Class 6 Unit 3 Topic 2 Comment 1 (M)

Thing to Remember:

Answer this discussion with opinions/ideas creatively and clearly. Supports post using several outside, peer-reviewed sources.

1 References, find resources that are 5 years or less

No errors with APA format 6 Edition

To Comment:

Topic 2: Clinical Criteria for Determining Danger to Self

The patient is drunk and being loud this does not constitute being admitted to the psychiatric unit against her will.  According to Røtvold, & Wynn (2015), the involuntary admission to the psychiatric unit can be enforced if the patient is seriously mentally ill and if the patient is a danger to themselves or others, this is to ensure the patient gets help needed.  There is no evidence that the wife meets either one of these criteria and therefore it is our duty, as a nurse, to be an advocate for our patient by bringing this to the attention of the managers so that this injustice can be resolved immediately.  There are safeguards in place to protect the rights of patients involuntarily being admitted.  For instance the World Health Organization (WHO) is specific on two medical practitioners conduct the assessment separately and independently to determine involuntary admission (Zhang, Mellsop, Brink, & Wang, 2015).

 It is a common practice for the nurse to be an advocate for their patients.  According to Gosselin-Acomb, Schneider, Clough, & Veenstra, (2007) a nurse "promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety, and rights of the patient." “Advocacy also is accomplished when nurses take appropriate and responsible actions on behalf of patients when they are unable to do so” (Gosselin-Acomb et al., 2007).  The husband dating someone else while still married very well could have been what caused her to drink.  This may be a plan that the husband devised; history of admission to psychiatric floor, could be used in court against her to show instability to perhaps win custody. 

Reference

Gosselin-Acomb, T. K., Schneider, S. M., Clough, R. W., & Veenstra, B. A. (2007). Nursing advocacy in North Carolina. Oncology Nursing Forum, 34(5), 1070-1074.

Røtvold, K., & Wynn, R. (2015). Involuntary psychiatric admission: Characteristics of the referring doctors and the doctors' experiences of being pressured. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 69(5), 373-379. doi:10.3109/08039488.2014.987165

 Zhang, S., Mellsop, G., Brink, J., & Wang, X. (2015). Involuntary admission and treatment of patients with mental disorder. Neuroscience Bulletin, 31(1), 99-112. doi:10.1007/s12264-014-1493-5