After assessing and diagnosing a patient, PMHNPs must take into consideration special characteristics of the patient before determining an appropriate course of treatment. For pharmacological treatments that are not FDA-approved for a particular use or population, off-label use may be considered when the potential benefits could outweigh the risks.

In this Discussion, you will investigate a specific disorder and determine potential appropriate treatments for when it occurs in an older adult or pregnant woman. 

RESOURCES

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources. 

WEEKLY RESOURCES

TO PREPARE:

  • Choose one of the two following specific populations: either pregnant women or older adults. Then, select a specific disorder from the DSM-5-TR to use.
  • Use the Walden Library to research evidence-based treatments for your selected disorder in your selected population (either older adults or pregnant women). You will need to recommend one FDA-approved drug, one non-FDA-approved “off-label” drug, and one nonpharmacological intervention for treating the disorder in that population.

BY DAY 3 OF WEEK 9

  • Recommend one FDA-approved drug, one off-label drug, and one nonpharmacological intervention for treating your chosen disorder in older adults or pregnant women.
  • Explain the risk assessment you would use to inform your treatment decision  making. What are the risks and benefits of the FDA-approved medicine? What are the risks and benefits of the off-label drug?
  • Explain whether clinical practice guidelines exist for this disorder, and if so, use them to justify your recommendations. If not, explain what information you would need to take into consideration.

Expert Solution Preview

In this assignment, students are tasked with investigating a specific disorder and determining potential appropriate treatments for when it occurs in either older adults or pregnant women. The students are required to choose one of these specific populations and a specific disorder from the DSM-5-TR. They must then conduct research using the Walden Library to find evidence-based treatments for the selected disorder in the chosen population.

For the assignment, the students need to recommend one FDA-approved drug, one non-FDA-approved “off-label” drug, and one nonpharmacological intervention for treating the disorder in their selected population. They also need to explain the risk assessment they would use to inform their treatment decision-making, considering the risks and benefits of both the FDA-approved medicine and the off-label drug.

Furthermore, the students are required to determine whether clinical practice guidelines exist for this disorder. If clinical practice guidelines do exist, they must use them to justify their recommendations. If clinical practice guidelines do not exist, they need to explain what additional information they would need to take into consideration when making their recommendations.

Overall, this assignment aims to assess the students’ ability to research evidence-based treatments, critically evaluate the risks and benefits of different treatment options, and consider the availability of clinical practice guidelines to inform their recommendations.