2026 Competency Based Training for Conducting the One-Hour Face-to-Face Assessment for Persons in Restraint or Seclusion

This activity provides the essential components for conducting a one-hour, face-to-face assessment of a patient in restraint or seclusion due to behavior posing an imminent risk to self or others. It will address regulatory requirements, including monitoring the immediate situation, evaluating the patient’s response to restraint or seclusion, assessing medical and behavioral status, and determining whether to continue or discontinue the intervention. Additionally, the session will cover key areas of focus that the trained registered nurse must consider in their assessment including physical risks for loss of life, physical dangers and discomforts, the patient's mental status, and legal and ethical considerations.

Presenters: Kristen Kichefski, DNP, MBA, RN, PMH-BC, NEA-BC; Cornelius Metili, BSN, RN, PMH-BC

Disclosures: The APNA planners and faculty have no relevant financial relationships to disclose. Off-label uses will not be discussed during this presentation.

Session Length: 1 hour 15 minutes

Target Audience: RN, APRN 


Learning Outcomes: 

Upon completion of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

1. Identify the four elements that must be evaluated when conducting the one-hour face-to-face assessment of a patient in restraint or seclusion.
2. Describe at least three physical or psychological risks associated with restraint and seclusion that the trained registered nurse (RN) looks for when conducting the one-hour face-to-face assessment.

Key Takeaway(s): 

• The competency based one-hour face-to-face assessment provides a consistent, patient-centered framework for trained registered nurses to safely monitor patients in restraints or seclusion. 

Keywords: Safety, Inpatient, Seclusion, Restraint, Assessment, Debriefing

Nursing Continuing Professional Development:
1.25 contact hours. *To receive contact hours, you must: complete the pre-test, read the APNA Seclusion and Restraint position paper, review the key elements table and glossary, review the course navigation guide, complete the entire course video and interactive learning, post-test, an overall evaluation, and honor statement. You must earn a passing score of 80% or better on the post-test. You will have 5 attempts to earn a passing score on the post-test. Once all steps are successfully completed, a certificate will be generated online and available for you to print immediately. Contact hours cannot be awarded unless all required components are completed. No partial credit can be awarded.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Release Date: April 1, 2026
Access to the 2026 course will end: March 31, 2027

© APNA 2026. Reproducing and distributing this material without the written permission of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) is prohibited. 

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