From negative changes in mood to problems concentrating, sleep/wake disorders can have a tremendous impact on patients’ lives. When patients suffer from these disorders, they often seek medical care with the intent of receiving medications to manage symptoms

I’m working on a health & medical multi-part question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Therapy for Patients With Sleep/Wake Disorders

From negative changes in mood to problems concentrating, sleep/wake disorders can have a tremendous impact on patients’ lives. When patients suffer from these disorders, they often seek medical care with the intent of receiving medications to manage symptoms. However, many of the medications used to treat sleep/wake disorders may be addictive, making thorough patient assessments and close follow-up care essential. To prescribe appropriate therapies with patient safety in mind, you must understand not only the pathophysiology of these disorders but also the pharmacologic agents used to treat them.

This week, as you study therapies for individuals with sleep/wake disorders, you examine the assessment and treatment of patients with these disorders. You also explore ethical and legal implications of these therapies.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Synthesize concepts related to the psychopharmacologic treatment of patients

Assess patient factors and history to develop personalized therapy plans for patients with sleep/wake disorders

Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in patients requiring therapy for sleep/wake disorders

Synthesize knowledge of providing care to patients presenting for sleep/wake disorders

Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing therapy for patients with sleep/wake disorders

Assignment 1: Short Answer Assessment

As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you will likely encounter patients who suffer from various mental health disorders. Not surprisingly, ensuring that your patients have the appropriate psychopharmacologic treatments will be essential for their overall health and well-being. The psychopharmacologic treatments you might recommend for patients may have potential impacts on other mental health conditions and, therefore, require additional consideration for positive patient outcomes. For this Assignment, you will review and apply your understanding of psychopharmacologic treatments for patients with multiple mental health disorders.

To Prepare

Review the Learning Resources for this week.

Reflect on the psychopharmacologic treatments that you have covered up to this point that may be available to treat patients with mental health disorders.

Consider the potential effects these psychopharmacologic treatments may have on co-existing mental health conditions and/or their potential effects on your patient’s overall health.

To complete:

Address the following Short Answer prompts for your Assignment. Be sure to include references to the Learning Resources for this week.

In 4 sentences, explain the appropriate drug therapy for a patient who presents with MDD and a history of alcohol abuse. Which drugs are contraindicated, if any, and why? Be specific. What is the timeframe that the patient should see resolution of symptoms?

List 4 predictors of late onset generalized anxiety disorder.

List 4 potential neurobiology causes of psychotic major depression.

An episode of major depression is defined as a period of time lasting at least 2 weeks. List at least 5 symptoms required for the episode to occur. Be specific.

List 3 classes of drugs, with a corresponding example for each class, that precipitate insomnia. Be specific