Discussion: Treating Childhood Abuse

In 2012, statistics in the United States indicated that state CPS agencies received 3.4 million referrals for child abuse and neglect. Of these, nearly 700,000 children were found to be victims of maltreatment: 18% were victims of physical abuse and 78% were victims of neglect (CDC, 2014). Child sexual abuse makes up roughly 10% of child maltreatment cases in the United States (CDC, 2014). The CDC considers sexual abuse at any age a form of violence. Child abuse of any kind can lead to an increased state of inflammatory markers in adulthood, as well as multiple physical illnesses and high-risk behavior such as alcoholism and drug abuse. If a PMHNP identifies child abuse, there may be a need to report the abuse to authorities. Once able to provide treatment, the PMHNP can be instrumental in reducing the long-term effects of child abuse.

In this Discussion, you recommend strategies for assessing for abuse and analyze influences of media and social media on mental health. You also evaluate the need for mandatory reporting of abuse.

Learning Objectives

To Prepare for this Discussion:

• Read the Learning Resources concerning treating childhood abuse.
• Read the Child Abuse Case Study in the Learning Resources.

Post:

• What strategies would you employ to assess the patient for abuse? Explain why you selected these strategies.
• How might exposure to the media and/or social media affect the patient?
• What type of mandatory reporting (if any) is required in this case? Why?

Select ONLY ONE question listed below to write an essay for this week’s discussion forum.

1.  From Chapter 7, p 182-191, Darr (2011, p. 150) writes, “Managers must achieve the difficult balance between loyalty to the organization and fidelity to their personal ethic and professional integrity. How far should a manager go in following the crowd or in standing alone?”.  Address this question with details and supporting/opposing opinions.

2.  From Chapter 7, whistle-blowing is discussed.  Define the term whistle-blowing.  Identify positive and negative outcomes of whistle-blowing for the party who exposed the issue(s).

No formal format required, 200-250 words required. This is a very short forum post, simple and to-the-point answer needed only.

Create a 10–12-slide PowerPoint presentation to identify medications  associated with a chosen disease or health condition, explain the  actions and side effects of the medications, and discuss any  controversies related to the medications. Explain a treatment regime,  including pharmacology, for the disease or health condition you  selected, along with how the treatment regime may affect a client’s  lifestyle.

By having a thorough understanding of pharmacology, nurses can  eliminate possible medication errors in their nursing practices. The  basic principles of pharmacology include pharmacokinetics (what the body  does to a drug) and pharmacodynamics (what a drug does to the body).  Pharmacology plays a significant role in the nursing profession, so it  is extremely important for nurses to understand the actions of the  pharmacological agents they will administer to patients in order to  intervene appropriately if necessary. 

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Another critical skill for a nurse is the ability to apply and  evaluate evidence-based practices, principles, models, and  pharmacological guidelines and protocols commonly used in nursing  practice. Understanding how specific protocols and guidelines are  developed will aid nurses in treating patients with a multitude of  physiological and psychological conditions.

Nurses must be able to measure outcomes of pharmacological  interventions when caring for patients. The effective use of  evidence-based practice guidelines, models, and principles is one way  that nurses can analyze quality outcomes for the pharmacological  treatments used for patients.

Pharmacology includes different categories of major drugs used in  the treatment of primary diseases. The same drug may be used to treat  more than one disease or condition, while two patients with the same  disease may require different drug treatments. In addition, the  professional nurse must be aware of what types of things can influence a  patient’s response to a drug. Some things are obvious—other  medications, for example—while some are less so. Things like age,  weight, herbs—even foods people eat every day—can influence how a person  responds to a particular drug. At times, even a strong cultural belief  can influence how a drug will react. Nurses who administer drugs have a  responsibility to assess patients for both the desired response, as well  as for any unwanted and potentially harmful reactions that may occur.

Imagine your supervisor has asked you to conduct a lunch and learn  session to educate your fellow nursing staff on pharmacological  interventions.

Preparation

Select a disease or health condition that requires pharmacological  intervention. You may choose any disease or health condition you wish,  but the disease or health condition must be relevant to nurses from a  variety of settings (for example: ER, pediatrics, public health, et  cetera).

Requirements

Once you have selected a disease or health condition, create a  PowerPoint presentation you could use in your lunch and learn session,  including the following:

• Identify the disease or health condition you have chosen, along  with the areas where nurses are likely to see it. (Do this in the agenda  slide or next slide after the agenda.)
• Identify the three drugs used most often in the treatment of the disease or health condition.
• Explain the types of actions, side effects, indications, and  contraindications that could be expected from the pharmacological  treatment.
• Describe the treatment regime most often prescribed for the  disease or health condition. This should include pharmacology but not be  limited to pharmacology.
• Explain how the treatment regime (including pharmacology) may  impact a client’s lifestyle. Consider things such as finances, ease or  complexity of administration, instructions (frequency, duration), et  cetera.
• Describe how a nurse should monitor a client being treated for  the disease or health condition in order to obtain a quality patient  outcome.
• Explain any controversies associated with the drugs used in the  treatment. For example, is there a black box warning with any of the  drugs?

Use the notes section of each slide to expand your points or draft  your mock oral presentation (or both) and reference your resources. Use  at least 3 peer-reviewed or professional resources to support your work  in this assessment. Be sure your PowerPoint includes a title slide, a  slide with your agenda or list of topics to be covered, and a reference  slide. Follow current APA style and formatting guidelines for your  citations and references.

Additional Requirements

• Number of slides: 10–12, not including the title and reference slides.
• Be creative. Consider your intended audience.

Watch the “Diary of Medical Mission Trip” videos dealing with the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Reflect on this natural disaster by answering the following questions:

1. Propose one example of a nursing intervention related to the disaster from each of the following levels: primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention. Provide innovative examples that have not been discussed by previous students.
2. Under which phase of the disaster do the three proposed interventions fall? Explain why you chose that phase.
3. With what people or agencies would you work in facilitating the proposed interventions and why?

Chapter 1 of Andrews and Boyle (2016) discusses Leininger’s Sunrise Model of transcultural nursing. However, other models are described and are important to acknowledge, as well.

• Research the wonderful scholarly resources available to you in the Chamberlain Library. Select a Transcultural Nursing Model/Theory.
• Briefly explain the model/theory in your own words so your classmates will understand the general premises of the model/theory.
• Then, explain how you would be able to apply the model in your practice setting.