NURS 6630 Week 6 Assignment: Assessing and Treating Patients With Anxiety Disorders_Examined Case Study: A Middle-Aged Caucasian Man With Anxiety

NURS6630 Week 6 Assignment: Assessing and Treating Patients With Anxiety Disorders Common symptoms of anxiety disorders include chest pains, shortness of breath, and other physical symptoms that may b e mistaken for a heart attack or other physical ailment. These manifestations often prompt patients to seek care from their primary care providers or emergency departments. Once it is determined that there is no organic basis for these symptoms, patients are typically referred to a psychiatric mental health practitioner for anxiolytic therapy. For this Assignment, as you examine the patient case study in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat patients presenting with anxiety disorders. To prepare for this Assignment: Review this week’s Learning Resources, including the Medication Resources indicated for this week. Reflect on the psychopharmacologic treatments you might recommend for the assessment and treatment of patients requiring anxiolytic therapy. The Assignment: 5 pages Examine Case Study: A Middle-Aged Caucasian Man With Anxiety. You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this patient. Be sure to consider factors that might impact the patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes. At each decision point, you should evaluate all options before selecting your decision and moving throughout the exercise. Before you make your decision, make sure that you have researched each option and that you evaluate the decision that you will select. Be sure to research each option using the primary literature. Introduction to the case (1 page) Briefly explain and summarize the case for this Assignment. Be sure to include the specific patient factors that may impact your decision making when prescribing medication for this patient. Decision #1 (1 page) Which decision did you select? Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature). Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples. Decision #2 (1 page) Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature). Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples. Decision #3 (1 page) Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature). Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples. Conclusion (1 page) Summarize your recommendations on the treatment options you selected for this patient. Be sure to justify your recommendations and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. RESULTS OF DECISION POINT ONE Client returns to clinic in four weeks Client informs you that he has no tightness in chest, or shortness of breath Client states that he noticed decreased worries about work over the past 4 or 5 days HAM-A score has decreased to 18 (partial response) Decision Point Two No change in drug/dose at this time RESULTS OF DECISION POINT TWO Client returns to clinic in four weeks Client reports no further decreases in anxiety and is wondering if this means that the medication will not be effective for him Decision Point Three Increase drug to 75 mg po daily Guidance to Student Increasing the drug to 75 mg po daily would be a prudent next step. At 4 weeks follow up, the client already demonstrated a partial response to this medication, so it would be appropriate to increase to 75 mg po daily. Nothing indicates that augmentation would be necessary as the client has not had an adequate trial of this drug at a therapeutic dose (only a starting dose). Similarly, nothing indicates failure of SSRI therapy and there is no compelling evidence that switch to an SNRI should occur at this time.