NU 670 Advanced Psychopharmacology and Health Promotion

NU 670 Advanced Psychopharmacology and Health Promotion Latest
Unit 1 Discussion Introduction
Instructions:
Welcome to NU670! I am looking forward to learning about each and every one of you, and I know your classmates are as well. This discussion board is for you to share information with your classmates and me so we can begin to create relationships with our online classroom environment.
Using Zoom, create a 2-3 minute video introducing yourself to your instructor and peers. In the video, please address the following:
If you would like to use Zoom, please see the Zoom Tutorial for more detailed instructions.
After your recording is complete, follow these instructions to create a private, unlisted YouTube video (Links to an external site.). You will need the YouTube video website/URL for this discussion. Submit your YouTube video website/URL to this discussion page. The best way to do this is to copy and paste the website/URL for the YouTube video into a Word document and then post the Word document. Your instructor and peers will access your video via the link.
As a way of introducing yourselves to the instructor and your peers, please post the following:

Your name
Location
of your current position (If not employed, what are your expectations when you complete your program?)
Previous Nursing experience specialty background
Why you chose PMHNP as your concentration?
What made you consider enrolling the Herzing online PMHNP program?
Your career goals

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.
Please review post and response expectations. Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets criteria.

Unit 2 Discussion
Discussion Prompt

Choose a medication that is in the Antipsychotic Classification.  This can be a first-generation or second-generation antipsychotic.
You may not duplicate this medication in the thread  – Please choose different medications!!
In your post, use the opportunity to teach your peers about this medication

The FDA indications for treatment
The mechanism of action
The side effects
Dosage
Pearls for treatment
Side effects
Special considerations
Lab work to monitor
Pregnancy/breastfeeding indication
Elderly special considerations
Renal and hepatic considerations, etc.

Then find 2 research articles to support your medication with research, new findings, etc.

The articles should be published within the last 3 years and peer-reviewed.

Responses need to address all components of the question, demonstrate critical thinking and analysis, and include peer-reviewed journal evidence to support the student’s position.
Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with in-text citations and corresponding references in APA format.
Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets the criteria.
Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Unit 3 Discussion
Discussion Prompt

Discuss the use of conventional mood stabilizers in the treatment of bipolar depression. For this discussion, list at least two medications that have an FDA approval for bipolar depression. What are the risks/benefits of using these medications to treat bipolar depression?
Which mood stabilizers are preferred for use in the geriatric population?
Discuss topiramate. What is it used for (in psychiatry)? For this discussion include any associated monitoring, testing, or major side effects.
Which mood stabilizers are FDA approved in children and adolescents for psychiatric disorders?
Discuss gabapentin. What is it used for (in psychiatry)? For this discussion include any associated monitoring, testing, or major side effects.

Responses need to address all components of the question, demonstrate critical thinking and analysis and include peer-reviewed journal evidence to support the student’s position.
Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with in-text citations and corresponding references in APA format.
Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets the criteria.
Estimated time to complete: 3 hours

Unit 4 Discussion
Discussion Prompt

Side effects are a common reason that patients discontinue medications. List one common side effect for each medication and one potential way to manage it.

Amitriptyline
Bupropion
Fluoxetine
Paroxetine

Some potential side effects from antidepressants can be serious; what is the difference between neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) and serotonin syndrome? How are they treated?
Are any antidepressants approved for or preferred in postpartum depression?
Which class of antidepressants (if any) are generally recommended to be used in geriatrics?
Side effects are a common reason that patients discontinue medications. List one common side effect for each medication and one potential way to manage it.

Review prescribing guidelines for benzodiazepines for anxiety in your state. Are there any limitations for APRN’s to prescribe? How do the numbers of scripts written by APRN’s compare to those of physicians?

Unit 5 Discussion
Special Population Peer Review
Initial Discussion Question/Prompt
Post the link to your substance use presentation for this week so peers can view.  No replies to others’ presentations are required but you are encouraged to view others’ presentations and comment.

Submit the unlisted Youtube link to your created presentation for peer review.  Ensure that your link is listed as “unlisted” and not private so it can be viewed.

Unit 6 Discussion
Discussion Prompt

Naltrexone is often used in psychiatric mental health care for many reasons related to addiction and/or impulse control. It is also occasionally used to help patients with self-harm behaviors or weight loss. Considering the mechanism of action of naltrexone, how does it aid in addiction treatment?
Compare and contrast methadone and buprenorphine for substance abuse treatment. For this discussion, addiction use (what substances) include the mechanism of action, contraindications, and the pros or cons of each option.

Responses need to address all components of the question, demonstrate critical thinking and analysis and include peer-reviewed journal evidence to support the student’s position.
Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with in-text citations and corresponding references in APA format.
Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets the criteria.
Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Unit 7 Discussion
Discussion Prompt
Explore options for complementary and alternative medicine in psychiatric mental health care or functional medicine aspects that you could envision incorporating into your practice.  For this discussion, since this ends our psychopharmacology and prescribing course, keep your options focused on supplements, herbs, etc…   Include the following:

Diagnostic testing and assessments:
Pharmacologic interventions: including dosage, route, and frequency
Mechanism of Action (MOA)
Contraindications
Education, including health promotion, maintenance, and psychosocial needs:
Referrals:
Follow-up, including return to clinic (RTC) with a time frame and reason and any labs that support your choice with at least 1 peer-reviewed article within the timeframe of the last five (5) years.

