Patient Care
After studying Module 1: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
The unlawful restraint of a patient can be a legal pitfall for the PMHNP. K.W. was found
eating hamburgers out of a Mcdonald’s dumpster and drinking water from an old water
hose. She had not taken a bath in weeks. She refused to live in an apartment because
she wants to “live off the fat of the land.”
1. Cite the Baker Act law to defend your position.
2. Find one newspaper article written in the last 5 years that supports your
position. Summarize the details of the case and the laws cited
Submission Instructions:
• Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current
APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. Your initial post is
worth 8 points.
• You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/
correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth
2 points (1 point per response.)
• All replies must be constructive and use literature where possible.
Patient Information
After studying Module 2: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
It is very important for all mental health professionals to take very detailed and
thorough historical information from their patients. This information should include an
adequate social history, complete medical history, and a full mental status examination
with a probable treatment plan.
• Describe three reasons it is important to gather detailed and extensive
information from any patient before you counsel him/her or make
medication suggestions. Use evidence-based research to support your
position.
• Define malingering. Discuss two ways to differentiate between malingering and
a DSM5 diagnosis. Use evidence-based research to support your position.
Submission Instructions:
• Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current
APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. Your initial post is
worth 8 points.
• You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/
correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth
2 points (1 point per response.)
• All replies must be constructive and use literature where possible.
Anxiety Case
After studying Module 3: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Submission Instructions:
• Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current
APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. Your initial post is
worth 8 points.
• You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/
correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth
2 points (1 point per response.)
• All replies must be constructive and use literature where possible.
Case
Study
Ms. JN is a 24-year-old law student who presents to an outpatient
psychiatry clinic accompanied by her husband. She feels “worried about
everything!” She is “stressed out” about her academic workload and
upcoming exams. She feels fatigued and has difficulty concentrating on
her assignments. She also complains of frequent headaches and
associated neck muscle spasms, as well as difficulty falling asleep.
The patient’s husband describes her as “a worrier. She’ll worry about me
getting into an accident, losing my job, not making enough money—the
list goes on and on.”
Ms. JN reports that she has always had some degree of anxiety, but
previously found that it motivated her. Over the last year, her symptoms
have become debilitating and beyond her control.
Question
s:
Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks and clinical
guidelines to create your evidence-based treatment plan. At all times,
explain your answers.
1. Summarize the clinical case
2. Formulate
3. Create a list of the patient’s problems and prioritize them.
4. Which pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Include
the rationale for this treatment.
5. Which non-pharmacological treatment would you prescribe?
Include the rationale for this treatment.
6. Include an assessment of treatment’s appropriateness, cost,
effectiveness, safety, and potential for patient adherence.
Depression Case
After studying Module 4: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Case
Study
Ms. Z is a 28-year-old assistant store manager who arrives at your
outpatient clinic complaining of sadness after her boyfriend of 6 months
ended their relationship 1 month ago. She describes a history of failed
romantic relationships, and says, “I don’t do well with breakups.” Ms. Z
reports that, although she has no prior psychiatric treatment, she
was urged by her employer to seek therapy. Ms. Z has arrived late to
work on several occasions because of oversleeping. She also has
difficulty in getting out of bed stating, “It’s difficult to walk; it’s like my
legs weigh a ton.” She feels fatigued during the day despite spending
over 12 hours in bed and is concerned that she might be suffering from
a serious medical condition. She denies any significant changes in
appetite or weight since these symptoms began.
Ms. Z reports that, although she has not missed workdays, she
has difficulty concentrating and has become tearful in front of clients
while worrying about not finding a significant other. She feels
tremendous guilt over “not being good enough to get married,” and says
that her close friends are concerned because she has been spending her
weekends in bed and not answering their calls. Although during your
evaluation Ms. Z appeared tearful, she brightened up when talking about
her newborn nephew and her plans of visiting a college friend next
summer. Ms. Z denied suicidal ideation.
Question
s:
Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks and clinical
guidelines to create your evidence-based treatment plan. At all times,
explain your answers.
1. Summarize the clinical case including the significant subjective
and objective data.
2. Generate a primary and two differential diagnoses. Use the
DSM5 to support the assessment. Include the DSM5 and ICD 10
codes.
3. Discuss a pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Use
the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this treatment.
4. Discuss non-pharmacological treatment would you prescribe?
Use the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this
treatment.
5. Describe a health promotion intervention that would be
appropriate for this patient.
Bipolar Case
After studying Module 5: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Submission Instructions:
• Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current
APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. Your initial post is
worth 8 points.
• You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/
correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth
2 points (1 point per response.)
Case
Study
Jill, a 24 y/o Hispanic female arrives in the emergency room where her
parents brought her for evaluation. They are worried because she is
giving away all of her possessions and says she is planning to move to
the South Pole so she can “save the world.” Her parents say that she has
hardly been sleeping at all for the last 7 days, but she seems very
energetic. They say she has appeared to be “in a frenzy” lately. When
you interview Jill you notice that she speaks very rapidly and is laughing
uncontrollably. It is hard to get her to be quiet long enough for you to ask
questions. She seems agitated and has difficulty sitting still.
