...assessment and management of individuals affected by paranoid schizophrenia, this paper will discuss in detail how the nurse goes about assessing the patient, why assessment is vital, common outcomes of the assessment and finally go into detail on how the nurse manages a patient with paranoid schizophrenia. Stein-Parbury (2009) discuss the importance of providing an environment without distractions for an assessment to occur in, as this enhances the ability of both the patient and nurse to listen and understand. This can assist with patients with paranoid schizophrenia, experiencing perceptual disturbances or delusions. It is also important to provide a space that is private, thus giving the patient a sense of safety in disclosing personal information. Snyderman and Rovner (2009) highlight the importance of using a Mental State Examination (MSE), to assess the patients’ mental state and to aid in diagnosing a patients’ mental illness through identifying a range of sections including thought form, content and mood. It also enables the treating team to formulate a plan individualised to the patients needs. The following areas should be assessed in a mental state examination (MSE). Appearance including the physical characteristics, age, the way in which the patient is appropriately dressed according to weather or environment and how they have attended to their personal hygiene (Shives, 2008). Patients suffering acute periods of illness resulting from their paranoid schizophrenia commonly...
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...African American’s view of Mental Health Introduction Mental illness in any culture can be viewed with stigmatism, which is based on cultural beliefs. People have various ways of coping with instabilities of the mind and are deeply influenced by the environment in which they have been exposed to or by the experiences in which they have lived. Admission The patient of interest is an African American female eighteen years of age with bipolar type I and Asperger’s disorder. She was brought to the hospital by her mother and step-father, and she was admitted on a voluntary status to the psychiatric mental health hospital for increasing agitation, mood lability, self-harm thoughts, as well as threats toward her family. Her mother reported her aggression increased after the patient discontinued her risperdol medication. The patient’s mother had been married to her step-father since 2005. The patient has four siblings living in the home whose ages are 17, 14, 2, and 1. The patient reported that her relationship with her 17 year old sister was the worst with frequent aggressive behavior’s such as hitting and yelling. The patient reported suicidal ideation with no plan and depression, she was told by her family that they did not care if she killed herself. She also admitted that she was not taking her medication as prescribed and skipping a few days because she would forget. The patient said she felt “shy” because she was the only African American on the unit. In 2010 patient...
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...investigation on children in foster care that had been prescribed powerful psychiatric medications. These medications were given four times the rate of other children. Concerns have been on the rise for children that are given “psychotropic medications”. Primarily the concern is high for those children in foster care, and who receive Medicaid, because they are in a system that has lost structure of the importance of the health and welfare of children and adolescence. Also because foster children are more likely to have more emotional and social issues, and need treatment to include psychiatric medication. Psychotropic medications are those that affect the nervous system and produce many changes in behavior or awareness. These medications can be given in the form of a tranquilizer, sedative or antidepressant. Changes should be made to prevent how children receive medications, to deter overdosing and complications from misdiagnosing the child’s illness. The effect that psychiatric drugs have on children can be sometimes upsetting. Psychiatric or psychotropic medications are used to help children with behavioral impairment. Changes should be made that will benefit children in situations as mentioned. Not only in foster care but any child that is prescribed psychiatric (psychotropic) medications. Implementing change that will assure children are prescribe the right mediations, and are given the medication according to their treatment plan, to ensure the safety of those affected by misdiagnosis...
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...Risks of Mental Health Drugs for Our Youth Rapa Barsel Prof. Stephen Webber ENG 215048VA016-1142-001 February 15, 2014 Although there is a considerable amount of children with mental health disorders, more research and stricter regulations are necessary to investigate the diagnoses and the overuse of prescribing mental health drugs to our children. In our current age of advanced technology, medicine is also advancing. Although, these advances can detect many illnesses earlier on, they may not be an accurate diagnosis for minors. Thousands of children are prescribed antipsychotic drugs without proper medical assessments. I have a two and half year old son and I would not be willing to put him on any mental health drug unless I was absolutely certain it was necessary. These mental health drugs can cause suicidal thinking and behavior. It can also lead to an altered personality, or lack thereof. These drugs can be harmful to brain and physical development in younger children. According to the U.S. Surgeon General (2000), as many as 1 in 10 American children and adolescents a year have “significant functional impairment” as a result of a mental health disorder. The trends in administering psychotropic medication to young children are on a rise in the U.S. Since psychotropic medications are substances that affect brain chemicals related to mood and behavior (NIMH, 2009). These trends have caused a great deal of debate. All parties without an economic agenda agree...
