Mental Health Chapter 25-27 Assignment
1. Locate and review the suicide protocol at your hospital unit or community center. Are there any steps you anticipate having difficulty carrying out? Discuss these difficulties with your peers or clinical group.
2. How would you respond to another staff member who expresses guilt over the suicide of a patient on your unit?
3. Identify three common and expected emotional reactions that a nurse might have when initially working with persons who manifest suicidal behavior disorder.
a. How do you think you might react?
b. What actions could you take to deal with the event and obtain support?
2. Taylor is 21 years old and a junior in nursing school. She tells her nursing instructor that her 45-year-old father has been drinking heavily for years and recently lost his job. Adding to the family’s stress is that her mother has multiple sclerosis with worsening symptoms. Taylor plans to quit school to take care of her.
a. How many different types of crises are going on in this family? Discuss the crises from the viewpoint of each family member.
Taylor is a junior in nursing school and is 21 years old. She tells her nursing teacher that her 45-year-old father has been drinking a lot for years and recently lost his job. The stress on the family is made worse by the fact that her mother has multiple sclerosis and her symptoms are getting worse. Taylor is going to stop going to school to take care of her.
a. How many different kinds of problems does this family have? Talk about the crises from the point of view of each member of the family.
b. If this family came for crisis counseling, what areas would you assess? What kinds of questions would you ask to evaluate each member’s individual needs and the needs of the family as a unit (perception of events, social supports, coping styles)?
c. Identify specific referral agencies in your area that would be helpful if members of this family were willing to expand their use of outside resources and to stabilize the situation.
3. Jenea admits a 24-year-old man with mania to an inpatient unit. She notes that the patient is irritable, has trouble sitting during the interview, and has a history of assault.
a. Identify appropriate responses the nurse can make to the patient.
b. What interventions should be built into the care plan?
c. Identify at least three long-term outcomes to consider when planning care.
4. What are the two indications for the use of seclusion and restraint rather than verbal interventions? Provide rationales for your answers.
