To prepare for this Assignment:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how to assess and treat adult and geriatric clients requiring antidepressant therapy.

The Assignment

Examine Case Study: An Elderly Hispanic Man With Major Depressive Disorder. 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.

• At each decision point stop to complete the following:
  • Decision #1
    • Which decision did you select?
    • Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
    • What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
    • Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #1 and the results of the decision. Why were they different?
  • Decision #2
    • Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
    • What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
    • Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #2 and the results of the decision. Why were they different?
  • Decision #3
    • Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
    • What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
    • Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #3 and the results of the decision. Why were they different?
  • Also include how ethical considerations might impact your treatment plan and communication with clients.

Solution:

Assessing and Treating Adults and Geriatric Patients with Mood Disorder

Health technology and evidence-based practice advancements have led to improvement in accuracy and validity of mental disorder diagnosis and management. Evidence-based practices (EBP) ascertain optimal treatment approaches and enhanced prognosis for mental disorders whilst recognizing the unique needs of different patients (Stahl, 2013). In addition interactions between patients and nurses play a crucial role in deducing optimal practices in psychopharmacology. The decisions drawn during patient-nurse therapeutic relationship ought to be guided by scientific evidence and supported by optimal practices and in accordance with the set healthcare institution’s ethical codes. More so, it is highly essential to consider cultural diversity and ethnicity in approaching mental health issues (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Taking this into consideration, this paper is an assessment and treatment plan for a 32-year-old Hispanic American male with a mood disorder. It includes patient assessment, factors influencing pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes of antidepressant therapy in adult and geriatric patients, treatment plan, and ethical and legal implications regarding prescription of antidepressant therapy.

Patient Assessment

The patient, in this case, was diagnosed with severe depression through the administration of the Montgomery- Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)” by the PMHNP administers whereby he had a score of 51 (Laureate Education, 2016). According to the American Psychiatric Association (2013), an extensive assessment should be carried out an extensive assessment should be carried out for patients with positive screening for depression or suspicion for depression by the clinician on the basis of patient presentation, patient self-report or family and friends concerns. A comprehensive understanding of indicators of depression and depressive symptoms in adult and geriatric patients is highly pivotal in patient assessment.

A plethora of depression diagnostic criteria has been established. However, none is specific for elderly patients. The duration, intensity, as well as fluctuation depressive symptoms,  are used as the basis for distinguishing depressive disorders from sadness. To establish a depression diagnosis, there ought to be the presence of numerous depressive core symptoms and others. According to Gyurak et al. (2016), the major depressive symptoms include reduced energy and escalated fatigue, decreased interest in previously enjoyed activities, sleep disturbance, the extreme and inappropriate feeling of guilt and remorse, change in appetite with subsequent weight change, psychomotor retardation, and suicidal thoughts. Considering the case study, the presented depressive symptoms include insomnia, loss of interest in routine activities, weight gain, and poor concentration. The patient’s risk factors for the development of depression, in this case, include the fact that the patient had been a subject of discrimination by fellow peers back in high school for being black, had few friends, mostly kept to himself, and had lost his mother……Please click the icon below to purchase full solution at $15