Assignment 1: Practicum Journal: Voluntary and Involuntary Commitment

PMHNPs may find themselves working in a wide variety of settings—each having their own unique challenges and inherent legal issues. For instance, what do you do in your state of practice when you are providing a therapy/treatment session and a client reports active suicidal ideation? What do you do if you are covering inpatient psychiatric consults and are called to see a patient in the ICU who overdosed on prescription medication requiring intubation? What do you do if you are a PMHNP on an inpatient unit and a client who admitted themselves on a voluntary basis suddenly states that they have decided to sign themselves out of the hospital so that they can go home to kill themselves? These are just some of the legal questions that PMHNPs must know the answers to specific to their state of licensure/practice.

In this Assignment, you investigate your state’s laws concerning voluntary and involuntary commitment. You also analyze a case to determine if the client is eligible for involuntary commitment.

Scenario for Week 7 Case:

You are a PMHNP working in a large intercity hospital. You receive a call from the answering service informing you that a “stat” consult has been ordered by one of the hospitalists in the ICU. Upon arriving in the ICU, you learn that your consult is a 14 year old male who overdosed on approximately 50 Benadryl (diphenhydramine hydrochloride) tablets in an apparent suicide attempt. At the scene, a suicide note was found indicating that he wanted to die because his girlfriend’s parents felt that their daughter was too young to be “dating.” The client stated in the suicide note that he could not “live without her” and decided to take his own life. Although he has been medically stabilized and admitted to the ICU, he has been refusing to talk with the doctors or nurses. The hospital staff was finally able to get in touch with the clients parents (using contact information retrieved from the 14 year old’s cell phone). Unbeknown to the hospital staff, the parents are divorced, and both showed up at the hospital at approximately the same time, each offering their own perspectives on what ought to be done. The client’s father is demanding that the client be hospitalized because of the suicide, but his mother points out that he does not have “physical custody” of the child. The client’s mother demands that the client be discharged to home with her stating that her son’s actions were nothing more than a “stunt” and “an attempt at manipulating the situation that he didn’t like.” The client’s mother then becomes “nasty” and informs you that she works as a member of the clerical staff for the state board of nursing, and if you fail to discharge her child “right now” she will make you “sorry.” How would you proceed?

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Evaluate clients for voluntary commitment
• Evaluate clients for involuntary commitment based on state laws
• Recommend actions for supporting parents of clients not eligible for involuntary commitment
• Recommend actions for treating clients not eligible for involuntary commitment

To Prepare for this Practicum:

• Review the Learning Resources concerning voluntary and involuntary commitment.
• Read the Week 7 Scenario in your Learning Resources.
• Research your state’s laws concerning voluntary and involuntary commitment.

The Assignment (2–3 pages):

• Based on the scenario, would you recommend that the client be voluntarily committed? Why or why not?
• Based on the laws in your state, would the client be eligible for involuntary commitment? Explain why or why not.
• Did understanding the state laws confirm or challenge your initial recommendation regarding involuntarily committing the client? Explain.
• If the client were not eligible for involuntary commitment, explain what actions you may be able to take to support the parents for or against voluntary commitment.
• If the client were not eligible for involuntary commitment, explain what initial actions you may be able to take to begin treating the client.

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See attached instruction file.

You must read the Quotation handout before attempting this assignment. Be sure to include a Works Cited.

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Learning styles represent the different approaches to learning based   on preferences, weaknesses, and strengths. For learners to best   achieve the desired educational outcome, learning styles must be   considered when creating a plan. Complete “The VARK   Questionnaire,” located on the VARK website, and then complete   the following:

1. Click “OK” to receive your questionnaire   scores.
2. Once you have determined your preferred learning     style, review the corresponding link to view your learning   preference.
3. Review the other learning styles: visual, aural,     read/write, kinesthetic, and multimodal (listed on the VARK     Questionnaire Results page).
4. Compare your current preferred     learning strategies to the identified strategies for your preferred     learning style.
5. Examine how awareness of learning styles     has influenced your perceptions of teaching and learning.

In a paper (750‐1,000 words), summarize your analysis of this   exercise and discuss the overall value of learning styles. Include the following:

1. Provide a summary of your learning style according the VARK   questionnaire.
2. Describe your preferred learning strategies.     Compare your current preferred learning strategies to the identified     strategies for your preferred learning style.
3. Describe how     individual learning styles affect the degree to which a learner can     understand or perform educational activities. Discuss the importance     of an educator identifying individual learning styles and     preferences when working with learners.
4. Discuss why     understanding the learning styles of individuals participating in     health promotion is important to achieving the desired outcome. How     do learning styles ultimately affect the possibility for a     behavioral change? How would different learning styles be     accommodated in health promotion?

Cite to at least three peer‐reviewed or scholarly sources to   complete this assignment. Sources should be published within the last   5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA   Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the   rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the   expectations for successful completion. 

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please   refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

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