Assessment 3 - Case Study (Updated 2017) | Using an Inquiry Based Learning Approach

Assessment 3 – Case Study (Updated 2017)
Using an Inquiry Based Learning Approach
Learning strategy
What you need to do
to critically analyse
the Case Study
Thought processes
What you need to demonstrate to your lecturer
in terms of your critical thinking about this
Case Study
Learning Outcomes Section
Demonstrate your learning in each section by presenting the information that
you have examined to improve your knowledge and understanding of this
particular Case Study
STEP 1 - CONNECT
Analyse each of the
case study documents
Think about what are some of the key issues
or information that you consider are important
in this Case Study?
There are some key points in the case
study that provide insights of the
condition. In the letter, it was
mentioned that the patient think the
medications provided to her act as a
poison and killing her. This shows the
presence of hallucinations, which is
often experienced by schizophrenic
patients. The presence of multiple
wounds on her abdomen and suicidal
tendency helps to under the severity of
the case. Different symptoms such as
depression, paranoia, stress, distress,
anxiety, alcohol and drug abuse shows
the presence of psychiatric comorbidity
with schizophrenia (Kelly, Daley &
Douaihy 2012).
Document what you consider are the key issues in this Case Study here.
Do not rewrite the case history from the case study documents.
It was mentioned that the patient had past instances of self-harm
and suicidal tendency. However, the condition was better and she
was recovering with the medication provided to her. The sudden
relapse of the disorder is very intriguing and is a key issue in the
case study. She was working as a primary school teacher when the
relapse occurred. It is important to understand occurrence of any
such events in the school or in her social environment that have
triggered the disorder.
STEP 2 - QUESTION
What are some of the
questions about this
Case Study that you
Document your questions here
1. There is no information provided
regarding the genetic
Provide a rationale - Why are these questions relevant to your learning about
this Case Study?
There are evidences that show that genes and environment play a

want to know more
information?
Identify the additional
information you need to
know about so that you
can plan your care
background of the patient.
2. There is little information
provided regarding the medical
history of the patient. It is
important to understand any
physiological disorder suffered by
the patient in the past apart from
asthma.
3. There is insufficient information
provided regarding the reason
behind the relapse of the
disorder. It was observed that the
patient was doing well until
recently when the relapse started
to occur. It is important to know
the occurrence of any such
events or condition that has
triggered the relapse.
4. The patient was suffering from
asthma problem. However, no
information is provided regarding
the medication prescribed to her.
5. Insufficient information is
provided regarding her social life
or any such occurrences in the
school where she teaches that
might have triggered the relapse.
significant role in the development of schizophrenia.
Environmental factors such as psychosocial factors, malnutrition,
complications during birth and the interaction between these
factors and genes are reported to trigger schizophrenia (Rasic et
al. 2013).
In most of the patients, some past unhappy events triggers
mental disorders. It was observed that the patient shows
aggressive behaviour on mention of Code Black. However, no
details are provided regarding the event. It is important to get
relevant information of any such unhappy occurrences in the past
as to carefully analyze the disorder.
As observed in the case study that the patient has suffered from
asthma before, but there is lack of information in the medications
administered to the patient. It is important to know the different
medications administered to the patient to understand the
interactions between the drugs as it many increase the risk of side
effects.
STEP 3 -
INVESTIGATE
Review your current
Research this disorder further. Record the
references at the end of this template
Describe the disorder presented in this scenario – include in-text referencing
Comorbidity refers to the presence of more than one clinical
condition in a patient at the same time. Psychiatric comorbidities

knowledge about the
clients mental illness in
this Case Study
Answer the questions in the
Learning Outcomes Section on the right
are quite common in psychiatry (Tsai & Rosenheck 2013). In the
present case study, the patient was diagnosed with schizophrenia,
bipolar affective disorders, comorbid alcohol abuse, and
schizoaffective disorder. The patient showed the symptoms of
paranoia, distress, low self-esteem, depression, and suicidal
attempt was observed. This showed the presence of psychiatric
comorbidity and schizophrenia. Drug and alcohol abuse,
depression, anxiety are some of the disorders that accompany
schizophrenia (Frith 2014). Psychiatric comorbidities are frequent
in patients suffering from schizophrenia, with the comorbid alcohol
abuse being the most common (Kelly, Daley & Douaihy 2012).
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder in which the person
loses touch with the reality. There are episodes of delusions and
hallucinations and the person experiences agitated, paranoid, and
anxiety issues (Frith 2014).
What are the clinical manifestations associated with this disorder? – include
in-text referencing
Schizophrenic patient displays a host of symptoms and each
person present different types of symptoms. Sometimes the
symptom changes drastically for the same person over time.
Schizophrenic patient presents many positive and negative
symptoms. In the present case study, the patient exhibited all the
positive symptoms of schizophrenia. She was agitated and
delusional and thus had difficulty in providing information. She had
severe mood disorders and was under the hallucination that the
medications provided to her acts as a poison and death is the only
option to attain freedom from all her problems. Apart from this, the
patient also presented negative symptoms, such as lack of energy,
apathy, low motivation and expressiveness, dull, distress, and
decline in the mental ability (Frith 2014). Inflicting harm to oneself
and suicidal tendencies are highly observed in schizophrenic
patients, as seen in our case study (Hardcastle 2017).