes it makes them louder, in his account. |
Reading the Inventory
Most of his strategies are ones that people who hear voices commonly use on their own: changing what they hear, keeping busy, seeking company, and humming or other quiet use of the voice. A review of self-initiated coping with voices found such strategies to be almost universal among voice-hearers and reported by many to help, with some experimental support for strategies that change auditory input or involve subvocal activity like humming, though rigorous outcome studies were lacking (Farhall et al., 2007). His headphones and humming fall into those groups.
One strategy works against him: staying awake to keep watch. It makes sense within his belief, and it is the only one that makes his underlying problem worse. It should not be argued away; the approach from Unit 1 applies here too. A plan that offers him a safer way to feel watched over, such as a room nearer the station and a nurse telling him when checks will happen, may address the need that drives it.
How the Inventory Was Gathered
The list came from two conversations and the unit record. In the first, on day five, he was asked an open question: "When the voices get loud, what do you do?" He named four strategies at once; the other four emerged when the nurse reflected back what she had seen, for example, "I noticed you were humming at breakfast." The effect column was then checked against the night staff's notes and the sleep checks. Nothing was entered in the effect column that he or the record did not support. One strategy he mentioned, smoking, is not on the list because the unit is smoke-free and he has not used it here; it is recorded separately for discharge planning, since he may return to it at home.
What Would Be Added or Adjusted, With Him
Keep and support: music at a safe volume, drawing, calls with his friend, humming. Adjust: walking moved to the corridor during the day, with a quiet alternative at night such as sitting by the station. Address the need behind staying awake, as above. For the phone calls with his mother, which raise distress, offer to help plan what he will say about discharge before she calls. All of this would be agreed with him, not assigned; the inventory is a starting point for that conversation. The patient is a composite.
References
Farhall, J., Greenwood, K. M., & Jackson, H. J. (2007). Coping with hallucinated voices in schizophrenia: A review of self-initiated strategies and therapeutic interventions. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(4), 476-493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.12.002
Halter, M. J. (2022). Varcarolis' foundations of psychiatric-mental health nursing: A clinical approach (9th ed.). Elsevier.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Reading the NSG 221 Unit 5 instructions
Unit 5 asks you to inventory a patient's coping strategies and plan with them. Expect to describe the patient and triggers, list strategies in the patient's own words, classify each using the course framework, judge which help and which cost, explain how information was gathered and agree on changes. Some sections name Lazarus and Folkman's model; others leave the framework open, and a few ask how to handle harmful strategies. Listing strategies in the patient's words before classifying respects his expertise about his own experience. Some strategies help in the short term but cost later, such as staying awake. Plans should be agreed with the patient, not imposed. Keep strategies that work.
Inside the NSG 221 Unit 5 example
The inventory opens with his triggers, such as crowded rooms and evening quiet. His strategies follow in quotation marks, which keeps his voice central. The table classifies each and marks its benefit and cost. The reading section explains that most of his strategies are sensible and match what research describes. Staying awake is flagged as the one with a high cost, and the reason is explained in plain terms. The gathering section describes two conversations and the record review. The final section lists what to keep, adjust and add, each agreed with him, such as a sleep plan that lets him feel safe at night. The inventory treats him as a partner rather than a subject.
Where the points sit in the NSG 221 Unit 5 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a coping inventory usually covers the patient's triggers, strategies in the patient's words, classification, judgment of benefit and cost, method of gathering and collaborative planning. Strategies in the patient's own words draw the closest reading, since they show the nurse listened before labeling. Trigger points reward specific situations. Classification criteria look for accurate use of the framework. Benefit and cost earn credit when judged fairly, without dismissing strategies that work. Method points go to a clear account of how information was gathered. Collaborative planning is usually expected. Respectful language matters throughout. Lazarus and Folkman and Farhall's review of coping with voices underpin the inventory.
NSG 221 Unit 5 help: mistakes that cost points
Coping inventories in Unit 5 often slip by listing textbook strategies rather than the patient's own. Another frequent problem is labeling every strategy as maladaptive. Students often skip triggers, so strategies have no context. The plan is written for the patient rather than with him. Costly strategies are criticized without understanding why he uses them, such as staying awake to feel safe. Classification is applied without explaining it. The gathering method is missing. Strategies that already work are replaced unnecessarily. Medication is presented as the only real coping tool. Finally, start from what he already does, because graders reward an inventory that builds on the patient's own resources.
Get a NSG 221 Unit 5 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 5 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 221 classroom, with the scenario or case the inventory is built on. We write a custom example that enters the patient's own strategies first, cites each classification, records what the case shows over time and keeps every support inside nursing scope. First custom sample free, back in 24 to 48 hours.
More NSG 221 papers and BSN samples
- NSG 221 Unit 1: Therapeutic response comparison
- NSG 221 Unit 2: Observation to wording exercise
- NSG 221 Unit 3: Boundary and self awareness record
- NSG 221 Unit 4: Milieu safety walk
- NSG 221 Unit 6: Stigma and language review
- NSG 221 Unit 7: Condition presentation summary
- NSG 221 Unit 8: Mental health nursing file
- NSG 122 Unit 5: Patient needs ordering brief
- NSG 123 Unit 5: Preoperative and postoperative record
- NSG 124 Unit 5: Monitoring and counseling brief
- NSG 126 Unit 5: Citation and reference set
NSG 221 Unit 5 questions, answered
Which classification of coping should the inventory use?
The one your course teaches, named at the point you use it. Texts divide coping differently and some sections supply a framework of their own, so an uncited category invites correction even when the sorting is sensible. Where two of your sources disagree about a strategy, place it in both and add a line saying which text governed the document.
Can the inventory include strategies that are not working?
Usually yes, and most scenarios supply some. The document records what the case states and the category the reading gives it, with the evidence column showing what the scenario reports over time. Judgment about a real person is not something a coursework document settles, and any concern about somebody actually in front of you belongs with your instructor or the clinical team.
How many entries should the inventory hold?
Follow whatever the assignment sets, and where nothing is set, let the scenario decide. Six entries it plainly supports carry more weight than twelve stretched to fill the page, because each row has to survive a reader asking which line of the case put it there. Padding the list usually costs more than it earns.
Where can I find a free NSG 221 Unit 5 sample paper?
The full NSG 221 Unit 5 coping inventory is free on this page, his strategies in his words, classified and planned with him. An inventory for a different patient can be written on request.
How do people cope with hearing voices?
Common strategies include music or headphones, distraction, talking with someone, physical activity and changing location. This sample lists one young man's strategies in his own words and agrees with him which to keep and which to adjust.