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In the subject line of the Discussion thread, include the case number.
Make a list of three questions you would ask the patient if he or she was in your office. Give an explanation for why you might ask these questions.
Determine who in the patient’s life you need to speak with or get feedback from in order to further assess the patient’s situation. Include specific questions you might ask these people, as well as your reasoning for doing so.
Explain which physical examinations and diagnostic tests would be appropriate for the patient, as well as how the results would be used.
Make a list of three possible diagnoses for the patient. Choose the one you believe is most likely and explain why.
Based on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, identify two pharmacologic agents and their dosing that would be appropriate for the patient’s antidepressant therapy. Provide a rationale for why you might choose one agent over the other in terms of mechanism of action.
Identify any contraindications to use or changes in dosing that may need to be considered based on the client’s ethnicity for the drug therapy you choose. Discuss why the contraindication/alteration you’ve discovered exists. That is, what would be problematic about using this drug in people of other ethnicities?
If your assigned case contains â€check points†(i.e., follow-up data at week 4, 8, 12, etc.), indicate any therapeutic changes you might make based on the data provided.
Describe the “lessons learned” from this case study, including how you might apply this case to your own practice when caring for patients with similar clinical presentations.