Melissa is a family nurse practitioner who is enrolled in a PMHNP program and is beginning her first clinical rotation.

Melissa is a family nurse practitioner who is enrolled in a PMHNP program and is beginning her first clinical rotation.

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I’m a family nurse practitioner in the PMHNP program, and my first clinical rotation is about to begin. I’m preparing for my first solo interview with a patient who has been introduced to the practice’s standards and procedures and is presenting to the office to establish care. Unlike my experience as a primary care nurse practitioner, I know that the first office visit with a psychiatric patient should be handled differently—especially in the first five minutes—so that I can determine whether the patient’s behaviors are under his control or are the result of an underlying psychiatric or psychological disorder. Melissa is in the PMHNP program as a family nurse practitioner, and she is ready to begin her first clinical rotation.

When family nurses work together with other caregivers, they are most effective. Unfortunately, cooperation is not easy. At times, people are prone to becoming distracted, disorganized, and forgetful. Paperwork can end up in the wrong hands or disappear into the ether.

With a one-week history of headaches, nausea, and vomiting, a fifteen-year-old girl approaches her primary care physician. She has no medical or mental health background. The primary care nurse practitioner quickly scans the document and notes that the physician has seen this patient for the symptoms listed above several times in an urgent care setting over the years. She also sees on the record that she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014, that it was treated with chemotherapy, and that she was admitted to palliative care from 2013 to 2015. Melissa is in the PMHNP program as a family nurse practitioner, and she is ready to begin her first clinical rotation.

Are you getting ready for your first solo psych assessment? Are you trying to figure out what the best course of action is? This blog will walk you through the steps of a psychiatric (mental health) evaluation, from taking a history to physical exam skills.

This patient should be examined for suicidal ideation in order to protect the patient and follow risk management advice.

 

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Melissa is a family nurse practitioner who is enrolled in a PMHNP program and is beginning her first clinical rotation.

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