NURS 6630 Week 6 Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Psychosis and Schizophrenia
Psychosis and schizophrenia greatly impact the brain’s normal processes, which interferes with the ability to think clearly. When symptoms of these disorders are uncontrolled, clients may struggle to function in daily life. However, clients often thrive when properly diagnosed and treated under the close supervision of a psychiatric mental health practitioner. For this Assignment, as you examine the client case study in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat clients presenting with psychosis and schizophrenia.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Assess client factors and history to develop personalized plans of antipsychotic therapy for clients
Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients requiring antipsychotic therapy
Evaluate efficacy of treatment plans
Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing antipsychotic therapy to clients across the lifespan
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.
Required Readings
Note: All Stahl resources can be accessed through the Walden Library using this link. This link will take you to a log-in page for the Walden Library. Once you log into the library, the Stahl website will appear.
Stahl, S. M. (2013). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
To access the following chapters, click on the Essential Psychopharmacology, 4th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate chapter. Be sure to read all sections on the left navigation bar for each chapter.
Chapter 4, “Psychosis and Schizophrenia” Chapter 5, “Antipsychotic Agents”
Stahl, S. M. (2014b). The prescriber’s guide (5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
To access information on the following medications, click on The Prescriber’s Guide, 5th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate medication.
Review the following medications:
■ amisulpride
■ aripiprazole
■ asenapine
■ chlorpromazine
■ clozapine
■ flupenthixol
■ fluphenazine
■ haloperidol
■ iloperidone
■ loxapine
■ lurasidone
■ olanzapine
■ paliperidone
■ perphenazine
■ quetiapine
■ risperidone
■ sulpiride
■ thioridazine
■ thiothixene
■ trifluoperazine
■ ziprasidone
Naber, D., & Lambert, M. (2009). The CATIE and CUtLASS studies in schizophrenia: Results and implications for clinicians. CNS Drugs, 23(8), 649-659. doi:10.2165/00023210-200923080-00002
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases. Document: Midterm Exam Study Guide (PDF)
Kay, S. R., Fiszbein, A., & Opler, L. A. (1987). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13(2), 261-276.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.
Clozapine REMS. (2015). Clozapine REMS: The single shared system for clozapine.
Retrieved from
https://www.clozapinerems.com/CpmgClozapineUI/rems/pdf/resources/Clozapine_RE MS_A_Guide_for_Healthcare_Providers.pdf
Walden University. (2016). ASC success strategies: Studying for and taking a test. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASCsuccess/ASCtesting Required Media
Laureate Education. (2016j). Case study: Pakistani woman with delusional thought processes [Interactive media file]. Baltimore, MD: Author
Note: This case study will serve as the foundation for this week’s Assignment.
Optional Resources
Chakos, M., Patel, J. K., Rosenheck, R., Glick, I. D., Hammer, M. B., Tapp, A., & … Miller, D. (2011). Concomitant psychotropic medication use during treatment of schizophrenia
patients: Longitudinal results from the CATIE study. Clinical Schizophrenia & Related Psychoses, 5(3), 124-134. doi:10.3371/CSRP.5.3.2
Fangfang, S., Stock, E. M., Copeland, L. A., Zeber, J. E., Ahmedani, B. K., & Morissette, S.
B. (2014). Polypharmacy with antipsychotic drugs in patients with schizophrenia: Trends in multiple health care systems. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 71(9),
728-738. doi:10.2146/ajhp130471
Lin, L. A., Rosenheck, R., Sugar, C., & Zbrozek, A. (2015). Comparing antipsychotic
treatments for schizophrenia: A health state approach. The Psychiatric Quarterly, 86(1), 107-121. doi:10.1007/s11126-014-9326-2
To Prepare
■ Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how to assess and treat clients requiring anxiolytic therapy.
Week 7 Assignment: Assessing And Treating Clients With Pain
Pain can greatly influence an individual’s quality of life, as uncontrolled pain negatively impacts mood, concentration, and the overall physical and mental well-being of clients. Although pain can often be controlled with medications, the process of assessing and treating clients can be challenging because pain is such a subjective experience.
Only the person experiencing the pain truly knows the intensity of the pain and whether there is a need for medication therapies. Sometimes, beliefs about pain and treatments for
pain can have an adverse effect on the provider-client relationship. For this Assignment, as you examine the interactive case study, consider how you might assess and treat clients presenting with pain.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
● Assess client factors and history to develop personalized therapy plans for clients with pain
● Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients requiring therapy for pain
● Evaluate efficacy of treatment plans for clients presenting for pain therapy
● Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing therapy for clients with pain
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.
Required Readings
Note: All Stahl resources can be accessed through the Walden Library using this link. This link will take you to a log-in page for the Walden Library. Once you log into the library, the Stahl website will appear.
Stahl, S. M. (2013). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
To access the following chapters, click on the Essential Psychopharmacology, 4th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate chapter. Be sure to read all sections on the left navigation bar for each chapter.
Chapter 10, “Chronic Pain and Its Treatment”
Stahl, S. M., & Ball, S. (2009a). Stahl’s illustrated chronic pain and fibromyalgia. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
To access the following chapter, click on the Illustrated Guides tab and then the Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia tab.
Chapter 5, “Pain Drugs”
Stahl, S. M. (2014b). The prescriber’s guide (5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
To access information on the following medications, click on The Prescriber’s Guide, 5th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate medication.
Review the following medications: For insomnia
● amitriptyline
● amoxapine
● carbamazepine
● clomipramine
● clonidine (adjunct)
● desipramine
● dothiepin
● doxepin
● duloxetine
● gabapentin
● imipramine
● lamotrigine
● levetiracetam
● lofepramine
● maprotiline
● memantine
● milnacipran
● nortriptyline
● pregabalin
● tiagabine
● topiramate
● trimipramine
● valproate (divalproex)
● zonisamide
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases. NURS 6630 All Week Assignments latest
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2016). Pain: Hope through research. Retrieved from
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chronic_pain/detail_chronic_pain.htm#3084_2
Required Media
Laureate Education (2016a). Case study: A Caucasian man with hip pain [Interactive media file]. Baltimore, MD: Author
Note: This case study will serve as the foundation for this week’s Assignment.
To prepare for this Assignment:
Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how to assess and treat clients requiring therapy for pain and sleep/wake disorders.
The Assignment
Examine Case Study: A Caucasian Man With Hip Pain. You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this client. Be sure to consider factors that might impact the client’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes.