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...Community Health Nursing SZT Task 2 Mary Valori-Schmidt Western Governor’s University As an RN, with many years of experience in critical care and trauma, I have had to witness death and dying on a regular basis. After leaving the acute care setting, I functioned as case manager and clinical director for Medicare certified home health. Referrals to Hospice were frequently made for many patients. One’s perceptions regarding death and dying tend to be influenced by one’s cultural and religious (if applicable) beliefs, however, working in healthcare has had a significant impact on my own perceptions. Quality of life is of paramount importance as opposed to length; living with unbearable pain, for example, is not a life at all. One of the most important factors for me, though, is respect for the dying person’s wishes. All too often have I seen well-meaning family members push for any and all extreme, life sustaining measures for their loved ones, while the patient is praying for death. I have had to advocate for the patient many times when there is no further viable treatment and palliative care is all that is left. Honesty, with compassion, tact and sensitivity, I believe, are the keys to imparting information to grieving family members. These experiences have taught me to always educate patients and family members about the importance of advance directives and durable medical proxy appointment while they are well enough to make informed decisions about their wants and needs...
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...tall) and had mobility difficulties. She had a history of mental issues including depression and panic attacks, received outpatient psychotherapy and took psychotropic medications, “which have apparently proven to be of minimal avail in the long-term.” The claimant was compliant with her medical and mental health treatment; unfortunately, she experienced side effects from the medications that interfered with her ability to...
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...providing medical care. Healthcare providers must educate themselves about different cultures, assess their patients and their families, in a language they understand and include their family members when appropriate. Hispanic Views on Mental Health In regards to mental health, the Hispanic culture views mental illness as shameful, this carries the stigma of being “loco” which brings humiliation to the entire family. Many Hispanics/Latinos rely on their extended family, community, traditional healers, or churches for help during a health crisis. It is not uncommon for this culture to believe their mental illness is a punishment or a test from God and, as result, thousands of Hispanics/Latinos with mental illnesses often go without professional mental health treatment (CMHSC, 2007). Those who do seek help tend to discontinue therapy due to a resignation toward suffering or because of their strong cultural influence of self-reliance. Many may express certain mental illnesses differently than the American culture; for example, they often mistake depression symptoms for nervousness, tiredness, or even a physical ailment, and may see it as something that is temporary (APA, 2012). For this reason many people will suffer unnecessarily with mental illnesses such as...
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...Cultural Views on Health HCA/230 November 21, 2010 Introduction The largest subgroup of Asian Americans is Chinese Americans. The United States Census Bureau (2000) reported that 22.6% of all Asian-Americans are of Chinese descent. Another culture’s population that is quickly increasing is natives from India. Approximately, 8.7 million Indian natives live in the United States. Both of these cultures are dominant in the United States and share similar health views. Chinese Americans Often, Chinese Americans access to health care and other services is denied because of discrimination. Even with Chinese Americans having the highest tuberculosis and suicide rates in the United States, access to health care becomes difficult because of language barriers, cultural conflicts, and attitudes toward illness. Because of these barriers, most Chinese Americans rely on traditional Chinese herbal medicine. There are several agencies such as the Richmond Maxi Center, located in the Richmond district of San Francisco and the Asians for Community Involvement in the Silicon Valley of California that were established to meet the needs of Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans. Today, both Chinese and Western medicines are widely used by Chinese Americans, although some use exclusively Chinese medicine while others only Western medicine. Traditional Chinese health beliefs include adopting a holistic view while emphasizing the importance of environmental factors in increasing...
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...Adjustment to Health Change or Crisis The following essay will describe the understanding that I have gained regarding a person who is adjusting to their health change. Throughout the essay I will be referring to the patient as John, and his wife as Sally, therefore adhering to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) guidelines upholding confidentiality. John’s background will be summarised and key terminology being used throughout the essay clarified. I will underpin my essay with theory relevant to adjustment and coping, linking the theory to the interventions that were implemented while John was on the ward. Demonstration on how these interventions were effective and significance in supporting John with his adjustment will be shown, concluding with my own professional development. John is 68 years old; I met him while on placement. John was admitted to the ward after deterioration in his mental state at home. John has a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD) and has recently become confused and was becoming aggressive, both verbally and physically with his family and friends. According to Jacoby,Oppenheimer (2003) reported aggression towards carers from people with AD is high and is generally the reason for the person to have a hospital admission. Sally was finding it increasingly difficult to manage his needs and her own health was suffering. John was also unsafe to be left at home alone due to his tendency to wander and his inability to recognise his...
