Feeling overwhelmed with your essay workload? Relax– we've got your back! From research to citations, our writers can handle it all. Click now for quality essay writing!
Submit your essay instructions
“Managing Major Depressive Disorder: A Nurse Practitioner’s Response to a Patient in Crisis”
The FNP is conducting a routine follow-up on a patient with depression. The patient reports she is feeling like she can’t go on anymore. The FNP learns that this patient discontinued her medication 3 weeks ago because she couldn’t afford it. What should the FNP do in this situation? Support your response.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious medical illness that disrupts a person’s mood, behavior, thought processes, apart from degrading physical health. MDD does not have a single cause and can be triggered, or it may occur spontaneously without being associated with a life crisis, physical illness, or other risks. (oclc.org).
MDD results in poor quality of life overall decreased productivity and can increase mortality from suicide. Social difficulties, including stigma, loss of employment, and marital conflict resulting from depression, can also occur. Anxiety Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and substance misuse are common co-occurring conditions that may worsen the existing depression and complicate treatment (oclc.org). This is a challenging situation that needs immediate action by the NP or Nurse.
Major Depressive Disorder Diagnosis and Treatment
When the Nurse Practitioner encounter a patient that says she’s feeling like she can’t go on anymore. That is a red flag to keep that patient on suicide watch. When I worked at the Behavioral Hospital, we usually keep staff members on one-one by that patient’s door 24 hours and the staff’s duty is to watch the suicidal patient with patient’s door always opened. The NP should call for this patient to be checked into Behavioral Hospital.
The treatment strategies for depression consist of pharmacological and non-pharmacological. Apart from the suicidal watch, the NP must have pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment plan. First-line pharmacologic treatment options for MDD are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, mirtazapine, and bupropion. Approved antidepressants generally require several weeks of continued treatment before a clinical response is achieved (Higa et al, 2022). It should be better for the NP to prescribe 2-in-1 pill rather than multiple pills so that patient don’t get overwhelmed with too many medications. In some circumstances, with provider’s (NP) recommendations and referrals, patient is kept at the Behavioral Hospital or Rehab Center for longer time so patient will go through therapies on how to manage his or her mental illness. During treatments, the NP should source for resources that will give this patient free supply of antipsychotic medications and other non-psychotic medications.
Overall, Response to non-drug interventions should be reviewed prior to use of antipsychotic medication. Before treatment with an antipsychotic, the potential risks and benefits should be assessed by the physician or provider and discussed with the patient and the patient’s surrogate decision maker, with input from the family (mhanational.org).
References
Jain, R., Higa, S., Keyloun, K., Park, J., Bonafede, M., Tung, A., Cutler, A. J. (2022). Treatment patterns during major depressive episodes among patients with major depressive disorder: A retrospective database analysis. Drugs – Real World Outcomes, 9(3), 477-486. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40801-022-00316-4
Major depressive disorder- market insight, epidemiology and market forecast -2030: An in-depth understanding of the major depressive disorder, historical and forecasted epidemiology as well as the market trends in the United States, EU5. Retrievbcied on 10/4/2022, from
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/position-statement-35-aging-well-wellness-and-psychosocial-treatment-emotional-and-cognitive.
Feeling overwhelmed with your essay workload? Relax– we've got your back! From research to citations, our writers can handle it all. Click now for quality essay writing!
