Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders: Clinical Challenges and Psychopharmacology for Advanced Practice Nurses and Staff Nu

Course overview

This course is designed for both staff nurses as well as advanced practice nurses. Staff nurses, even those working in a medical area, will see patients diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Due to medical and psychiatric comorbidities, these patients have complex prescription medication regimens. Staff nurses, being front-line providers, are generally responsible for medication teaching with the patient. Therefore, it is important for staff nurses to have a basic understanding of psychiatric disorders and the psychotropic medications used to treat these disorders. For advanced practice nurses, the course is intended to support and enhance their knowledge of diagnosing psychiatric disorders and to increase their confidence for prescribing psychotropic medications to adult patients. In addition, the course addresses challenging clinical situations and strategies for appropriate interventions. Finally, case studies are presented, based on real patients, with recommended treatment and management strategies, in a discussion format, based on the author’s clinical expertise. Learning outcomes Upon completion of this course, the learner should be able to: -Discuss the pharmacological interventions and evidence-based (EBP) nursing considerations for the treatment of depressive disorders. -Discuss the pharmacological interventions and evidence-based (EBP) nursing considerations for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. -Discuss pharmacological interventions and evidence-based (EBP) nursing considerations for the treatment of substance use disorders. -Discuss pharmacological interventions and evidence-based (EBP) nursing considerations for the treatment of bipolar spectrum disorders. -Discuss pharmacological interventions and evidence-based (EBP) nursing considerations for the treatment of schizophrenia/psychotic disorders. -Review neurobiology and pertinent pharmacokinetics with respect to psychotropic medications. -Discuss various clinical challenges when prescribing medication for patients diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. -Discuss the challenges in treatment and management of patients diagnosed with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders. -Present and discuss case studies of actual patients, and recommendations for treatment and management for the psychiatric nurse practitioner.