13 Jan Note: All Stahl resources can b

Jay, an 18-year-old high school senior, presents with symptoms of difficulty sleeping and feeling sad, which results in an initial diagnosis of depression. His mother later reports, however, that Jay exhibits symptoms of irritability and risk-taking behaviors. (His little brother reported to his mother that they were driving over 90 miles an hour on the highway.) After further evaluation, Jay’s psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner diagnosed him with bipolar disorder.

Cases like this are not uncommon with bipolar disorder, as initial assessments rarely provides all the information needed. In your role, as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, you must develop strategies for properly assessing and diagnosing these clients because treatments for bipolar disorder are significantly different than treatments for depression or other mood disorders.

This week, as you examine bipolar therapies, you explore the assessment and treatment of clients with bipolar disorder. You also consider ethical and legal implications of these therapies.

Photo Credit: [Vanessa Galeote]/[Hemera / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images

Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients with With Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a unique disorder that causes shifts in mood and energy, which results in depression and mania for clients. Proper diagnosis of this disorder is often a challenge for two reasons: 1) clients often present as depressive or manic, but may have both; and 2) many symptoms of bipolar disorder are similar to other disorders. Misdiagnosis is common, making it essential for you to have a deep understanding of the disorder’s pathophysiology. 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 bipolar disorder.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Assess client factors and history to develop personalized plans of bipolar therapy for clients
Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients requiring bipolar therapy
Evaluate efficacy of treatment plans
Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing bipolar 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.

Required Readings

Note: All Stahl resources can be accessed through the Walden Library using this link. This link will take you to a log-in page for the Walden Library. Once you log into the library, the Stahl website will appear.