Implications for Nursing Practice
Although the guideline may be very useful for nurses with little experience in caring for suicidal patients, it is our perception that experienced nurses who care for patients with schizophrenia can also benefit from the guideline. Using the guideline as a standard of care asserts that issues relevant to suicide riskarecovered,anditpreventsnursesfrombecoming overconfident about a phenomenon that is complex in nature and can have as far-reaching consequences as suicidality. Training in using the guideline should dedicate ample time to adapting the example phrases and questions of the SAs to one’s personal communi- cationstyleinordertoenableintegrationinanaturally flowing conversation. Furthermore, during training, it must be communicated that there is no scientific evi- dence to support the idea that discussing suicidality triggers or increases suicidal thoughts, intent, or behavior. Coaching and intervision/supervision may berequiredtofurtherenhancesuccessfulimplementa- tion of the guideline