Responses need to address all components of the question, demonstrate critical thinking and analysis and include peer-reviewed journal evidence to support the student’s position.
Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with in-text citations and corresponding references in APA format.
Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets the criteria.
Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Unit 8 Discussion
Reflection
Please respond to the following questions based upon these course objectives:

Understand and be able to articulate the fundamentals of neurotransmission as it relates to prescribing psychotropic medications for clients with acute and chronic mental health conditions.
Discuss major categories of psychotropic drugs, their rationale for use, mechanisms of action, common side effects, and drug interactions.
Discuss evidence to support and the appropriate use of complimentary alternative medications in patients that are experiencing acute and chronic mental health conditions seeking adjunctive or monotherapy treatment while considering cultural and genetic factors as well as patient values.
Utilize clinical assessment tools associated with diagnosing and prescribing for psychiatric disorders and begin to utilize these tools in clinical settings to assist with diagnosis and treatment of chronic mental health conditions.
Propose psychotherapeutic medication for selected patients keeping in mind safety concerns while utilizing knowledge of current mental health, medical concerns, age, gender, cultural factors, genetic factors, ethical concerns, patient values, and prescriptive authority impact decision making.
Utilize research and provide basic diagnostic and psychopharmacology education to your client and his/her family when prescribing.
Understand ethical and legal considerations and controversies in current pharmacological treatment of mental health patients.

Please answer the following questions with supporting examples and full explanations.

For each of the learning objectives, provide an analysis of how the course supported each objective.
Explain how the material learned in this course, based upon the objectives, will be applicable to the professional application.

Unit 1 Assignment Portfolio: Neuroanatomy & Neurotransmission Chart
Instructions
Please watch the interactive Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology  (Links to an external site.)presentation the complete this unit’s portfolio assignment  quiz

Unit 2 Assignment Portfolio: Antipsychotic Chart
Instructions
Conduct a. scholarly search for several options of a “comparison chart of antipsychotics”.  You will then complete the template to add to your program portfolio for entry clinical practice.
Use PMPNP Portfolio for Clinical Practice Template here for the Antipsychotics chart completion.
Unit 3 Assignment Case Study: Mood Disorders
Instructions
Patient Intake and History
The patient is a 26-year-old college graduate who is currently euthymic but who has a history of major depressive episodes
He has experienced major depressive episodes, mostly untreated, of varying lengths and severities since he was a teenager
His symptoms have included insomnia, despondent thoughts, depressed mood, low interest in activities, poor energy, and impaired cognition
He says his self-esteem drops and he feels rejection-sensitive and guilt-ridden for no apparent reason
He has never had suicidal thoughts
Some of the depressive episodes have been incapacitating and have interfered with school and work
He appears to have good inter-episode recovery and is able to return to class and work
The patient also has symptoms of social anxiety
He is often nervous around new people and acquaintances
He experiences anticipatory anxiety and will avoid certain social events
These symptoms are present regardless of his affective state
He has asked for a consultation because he has legal issues regarding drinking and driving that he thinks were likely fueled by his psychiatric symptoms
At the time of the infraction (several months ago, just before graduating college), he had been started on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) for the depression and SAD symptoms
Within days of starting he experienced elevated mood in a sustained fashion over several days
He lost all anxiety, fear, and avoidance
He was unusually talkative; had racing thoughts; was distractible, hyperactive, and impulsive; and had decreased need for sleep
He exhibited grandiosity, in which he felt invincible and that the law did not apply to him; this led him to purposefully antagonize a man in a bar, drive while drinking, and challenge authority when police were called
The mood elevation is complicated by the fact that the patient admits to heavy alcohol use on weekends throughout college
The mood elevation abated with cessation of the SSRI treatment
He has now completed college; he has few friends in the immediate area but his family is very supportive
He wants to be a news reporter and is planning on applying to graduate school
The patient has no family history of bipolar disorder; his mother has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
He is not currently taking any medications
Vitals:

98.8
160/80
76
18
5’10”
190 lbs.

Please use the case study template to complete the case and answer the questions listed below:

Does the patient’s history support a diagnosis of bipolar disorder even though his symptoms appear to have been triggered by a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor?
What would be the expected future course of illness for this patient?
If the patient develops another depressive episode, how would you treat it?
What medication would you choose (there could be many correct answers). What is the MOA of this medication? (Be specific i.3. What receptor does it work on, etc.)
Provide and reference a recent research article (Published over the last 3 years) on the  medication treatment of Mood Disorders

