Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
The Alzheimer’s Association defines dementia as “a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016). This term encompasses dozens of cognitive disorders of impaired memory formation, recall, and communication. The care and treatment of clients with dementia is dependent on multiple factors, including the stage of dementia, comorbidities, family support, and even the care setting.
In your role, as the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, you must be prepared to not only treat clients with these various cognitive disorders, but also the multiple behavioral issues that often accompany them. 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 dementia. Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Assess client factors and history to develop personalized therapy plans for clients with dementia
- Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients requiring therapy for dementia
- Evaluate efficacy of treatment plans
- Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing therapy for clients with dementia
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. Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
Required Readings
Note: All Stahl resources can be accessed through this link provided.
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 chapter, 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 13, “Dementia and Its Treatment”
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. Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
Review the following medications:
For insomnia
- donepezil
- galantamine
- memantine
- rivastigmine
Bui, Q. (2012). Antidepressants for agitation and psychosis in patients with dementia. American Family Physician, 85(1), 20–22. Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/journals/afp.html Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
Note: Retrieved from from the Walden Library databases.
Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
Required Media
Note: This case study will serve as the foundation for this week’s Assignment.
Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
To prepare for this Assignment:
- Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how to assess and treat clients requiring therapy for dementia.
The Assignment
Examine Case Study: An Elderly Iranian Man With Alzheimer’s Disease. 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. Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
- 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? Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
- 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.
- Decision #1
Note: Support your rationale with a minimum of three academic resources. While you may use the course text to support your rationale, it will not count toward the resource requirement.
By Day 7
Submit your assignment
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK10Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 10 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 10 Assignment You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer Find the document you saved as “WK10Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open. Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submitbutton to complete your submission.
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 10 Assignment Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 10 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7
To submit your Assignment:
Week 10 Assignment
Making Connections
Now that you have:
- Assessed clients presenting with dementia
- Developed personalized plans of therapy for clients with dementia
- Examined factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients requiring therapy for dementia
- Explored ethical and legal implications of prescribing therapy to clients with dementia Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia
Next week, you will build on your assessment and treatment skills as you examine clients presenting for therapy for comorbid conditions.
Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Dementia