Mental Health Nursing: cram pack

Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.

New problemsBack to the course

In the print window, choose “Save as PDF” to keep a copy on your device.

1Formulas and methods

Mental health nursing

Method

  1. Decide whether there is an immediate risk: suicide, violence, a drug emergency or a physical illness.
  2. Act on safety first: observe, remove means, de-escalate, stop a harmful drug, get help.
  3. Choose the therapeutic response: acknowledge feelings, present reality, avoid false reassurance and “why” questions.
  4. Respect rights: the least restrictive option, consent and confidentiality with its limits.

2Practice problems

1.Mental health nursingMedium

Which general principle applies to patients admitted involuntarily under mental health legislation?

  1. AThey keep their rights, except those specifically limited by law, and must be informed of their rights
  2. BThey can never refuse any treatment
  3. CThey lose all their rights
  4. DThey can be kept in hospital indefinitely without any independent review, as long as one doctor agrees it is needed
2.Mental health nursingHard

The parents of a 15-year-old with anorexia nervosa ask what treatment is usually recommended first. Which answer is most accurate?

  1. AFamily-based treatment, in which the parents take an active role in restoring the child's eating
  2. BLeaving the young person to decide on her own when to start eating more
  3. CLong-term treatment in an inpatient unit far away from her family, so that the parents cannot interfere
  4. DMedicine alone, because therapy is not effective in adolescents
3.Clinical psychologyMedium

Which is a main criticism of defining abnormality as deviation from social norms?

  1. AIt requires expensive brain scans
  2. BIt ignores how rare or statistically unusual a behaviour is
  3. CIt only applies to children
  4. DNorms vary across cultures and change over time
4.Clinical psychologyHard

A man reports that his left arm became paralysed after a severe argument, but neurological examination shows findings inconsistent with any known neurological disease. Which DSM-5 diagnosis is most likely?

  1. ABody dysmorphic disorder
  2. BIllness anxiety disorder
  3. CMalingering
  4. DFunctional neurological symptom disorder (conversion disorder)
5.PharmacologyMedium

Intravenous vancomycin is commonly used to treat infections caused by:

  1. AMRSA
  2. BPseudomonas aeruginosa
  3. CEscherichia coli
  4. DCandida albicans
6.PharmacologyHard

Why may omeprazole be avoided in a patient taking clopidogrel?

  1. AIt increases clopidogrel absorption from the gut and causes bleeding
  2. BIt speeds up kidney excretion of clopidogrel
  3. CIt inhibits CYP2C19, so less clopidogrel is converted to its active form
  4. DIt binds clopidogrel in the stomach and makes it insoluble

3Solutions

1.Mental health nursing

Answer: A · They keep their rights, except those specifically limited by law, and must be informed of their rights

Why this is the answer

Laws differ between countries, but involuntary patients generally keep their civil rights, have the right to information, appeal and review, and are treated in the least restrictive way.

Answer

A · They keep their rights, except those specifically limited by law, and must be informed of their rights
2.Mental health nursing

Answer: A · Family-based treatment, in which the parents take an active role in restoring the child's eating

Why this is the answer

Family-based treatment, which developed from the Maudsley approach, is a first-line treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Parents are supported to take charge of meals at first, before control is gradually handed back.

Answer

A · Family-based treatment, in which the parents take an active role in restoring the child's eating
3.Clinical psychology

Answer: D · Norms vary across cultures and change over time

Why this is the answer

Social norms are culture- and era-specific, so this definition can label harmless non-conformity as disorder and has been used to justify social control.

Answer

D · Norms vary across cultures and change over time
4.Clinical psychology

Answer: D · Functional neurological symptom disorder (conversion disorder)

Why this is the answer

Functional neurological symptom disorder involves motor or sensory symptoms incompatible with recognised neurological conditions. It does not require proof of a psychological cause or that the symptoms are feigned.

Answer

D · Functional neurological symptom disorder (conversion disorder)
5.Pharmacology

Answer: A · MRSA

Why this is the answer

Vancomycin is a glycopeptide that blocks cell wall synthesis in Gram-positive bacteria. It is a standard choice for MRSA. It cannot pass the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria.

Answer

A · MRSA
6.Pharmacology

Answer: C · It inhibits CYP2C19, so less clopidogrel is converted to its active form

Why this is the answer

Clopidogrel must be activated by liver enzymes, mainly CYP2C19. Omeprazole inhibits this enzyme and can reduce its antiplatelet effect, so another acid suppressant may be chosen.

Answer

C · It inhibits CYP2C19, so less clopidogrel is converted to its active form

ExamProblems · examproblems.com/courses/mental-health-nursing