Answer discussion1

ANSWER DISCUSSION…AT LEAST 2 REFERENTS AND NOT 5 YEARS PASS ..THANK YOU

Situation I Experienced

            In the discipline of mental health, it is just as important as any other to incorporate patients' preferences and values. Instead of offering a situation that was solely my decision and the patients, I will talk about a case involving me, the patient, the patient's family, and the physician. We had a patient who was frequently admitted to the inpatient psych unit who would come in with psychotic episodes. He had schizophrenia paranoid type. It was the same story every time he was discharged from the hospital, stopped his meds, and got picked up by the police. Arriving back at the hospital under an emergency petition, he'd spend several days alternating between the quiet room and restraints. Due to his paranoia, he was never really interested in talking with staff. 

            One weekend I was assigned to sit with the patient for two twelve-hour shifts. I hand-fed him every meal while he was in restraints between the episodes of his yelling and cursing at me. He'd spend very little time sleeping and an incredible amount of time taunting me. Sometimes he would sing songs, changing the words to make fun of me somehow. I used my phone to turn on the song he was making a parody out of. The patient seemed to open to me within that brief time of playing that song. We had a somehow successful talk. He explained that he doesn't mind taking medicine but knows he doesn't need it daily. This was a pivotal moment considering he was notorious for not speaking to medical staff. 

Incorporating patient preferences impacts treatment

            With this information, I talked the doctor into considering the implementation of long-acting antipsychotic medication. The social worker talked to his mother, and she agreed to the plan of taking him to outpatient monthly to receive his injection.

Value of patient decision aid

            The patient continues to make it to his appointments and has had his most extended period without experiencing a relapse in his illness. Implementing shared decision-making with mental health patients leads to increased patient satisfaction and improved adherence (Drake et al., 2009).

Use in professional practice

            In my professional practice, I will include the patient’s preferences in my decision-making process. I will make sure that I include the input of social workers, nursing staff, and family members because psych patients sometimes have difficulty articulating their wants and needs.