Unit 4 Assignment Depression & Anxiety Case Study
Instructions
Complete a full intake on this patient and then develop a treatment plan using the template offered.
Patient History
The patient is a 59-year-old married woman with 5 grown children
She is moderately overweight (BMI 30) and was diagnosed with non-insulin-dependent diabetes 10 years ago; she is fairly well managed on an oral hypoglycemic medication (glipizide 10 mg twice per day)
Two years ago, the patient experienced 2 tremendous stressors: her oldest child developed leukemia (now in remission), and her mother and father both passed away
She suffered a significant and impairing major depressive episode that went untreated until recently
This was her fifth episode of depression; she experienced 2 major depressive episodes as a teenager, and she developed postpartum depression and anxiety following the births of 2 of her children
Four months ago, after she was too fatigued to get out of bed, she sought treatment for the first time in her life
After receiving education and support from her clinician, she reluctantly agreed to take Paxil 30 mg/day
The patient has experienced a near-complete resolution of her symptoms in the last 6 months; however, she has developed side effects and wants to discontinue the medication
Specifically, she has increased appetite and has correspondingly gained 7 pounds in the last 4 months, with an increase in HgA1c of 1 full percentage point
She also reports excess daytime sedation and anorgasmia (very unusual for her)
What options can you offer to manage these side effects? Be specific
What education should you give the patient about stopping this medication abruptly?
What is your treatment plan?

Unit 5 Assignment – Case Study
Instructions
Review all the learning material for this week; videos, webinars, lectures, articles, and guidelines.
For this week’s case study assignment, you will create a presentation to educate other providers about caring for the mental health needs of special populations in psychiatric mental health/primary care.  Then record voice over for your presentation using PowerPoint, zoom, or Youtube, etc…
You will then upload your recorded presentation file to Youtube for easier access and viewing by faculty and peers.  Please select the UNLISTED option.  This allows your instructor and peers to view and anyone you share the link with but will not publish it to public view.
You will submit the link to your video in the assignment dropbox as well as to the discussion board this week.
For your assigned special population, you will provide information for the following listed slides:

Slide 1:  TITLE SLIDE
Slide 2:  POPULATION:  Introduction to population
Slide 3:  PREVALENCE of MENTAL ILLNESS: mental health statistics for this population
Slide 4:  PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY TX CONSIDERATIONS: medications to avoid and why, considerations r/t pathophysiology and changes for this population (think genetics, renal clearance, blood volume, development, genetics-CYP450, etc…)
Slide 5: CONTRAINDICATIONS:  are there any specific contraindications to prescribing psychotropic to this population

Slide 6: REFERENCES

See your assigned population listed below:
If your LAST NAME starts with A through E please use the following circumstance:
Elderly/Geriatrics: polypharmacy, physiological consideration of aging
If your LAST NAME starts with F through I please use the following circumstance:
Pediatric/Adolescents: considerations for prescribing, FDA approvals
If your LAST NAME starts with J through Q please use the following circumstance:
Perinatal/Lactation: considerations for prescribing, teratogenicity, physiological considerations of pregnancy
If your LAST NAME starts with R through Z please use the following circumstance:  Minority (specific Ethnicities) Groups: specific genetic considerations for metabolism of medication (think CYP450, etc…)
To Submit Your Assignment:

Select the  Add Submissions button.
Submit your video link.
Select  Save Changes.

 

Unit 6 Assignment – Prescribing Assignment
Instructions

Please complete the questions listed below in the assignment.

Provide supporting Documentation and Resource Links.
This must be at least 2-3 pages paper, APA format.

Submit to the dropbox by the due date.

Questions

Determine if your practice state is an independent practice state for APRNs using the AANP map (Links to an external site.).
Look up the APRN prescribing regulations in your state.
What are the safe prescribing recommendations for APRN’s in your state? This will vary depending on the level of practice authority.
Does your state have a Prescriptions Drug Monitoring Program? If so, explain. If not, please describe current legislation regarding this topic.
What are the barriers to APRN’s prescribing in your state?
What local or national organizations are available for you to join to support the cause for advancing practice/prescribing for APRN’s?

Unit 7 Assignment – Case Study Discussion
Instructions
Evaluating and managing the side effects of psychotropics is an important part of prescribing. Some side effects can be safely monitored and managed by a PMHNP. While others may require additional tests, collaboration with primary care providers, or even referrals to specialists. It is key to know which side effects are “ok” to treat and which should really be treated by a different provider. Part of this answer may depend on the state in which you ultimately practice, as what you are allowed to prescribe may vary state by state.
For this assignment, you will review the PowerPoint
Locate your assigned case study and answer the questions which correspond to the FIRST letter of your LAST name. The answers to these questions will be located in the PowerPoint, but you will need to do additional research to support your decisions.
Then you will respond to the main postings of two other learners; at least one response should be to a peer who has answered questions different from yours.
Recall that your main posting should be submitted by Friday at 11:59 p.m., Eastern time. All responses to other learners’ discussion questions must be submitted no later than Sunday at 11:59 p.m, Eastern time in order to be considered for grading purposes.

Unit 7 Assignment – Portfolio Charts
Instructions
Portfolio: Completed Portfolio Charts from all units (Unit 1, 2, 3, 4)
Conduct a scholarly search for several options of “antidepressants and anxiolytics”.  You will then complete the template to add to your program portfolio for entry clinical practice.
Use PMPNP Portfolio for Clinical Practice Template here for the Antipsychotics chart completion.