Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 100,000 people experience psychosis in the United States each year (NAMI, 2016). In practice, clients may present with delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, disorganized or abnormal motor behavior, as well as other negative symptoms that can be disabling for these individuals. Not only are these symptoms one of the most challenging symptom clusters you will encounter, many are associated with other disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and disorders on the schizophrenia spectrum. As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, you must understand the underlying neurobiology of these symptoms to select appropriate therapies and improve outcomes for clients.
This week, as you examine antipsychotic therapies, you explore the assessment and treatment of clients with psychosis and schizophrenia. You also consider ethical and legal implications of these therapies. Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
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. Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
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. Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
Required Readings
Note: All Stahl resources can be accessed through this link provided.
Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
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.
Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
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
Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
Document: Midterm Exam Study Guide (PDF)
Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
Required Media
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 for this Assignment:
- Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how to assess and treat clients requiring anxiolytic therapy.
The Assignment
Examine Case Study: Pakistani Woman with Delusional Thought Processes. 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. Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
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? Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
- 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.
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. Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK6Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click on the Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click on the Week 6 Assignment Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computerbutton. Find the document you saved as “WK6Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click on Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click in the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 6 Assignment Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 6 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7
To submit your Assignment:
Week 6 Assignment
Midterm Exam
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Assess psychopharmacologic approaches to treatment for clients across the lifespan
This exam will cover the following topics, which relate to psychopharmacologic approaches to treatment for clients across the lifespan:
- Introduction to neuroscience
- Therapy for pediatric patients with mood disorders
- Adult and geriatric antidepressant therapy
- Bipolar therapy
- Anxiolytic therapy
- Antipsychotic therapy Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
By Day 7
Complete the Midterm Exam. Prior to starting the exam, you should review all of your materials. There is a 2-hour time limit to complete this 76-question exam. You may only attempt this exam once.
This exam is a test of your knowledge in preparation for your certification exam. No outside resources including books, notes, websites, or any other type of resource are to be used to complete this exam. You are expected to comply with Walden University’s Code of Conduct.
Submission and Grading Information
Submit Your Midterm Exam by Day 7
To submit your Midterm Exam:
Week 6 Midterm Exam
Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
Making Connections
Now that you have:
- Assessed clients presenting with psychosis and schizophrenia
- Developed personalized plans of antipsychotic therapy for clients
- Examined factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients requiring antipsychotic therapy
- Explored ethical and legal implications of prescribing antipsychotic therapy to clients Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy
Next week, you will build on your assessment and treatment skills as you examine clients presenting for therapy for pain and sleep/wake disorders.
Week 6: Antipsychotic Therapy