Mental Health Nursing: Challenges of Psychotropic Medications

This essay addresses the challenges encountered by registered nurses when administering psychotropic medications to patients in mental health settings. The essay highlights issues such as violent behavior, medication refusal, and the importance of nurses providing optimal attention. It emphasizes the role of nurses in the recovery process, defining recovery as a process of change that improves health and well-being. The essay discusses the adoption of integrated care strategies and the use of person-centered, client-initiated self-care to prevent relapse. It focuses on the principle of recovery-oriented mental health practices, which aligns with national standards and incorporates six key principles: client uniqueness, real choices, dignity and respect, attitudes and rights, partnership and communication, and evaluation. The essay also highlights the importance of recovery-oriented practice in administering antipsychotic medicines, promoting courteous behavior, and recognizing the client's expertise in their own life. The essay references several scholarly articles to support its claims, underscoring the significance of effective medication management within a broader framework of patient-centered care and recovery.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Name of the Students:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Challenges of the registered nurse while giving psychotropic medications for recovery of
consumers
Registered nurses have to face several challenges while administering psychotropic
medications for the recovery of clients. These include violent and aggressive behaviour,
restrain from having medications and in cases, the nurses do not give optimal attention, and
they might not have the medicines and throw it. Therefore, the nurses play a significant role
in the recovery process of the clients having a mental illness. According to the opinion of
Mahone, Maphis and Snow (2016), recovery is defined as a process of change that helps in
improving the health and wellbeing of the client to live a self-directed life and reach its full
potential through a combination of aspects. In order to promote recovery among the clients,
an integrated care strategy needs to be adopted that involves a broader understanding of the
actual meaning of medicines that can be highlighted using effective communication strategies
and tools thus, releasing the powerful collaborations of medicines and psychosocial treatment
to treat the illness. The use of personal medicine needs to be focused upon, which include
person-centred and client-initiated self-care that will help in preventing relapse of the
disorder and improving the health outcomes of the client. One of the most accepted and
relevant guidelines that can be adopted by the registered nurse is the principle of recovery-
oriented mental health practices. As per the opinion of Osborn and Stein (2017), it is in
association with the ten national standards and is widely applied in the mental health system.
The six principles of recovery are the uniqueness of the client, real choices, dignity and
respect, attitudes and rights, partnership and communication and evaluation recovery. Cleary
et al. (2017) opined that the practice identifies that cure is not the only recovery approach;
thus, it values the choice, needs and demand of the person, accepts it to personal and unique
thus, focusing on social inclusion and improved quality of life. It supports and empowers the
choices of clients and acknowledges them to strengthen and promote wellbeing. The practice

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also strikes a balance between the duty of care and the support of the consumer while giving
medications. It involves listening to the client and acting according to the situation instead of
using force or power. Thus, it promotes the legal, human rights and citizenship of the patient.
This furthermore, instills hope of the future and dreaming of a good and meaningful life.
Davidson et al. (2016) opined that recovery-oriented practice is more apt while giving anti
psychotropic medicines to the client as it involves behaving in a courteous and respectful
manner; thus, accepting sensitivity of the situation. It does not discriminate among the
clients; as a result, it can be applied in a broader section of the community (Health.gov.au,
2020). It recognises that the client is the expert in his or her life and tends to take their
opinion in the recovery process by valuing the information provided by them and the
registered nurse undertakes follow-up and quality improvement activities after the recovery.
Mental health is one of the critical aspects and thus, administering medicines is important on
a daily basis; thus, aboding these principles allows in a more effective recovery process
among mentally ill patients.

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References
Cleary, M., Lees, D., Molloy, L., Escott, P., & Sayers, J. (2017). Recovery-oriented care and
leadership in mental health nursing. Issues in mental health nursing, 38(5), 458-460.
Davidson, L., Carr, E., Bellamy, C., Tondora, J., Fossey, E., Styron, T., ... & Elsamra, S.
(2016). Principles for recovery-oriented inpatient care. In Handbook of recovery in
inpatient psychiatry (pp. 39-58). Springer, Cham.
Health.gov.au. (2020). Department of Health | Principles of recovery oriented mental health
practice Retrieved 1 April 2020, from
https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-pubs-
i-nongov-toc~mental-pubs-i-nongov-pri
Mahone, I. H., Maphis, C. F., & Snow, D. E. (2016). Effective strategies for nurses
empowering clients with schizophrenia: medication use as a tool in recovery. Issues
in mental health nursing, 37(5), 372-379.
Osborn, L. A., & Stein, C. H. (2017). Community mental health care providers’
understanding of recovery principles and accounts of directiveness with
consumers. Psychiatric Quarterly, 88(4), 755-767.