Question
s:
Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks and clinical
guidelines to create your evidence-based treatment plan. At all times,
explain your answers.
1. Summarize the clinical case including the significant subjective
and objective data.
2. Generate a primary and two differential diagnoses. Use the
DSM5 to support the assessment. Include the DSM5 and ICD 10
codes.
3. Discuss a pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Use
the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this treatment.
4. Discuss non-pharmacological treatment would you prescribe?
Use the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this
treatment.
5. Describe a health promotion intervention that would be
appropriate for this patient.
Psychiatric Case
After studying Module 6: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following
Case Study A 74-year-old African American woman, Ms. Richardson, was brought to
the hospital emergency room by the police. She is unkempt, dirty, and
foul-smelling. She does not look at the interviewer and is apparently
confused and unresponsive to most of his questions. She knows her
name and address, but not the day of the month. She is unable to
describe the events that led to her admission.
The police reported that they were called by neighbors because Ms.
Richardson had been wandering around the neighborhood and not
taking care of herself. The medical center mobile crisis unit went to her
house twice but could not get in and presumed she was not home.
Finally, the police came and broke into the apartment, where they were
met by a snarling German shepherd. They shot the dog with a
tranquilizing gun and then found Ms. Richardson hiding in the corner,
wearing nothing but a bra. The apartment was filthy, the floor littered
with dog feces. The police found a gun, which they took into custody.
The following day, while Ms. Richardson was awaiting transfer to a
medical unit for treatment of her out-of-control diabetes, the psychiatric
provider attempted to interview her. Her facial expression was still
mostly unresponsive, and she still didn’t know the month and couldn’t
say what hospital she was in. She reported that the neighbors had
called the police because she was “sick,” and indeed she had felt sick
and weak, with pains in her shoulder; in addition, she had not eaten for 3
days. She remembered that the police had shot her dog with a
tranquilizer and said the dog was now in “the shop” and would be
returned to her when she got home. She refused to give the name of a
neighbor who was a friend, saying, “he’s got enough troubles of his
own.” She denied ever being in a psychiatric hospital or hearing voices
but acknowledged that she had at one point seen a psychiatrist “near
downtown” because she couldn’t sleep. He had prescribed medication
that was too strong, so she didn’t take it. She didn’t remember the
name, so the interviewer asked if it was Thorazine. She said no, it was
“allal.” ‘Haldol?”, ask the interviewer. She nodded.
The interviewer was convinced that was the drug, but other observers
thought she might have said yes to anything that sounded remotely like
it, such as “Elavil.” When asked about the gun, she denied, with some
annoyance, that it was real and said it was a toy gun that had been
brought to the house by her brother, who had died 8 years ago. She was
still feeling weak and sick, complained of pain in her shoulder, and
apparently had trouble swallowing. She did manage to smile as the
team left her bedside.
Submission Instructions:
• Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current
APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. Your initial post is
worth 8 points.
• You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/
correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth
2 points (1 point per response.)
• All replies must be constructive and use literature where possible.
Questions: Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks and clinical
guidelines to create your evidence-based treatment plan. At all times,
explain your answers.
1. Summarize the clinical case including the significant subjective
and objective data.
2. Generate a primary and two differential diagnoses. Use the
DSM5 to support the assessment. Include the DSM5 and ICD 10
codes.
3. Discuss a pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Use
the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this treatment.
4. Discuss non-pharmacological treatment would you prescribe?
Use the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this
treatment.
5. Describe a health promotion intervention that would be
appropriate for this patient.
Schizophrenia Spectrum Case
After studying Module 7: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Case
Study
Mr. T is a 21-year-old man who is brought to the ER by his mother after
he began talking about “aliens” who were trying to steal his soul. Mr. T
reports that aliens left messages for him by arranging sticks outside his
home and sometimes send thoughts into his mind.
On exam, he is guarded and often stops talking while in the middle
of expressing a thought. Mr. T appears anxious and frequently scans the
room for aliens, which he thinks may have followed him to the hospital.
He denies any plan to harm himself but admits that the
aliens sometimes want him to throw himself in front of a car, “as this
will change the systems that belong under us.”
The patient’s mother reports that he began expressing these ideas a few
months ago, but that they have become more severe in the last
few weeks. She reports that during the past year, he has become
isolated from his peers, frequently talks to himself, and has stopped
going to community college. He has also spent most of his time reading
science fiction books and creating devices that will prevent aliens from
hurting him. She reports that she is concerned because the patient’s
father, who left while the patient was a child, exhibited similar symptoms
many years ago and has spent most of his life in a psychiatric hospital.
Question
s:
Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks and clinical
guidelines to create your evidence-based treatment plan. At all times,
explain your answers.
1. Summarize the clinical case including the significant subjective
and objective data.
2. Generate a primary and two differential diagnoses. Use the DSM5
to support the assessment. Include the DSM5 and ICD 10 codes.
3. Discuss a pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Use
the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this treatment.
4. Discuss non-pharmacological treatment would you prescribe?
Use the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this
treatment.
5. Describe a health promotion intervention that would be
appropriate for this patient.
