In 2007 the Star Ledger newspaper told of a young man (unnamed for his own protection) in Newark who witnessed a murder while walking home one day.  It was a territorial drug dispute that didn’t even involve the murder victim who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man who witnessed the murder recognized a couple of the assailants who also recognized him. He ran and wasn’t found until police discovered him during investigations.

He knew the right thing but he also knew he could put himself, his wife, and young child in danger. There are laws to protect witnesses in NJ but these laws are not always effective. Some witnesses to such murders had been murdered by gang members eager to protect themselves.

The man in the news article eventually agreed to testify when police promised to relocate him and his family to Puerto Rico.

For our discussions this week, answer the following questions and then interact with the postings of others.

1) Talk to another person you know about Kant’s moral principle of a categorical duty to never make yourself the exception to a duty you’d expect others to follow (the categorical imperative).  What does this person think about it?  Do either of you believe there is ever such a thing as an unquestionable moral duty and, if so, how would that apply to the murder witness in this case?  If you think a witness to such a murder would be right to say nothing, explain if and when it is ever justifiable to follow a duty that could seriously cost you personally.

2) From the article “How to be True to Your Word” (LINK (Links to an external site.)), https://experiencelife.com/article/how-to-be-true-to-your-word/       

 do you think the following statement about lying is true?  Share your thoughts: “We may think our lying is for a good reason: to keep from insulting or wounding someone we care about, to avoid our own discomfort, to smooth over conflict or to make someone happy.  Really, though, we most often lie to make our own reality more comfortable” (Cat Thompson, “How to be True to Your Word”, Experience Life, 2012).  What about the so-called “white lie”?  Is this kind of lie, sometimes called a pro-social lie, something morally justifiable as you see it, or not?

Learning Resources

Required Readings

American Nurses Association. (2014). Psychiatric-mental health nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Standard 10 “Quality of Practice” (pages 73-74)

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

“Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders”

Giles, L. L., & Martini, D. R. (2016). Challenges and promises of pediatric psychopharmacology. Academic Pediatrics, 16(6), 508-518. doi:10.1016/j.acap.2016.03.011

Hargrave, T. M., & Arthur, M. E. (2015). Teaching child psychiatric assessment skills: Using pediatric mental health screening tools. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 50(1), 60-72.

McClellan, J., & Stock, S. (2013). Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with schizophrenia. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(9), 976–990. Retrieved from http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567(13)00112-3/pdf

Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
Chapter 31, “Child Psychiatry” (pp. 1268–1283)

Stahl, S. M. (2014). Prescriber’s Guide: Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology (5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Note: All Stahl resources can be accessed through the Walden Library using the link. This link will take you to a login page for the Walden Library. Once you log in to the library, the Stahl website will appear.

To access information on the following medications, click on The Prescriber’s Guide, 5th Ed. tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate medication.

To Prepare for this Assignment:

• Review the Learning Resources concerning early-onset schizophrenia.

The Assignment (2 pages):

• Compare at least two evidence-based treatment plans for adults diagnosed with schizophrenia with evidence-based treatment plans for children and adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia.

• Explain the legal and ethical issues involved with forcing children diagnosed with schizophrenia to take medication for the disorder and how a PMHNP may address those issues.  

Note: The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and at least three references less than five years old.