Handbook of Psychiatric Emergencies NBCC, NASW approved.*

After completion of this course you’ll be able to:

• Categorize psychiatric patients into three groups.
• List the factors you should consider while creating the best environment to examine a psychiatric patient.
• Describe how the appearance, movement, and speech of a psychiatric patient can help you establish an initial diagnosis.
• Provide a differential diagnosis on the basis of circumstantialities and tangentiality.
• Explain how thought content can provide insight into a patient’s mental status.
• Identify four situations in which you may reveal confidential patient information.
• Emphasize the importance of documenting all interventions.
• Discuss the three basic elements of consent.
• List 7 points that should be covered during initial examination to assess a patient’s competence.
• Identify circumstances under which you may be held liable for harm caused by your patient either to himself or others.
• List various common signs and symptoms of delirium.
• Describe the mental status and physical findings of alcohol intoxication.
• Describe the interpersonal and pharmacologic interventions for alcohol withdrawal.
• Describe the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
• Discuss medicolegal considerations associated with alcoholic emergencies.
• Describe the triage approach to drug abuse.
• Describe the pharmacologic intervention for opioid withdrawal.
• Describe the mental status findings of schizophrenia and mania and provide a differential diagnosis.
• List medical disorders that mimic schizophrenia and mania.
• Describe the interpersonal interventions for a paranoid and catatonic patient.
• Provide a differential diagnosis of violent patients.
• Describe the interpersonal interventions a clinician should use when faced with a violent patient.
• Discuss legal considerations involved in informed consent, refusal of treatment, dangerousness, and duty to warn or protect intended victims.
• Classify self-destructive patients into three categories.
• Identify clinical indicators of high suicide risk.
• List major depressive syndromes.
• Describe the interpersonal intervention for a nonpsychotic patient with depression.
• Describe the management of grief of survivors of a patient who has died unexpectedly.
• List medical disorders associated with anxiety.
• Make a differential diagnosis of panic disorder.
• Make a classification of phobias.
• Identify phobias, obsessions, compulsions, and P.T.S.D., and provide interpersonal, pharmacologic and educational interventions.
• Describe usual staff reactions to domestic abuse.
• Identify spousal abuse in patients.
• Describe the interpersonal interventions in cases of elder abuse.
• Describe the protocol for examining a rape victim.
• List signs of physical and sexual abuse.
• Describe the runaway behavior of boys and girls.
• Identify risk factors for child abuse.
• Perform mental status and physical findings on a patient with dementia.
• Provide interpersonal intervention to the delirious elderly patient.
• Identify and differentiate among the most common types of psychoses in the elderly population.
• Describe the management of a suspected drug abuser in the emergency psychiatric setting.
• Identify malingerers.
• Discuss the general, neurologic and other effects of antipsychotic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, and antianxiety drugs.