Case Study: Nursing Plan of Care for Patient with Suicidal Thoughts

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Added on 2024/07/01

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This case study presents a plan of care for a patient exhibiting suicidal tendencies and symptoms of depression. The primary urgent risk identified is the patient's suicidal ideation, stemming from feelings of failure, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite. The proposed immediate nursing intervention involves establishing a therapeutic relationship, organizing family-oriented crisis intervention, and encouraging communication to foster support and resilience. The nursing interventions aim to address the patient's depressed state by encouraging expression of feelings and building trust. Ethical considerations include maintaining patient confidentiality and obtaining informed consent for all procedures. This assignment provides a detailed overview of the nursing interventions and ethical considerations necessary for managing a patient with suicidal thoughts and depression. Desklib offers a range of resources for students, including past papers and solved assignments.

Case Study: Plan of Care
Table of Contents
1a............................................................................................................................................................................ 2
1b............................................................................................................................................................................ 2
2a............................................................................................................................................................................ 3
2b............................................................................................................................................................................3
3.............................................................................................................................................................................. 4
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................................5
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1a.
The urgent risk area in this specific case study seems to be the suicidal tendency of the patient. The
patient has been having fleeting thoughts of suicide and has been feeling low for the past six weeks,
experiencing sleeplessness and loss of appetite. He feels like failure in his professional as well as
personal life. Also he is in the medical profession and is aware of high lethality medication, which he
could take to overdose (Chae, Jeong, Lee & Heo, 2015). Also he feels that this situation is self-imposed
and cannot be treated. This also proves the suicidal thoughts are an indication of urgent risk area
( Baruth & Manning 2016).
1b.
The immediate nursing/midwifery intervention to address the suicidal tendency of the patient would be
to establish a therapeutic bond with the client, organize and facilitate family oriented crisis intervention
with the client’s consent as it is a multicultural case (Noh, Park and Oh, 2016). The patient feels low due
to being less involved in his newborn daughter’s life and being absent for his sick wife. Family oriented
crisis intervention may help the patient to practice communication skills so that he can be more involved
and clarify stress. Family crisis intervention will also encourage the family to offer care and support to
each other and develop resiliency to negative thoughts (Keltner , 2013).
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2a.
According to the case study provided, the patient seems to be suffering from depression. The patient has
been sad and restrictive, and in a low mood for the past six weeks. He has lost 5 kilos in the past month,
is always in a flat mood and experiences sleeplessness. Due to high pressure of the Accident and
Emergency department he feels anxious and restless. He has symptoms of depression as he has slowed
movements, inability to concentrate, slumped posture and feelings of worthlessness and guilt. All this
stress has lead him to have suicidal thoughts, which is an area of concern (Hofmann,et al 2010).
2b.
The main agenda for nursing intervention for addressing the depressed state of the client is to start a
trusting nurse-patient relationship. The nurse should be an active and patient listener. She/he should
encourage the patient to express and communicate their feelings of sadness and guilt. By expressing his
guilt of not taking care of his wife and newborn daughter the client will gain a sense control of his
overwhelming emotions. By communicating with the family the client will be able to diminish the
feeling of weakness, insignificance and loneliness. Support from the nurse will help the client to
recognize and deal with their feelings (Butcher, et al, 2018).
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3.
Two legal/ethical/professional issues a nurse needs to keep in mind while working with the client is that-
1. The nurse should keep all the patient documents and patient information confidential. It should be
only accessible to immediate care providers; otherwise privacy of the client is breached. It is the
responsibility of the nurse as the nurse has immediate access to the information.( Fry-Bowers, 2017).
2. It is the responsibility of the nurse to acquire an informed consent from the patient about any
procedure. The nurse should make sure that the client understands the process and any alternatives,
any risks and benefits of the process ( Blais, et al,2006).
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REFERENCES
 Baruth, L.G. and Manning, M.L., 2016. Multicultural counseling and psychotherapy: A lifespan
approach. Routledge
 Blais, K., Hayes, J.S., Kozier, B. and Erb, G.L., 2006. Professional nursing practice: Concepts and
perspectives. Pearson/Prentice Hall.
 Butcher, H.K., Bulechek, G.M., Dochterman, J.M.M. and Wagner, C., 2018. Nursing Interventions
classification (NIC)-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
 Chae, S.M., Jeong, J.W., Lee, S.Y. and Heo, K.H., 2015. Relationships among Depression, Self-
rated Health, Health Behaviors and Drug Abuse by Job Status. Korean Journal of Occupational
Health Nursing, 24(3), pp.245-257.
 Fry-Bowers, E.K., 2017. Legal Issues in Nursing. Issues and Trends in Nursing, p.359.
 Hofmann, S.G., Sawyer, A.T., Witt, A.A. and Oh, D., 2010. The effect of mindfulness-based therapy
on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology,
78(2), p.169.
 Keltner, N.L., 2013. Psychiatric nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences.
 Noh, D., Park, Y.S. and Oh, E.G., 2016. Effectiveness of telephone-delivered interventions
following suicide attempts: A systematic review. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 30(1), pp.114-
119.1
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