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...The Importance of Managing Physical and Mental Health and Stress Levels And How Might These Skills Relate to Academic and Personal Success Billy J. Houston GEN 200 01/11/2014 FRANCIS JONES It is important to manage our physical and mental health and stress levels because physical health is directly related to mental health and both of which can be affected by high stress levels causing both physical and mental illnesses to develop. The physical health of a person can affect a person's mental abilities resulting in higher stress level. The bottom line is that stress can kill, as I have learned to be true in my own life experiences, as my father passed away from a massive heart attack at the age of 46 years old. How his physical life contributed to his development of stress related maladies is clear as my father was an alcoholic, a smoker, and also a diabetic who never took his conditions or his medications very seriously until it was too late and he was taken from us. He did manage to participate in several activities which reduced his stress somewhat such as fishing, bowling, and playing baseball with his children, but because he had the contributing factors already in place, due to hereditary traits for diabetes and heart disease it would have been much better for him if he did not drink or smoke. As a result of his early death none of his six children drink at all and only one of them smokes and is in the process of quitting. Another reason it is important to manage...
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...Clinical psychology is an expansive branch that combines general practice with health services. In clinical psychology, the main focus is on diagnosing, assessing, evaluating, and treating behavioral, emotional, and mental disorders. This field became more widely recognized toward the end of the nineteenth century (American Board of Professional Psychology, n.d.). Research and statistics help the field to grow and helps psychologists and those in the mental health field to understand more about disorders and behaviors. This field also shares some similarities, as well as differences, with other mental health professions. The history of clinical psychology is a rich one, and the field continues to grow. Clinical Psychology History Before psychology was a science, it was a practice. It is believed that the practice of psychology has always existed. However, the science of psychology emerged from philosophy. The many ideas and thoughts of philosophers laid the foundation of psychology (Benjamin, 2005). The field of psychology began as a mixture of philosophy, medicine, and theology. In the late 1800’s, The Elements of Psychophysics was published by Theodor Fechner, and Principles of Physiological Psychology was published by Wilhelm Wundt. These two publications allowed the explanation that physics and physiology could be used to answer questions on a psychological level. Wundt opened the first laboratory for psychology in Germany. When he opened his laboratory, psychology as...
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...Health Promotion Whilst on placement on an adult mental health acute ward, I had the chance to participate in health promoting activities. One health promoting activity I took part in was ensuring a safe and effective discharge of a 33 year old patient who had a diagnosis of disorganised schizophrenia, in order to prevent readmission. Mr. Raja (pseudonym) is divorced and lives alone, lacks in family support and is unemployed. He was admitted onto the ward after he had a relapse because he was not taking his medication. Service users who stop their prescribed medication regime are at a greater risk of experiencing a relapse of their mental illness (Carter et al 2003).In this assignment I will be discussing the health promotion aimed at encouraging concordance to medication regime. I shall discus the definition of health and health promotion and also the model of health promotion that best describes the care that was given to the service user. Mr Raja had other noticeable health issues such as overweight and smoking; however this will not be addressed in this essay. The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes health as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO 2009). The constitution goes on to explain that the highest achievable standard of health is one of the basic rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, and political belief, economic or social condition (WHO 2009). Hubley...
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...Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and created common and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders in both adults and children (Juvenile). It is used by researchers, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and clinicians as a manual or guide for mental disorders. It is used widely across the world for diagnosis and treatment recommendations for these conditions. The manual mainly focuses on describing symptoms and in combination with use of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) and the World Health Organization (WHO), helps clinicians properly diagnose and treat psychiatric...
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...Introduction: I visited The Centers of Marion County Mental Health, which is a facility that treats mental health patients as well as patients that need detoxification services. The facility has both in-patient and out-patient programs that counsel and treat both adults and children that deal with mental health diagnosis such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression, and much more. The mission of the centers is to “offer a wide variety of behavioral health care services designed to help people of all ages reach their highest level of functioning.” (The Centers Web Site) Services Acute Care Services The facility offers acute care services. The acute care ward includes 24 hour assessment services, inpatient crisis stabilization (for adults and children), and detoxification. Inpatient crisis stabilization services provides short-term inpatient care for those experiencing acute emotional disturbances. Treatment may consist of medication, as well as individual and group counseling. Detoxification services consist of inpatient and outpatient detoxification treatment for alcohol and drugs. Referral for longer term residential treatment is provided where needed. Adolescent Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Services The Centers’ Adolescent Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Facility is a patient- centered, holistic model where youth, ages 13-17 and their families receive individual and group ...
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...on the topic of mental illness, but not on how mental illness affects the prison population. They are either related to me or are friends of mine. Topic: Mental illness is a serious problem among inmates throughout our prison systems. General Purpose: To persuade Specific Purpose: To inform the audience that mental illness is a real problem throughout the prison system and that through a combination of Christian faith-based therapeutic programs, a larger variety of prescription drugs, and their personal...
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