NURS 6630 Treating Clients With Psychosis and Schizophrenia
NURS 6630 Treating Clients With Psychosis and Schizophrenia
Psychosis and schizophrenia greatly impact the brain’s normal processes, which
interferes with the ability to think clearly. When symptoms of these disorders are
uncontrolled, clients may struggle to function in daily life. However, clients often thrive
when properly diagnosed and treated under the close supervision of a psychiatric
mental health practitioner. 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 psychosis and schizophrenia.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Assess client factors and history to develop personalized plans of antipsychotic therapy for
clients
Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients
requiring antipsychotic therapy
Evaluate efficacy of treatment plans
Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing antipsychotic 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 this link provided.
Stahl, S. M. (2013). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and
practical applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
To access the following chapters, click on the Essential Psychopharmacology, 4th ed
tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate chapter. Be sure to read all
sections on the left navigation bar for each chapter.
Chapter 4, “Psychosis and Schizophrenia”
Chapter 5, “Antipsychotic Agents”
Stahl, S. M. (2014b). The prescriber’s guide (5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge
University Press.
To access information on the following medications, click on The Prescriber’s Guide,
5th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate medication.
Review the following medications:
amisulpride
aripiprazole
asenapine
chlorpromazine
clozapine
flupenthixol
fluphenazine
haloperidol
iloperidone
loxapine
lurasidone
olanzapine
paliperidone
perphenazine
quetiapine
risperidone
sulpiride
thioridazine
thiothixene
trifluoperazine
ziprasidone
Naber, D., & Lambert, M. (2009). The CATIE and CUtLASS studies in schizophrenia:
Results and implications for clinicians. CNS Drugs, 23(8), 649-659.
doi:10.2165/00023210-200923080-00002
Document: Midterm Exam Study Guide (PDF)
Kay, S. R., Fiszbein, A., & Opler, L. A. (1987). The Positive and Negative Syndrome
Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13(2), 261-276.
Clozapine REMS. (2015). Clozapine REMS: The single shared system for clozapine.
Retrieved from
https://www.clozapinerems.com/CpmgClozapineUI/rems/pdf/resources/Clozapine_REM
S_A_Guide_for_Healthcare_Providers.pdf
Walden University. (2016). ASC success strategies: Studying for and taking a test.
Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/academic-skills-center/skills/study
Required Media
Laureate Education. (2016j). Case study: Pakistani woman with delusional thought
processes [Interactive media file]. Baltimore, MD: Author
Note: This case study will serve as the foundation for this week’s Assignment.
Optional Resources
Chakos, M., Patel, J. K., Rosenheck, R., Glick, I. D., Hammer, M. B., Tapp, A., & …
Miller, D. (2011). Concomitant psychotropic medication use during treatment of
schizophrenia patients: Longitudinal results from the CATIE study. Clinical
Schizophrenia & Related Psychoses, 5(3), 124-134. doi:10.3371/CSRP.5.3.2
Fangfang, S., Stock, E. M., Copeland, L. A., Zeber, J. E., Ahmedani, B. K., &
Morissette, S. B. (2014). Polypharmacy with antipsychotic drugs in patients with
schizophrenia: Trends in multiple health care systems. American Journal of Health-
System Pharmacy, 71(9), 728-738. doi:10.2146/ajhp130471
Lin, L. A., Rosenheck, R., Sugar, C., & Zbrozek, A. (2015). Comparing antipsychotic
treatments for schizophrenia: A health state approach. The Psychiatric Quarterly, 86(1),
107-121. doi:10.1007/s11126-014-9326-2
To prepare for this Assignment:
Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how to assess and treat clients requiring
anxiolytic therapy.
The Assignment
Examine Case Study: Pakistani Woman with Delusional Thought Processes. You will be
asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this client. Be
sure to consider factors that might impact the client’s pharmacokinetic and
pharmacodynamic processes.
At each decision point stop to complete the following:
Decision #1
o Which decision did you select?
o Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the
Learning Resources.
o What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with
evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
o Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #1 and the results
of the decision. Why were they different?
Decision #2
o Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the
Learning Resources.
o What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with
evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
o Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #2 and the results
of the decision. Why were they different?
Decision #3
o Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the
Learning Resources.
o What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with
evidence and references to the Learning Resources.
o Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #3 and the results
of the decision. Why were they different?
Also include how ethical considerations might impact your treatment plan and
communication with clients.
Note: Support your rationale with a minimum of three academic resources. While you
may use the course text to support your rationale, it will not count toward the resource
requirement.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
Save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK6Assgn+last name+first
initial.(extension)” as the name.
Click on the Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
Click on the Week 6 Assignment link. Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My
Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK6Assgn+last name+first
initial.(extension)” and click on Open.
If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click in the checkbox for I agree to submit my
paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 6 Assignment Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 6 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7
To submit your Assignment:
Week 6 Assignment
Midterm Exam
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Assess psychopharmacologic approaches to treatment for clients across the lifespan
This exam will cover the following topics, which relate to psychopharmacologic
approaches to treatment for clients across the lifespan:
Introduction to neuroscience
Therapy for pediatric patients with mood disorders
Adult and geriatric antidepressant therapy
Bipolar therapy
Anxiolytic therapy
Antipsychotic therapy
By Day 7
Complete the Midterm Exam. Prior to starting the exam, you should review all of your
materials. There is a 2-hour time limit to complete this 76-question exam. You may only
attempt this exam once.
This exam is a test of your knowledge in preparation for your certification exam. No
outside resources including books, notes, websites, or any other type of resource are
to be used to complete this exam. You are expected to comply with Walden
University’s Code of Conduct.
Submission and Grading Information
Submit Your Midterm Exam by Day 7
To submit your Midterm Exam:
Week 6 Midterm Exam
Making Connections
Now that you have:
Assessed clients presenting with psychosis and schizophrenia
Developed personalized plans of antipsychotic therapy for clients
Examined factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients
requiring antipsychotic therapy
Explored ethical and legal implications of prescribing antipsychotic therapy to clients
Next week, you will build on your assessment and treatment skills as you examine
clients presenting for therapy for pain and sleep/wake disorders.
To go to the next week: