First Written Assignment
Submission must be via Turnitin.
Description: A 1,500 +- 10% word case study 40 %
Please email the course coordinator / post on the Course Discussion Threads regarding any queries on the assignment topics.
Submission
In keeping with RMIT policy all assignments are to be submitted through the Turnitin Portal available via the course
webpage.
The assignment is due by 23:59 on Sunday night: the portal will remain open until this time however after the portal closes you will not be able to submit your assignment so please make sure that it is submitted by 23:59.
The Turnitin portal will open 6 weeks prior to the assignment due date to allow you to submit your assignment. You are allowed to submit it as many times as you would like up until 23:59; the assignment I will receive to mark will be the LAST one you submitted.
Task to be undertaken:
Read the following instructions carefully in order to complete this part of the assessment for this course.
Select one of the following two case studies for your assignment:
Task 1
Case
Mike, a former 45-year-old car technician, is brought to the Emergency Department by his wife for presenting disorganised and paranoid behaviour. Mike has been using cannabis for the last 2 years to help cope with unemployment. He started cannabis with 1-2 joints (rolled cannabis cigarette) but increased to 6 joints a day three months ago and has maintained this dose for a few months now. Moreover, Mike smokes daily (10 cigarettes a day). Mike’s mother passed away three months ago and he lives with his wife and two children.
In the ED, Mike was agitated and restless. He stated someone is following him and wanted to put a bomb in his body. He believes there is an external force sending signals to his brain so he wears a bike helmet. Mike is dishevelled and uncooperative in the ED, but he is attentive and aware of the time and current location. His UDS shows positive for cannabis and negative for other drugs. Mike’s wife reported he has not been sleeping well since he lost his mother.
Mike was admitted into the inpatient psychiatric unit for further assessment and treatment.
Assignment question
Discuss therapeutic approaches that mental health clinicians should take to address Mike’s cannabis withdrawal in the patient ward. And discuss the supports needed for Mike and his family at discharge.
Task 2
Case
Jason is a 35-year-old married chef, who was brought and admitted into ED by the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team at midnight. On admission, Jason was agitated and distressed. His breathing was irregular and rapid. Jason believed that gang members were out to kill him, and reported that he heard voices of people discussing to kill
him. Jason was conscious and orientated. The nurse noticed old needle scars on his arms from methamphetamine injections.
Jason lives with his wife and 2 young children 200 Km east of Melbourne. He had been using methamphetamine for several years to cope with sleepiness and fatigue at work. In the past 6 months, he constantly thought about the drug and started to increase the dosage. His wife learned of his substance abuse and attempted to persuade him to stop. Jason finally decided to quit a week before the ED admission when his wife threatened to divorce him. Once he stopped using, he felt very tired, gloomy and stayed at home doing nothing. 3 days after stopping methamphetamine, Jason told his wife that he did not want to leave home because he heard voices. He had all doors and windows locked and he refused to eat in fear that the food maybe poisoned.
Jason was admitted into the inpatient psychiatric unit for further assessment and treatment.
Assignment question
Discuss therapeutic approaches that mental health clinicians should take to address Jason’s methamphetamine withdrawal in the inpatient unit, and the role of mental health nurses in managing post-withdrawal drepession
and potential relapse once he is discharged.
Additional Instructions: