Sample Answer for NURS 6630 Week 8: Assignment 1: Short Answer Assessment Included After Question
From negative changes in mood to problems concentrating, sleep/wake disorders can have a tremendous impact on patients’ lives. When patients suffer from these disorders, they often seek medical care with the intent of receiving medications to manage symptoms. However, many of the medications used to treat sleep/wake disorders may be addictive, making thorough patient assessments and close follow-up care essential. To prescribe appropriate therapies with patient safety in mind, you must understand not only the pathophysiology of these disorders but also the pharmacologic agents used to treat them.
This week, as you study therapies for individuals with sleep/wake disorders, you examine the assessment and treatment of patients with these disorders. You also explore ethical and legal implications of these therapies.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Synthesize concepts related to the psychopharmacologic treatment of patients
- Assess patient factors and history to develop personalized therapy plans for patients with sleep/wake disorders
- Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in patients requiring therapy for sleep/wake disorders
- Synthesize knowledge of providing care to patients presenting for sleep/wake disorders
- Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing therapy for patients with sleep/wake disorders
Learning Resources
Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)






Medication Resources (click to expand/reduce)
Note: To access the following medications, use the Drugs@FDA resource. Type the name of each medication in the keyword search bar. Select the hyperlink related to the medication name you searched. Review the supplements provided and select the package label resource file associated with the medication you searched. If a label is not available, you may need to conduct a general search outside of this resource provided. Be sure to review the label information for each medication as this information will be helpful for your review in preparation for your Assignments.
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Required Media (click to expand/reduce)
Case study: Pharmacologic approaches to the treatment of insomnia in a younger adult
Note: This case study will serve as the foundation for this week’s Assignment.
Assignment 1: Short Answer Assessment
As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you will likely encounter patients who suffer from various mental health disorders. Not surprisingly, ensuring that your patients have the appropriate psychopharmacologic treatments will be essential for their overall health and well-being. The psychopharmacologic treatments you might recommend for patients may have potential impacts on other mental health conditions and, therefore, require additional consideration for positive patient outcomes. For this Assignment, you will review and apply your understanding of psychopharmacologic treatments for patients with multiple mental health disorders.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Collection Mix: Sub
To Prepare
- Review the Learning Resources for this week.
- Reflect on the psychopharmacologic treatments that you have covered up to this point that may be available to treat patients with mental health disorders.
- Consider the potential effects these psychopharmacologic treatments may have on co-existing mental health conditions and/or their potential effects on your patient’s overall health.
To complete:
Address the following Short Answer prompts for your Assignment. Be sure to include references to the Learning Resources for this week.
- In 3 or 4 sentences, explain the appropriate drug therapy for a patient who presents with MDD and a history of alcohol abuse. Which drugs are contraindicated, if any, and why? Be specific. What is the timeframe that the patient should see resolution of symptoms?
- List 4 predictors of late onset generalized anxiety disorder.
- List 4 potential neurobiology causes of psychotic major depression.
- An episode of major depression is defined as a period of time lasting at least 2 weeks. List at least 5 symptoms required for the episode to occur. Be specific.
- List 3 classes of drugs, with a corresponding example for each class, that precipitate insomnia. Be specific.
By Day 7
This Assignment is due.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK8Assgn1+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 8 Assignment 1 Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 8 Assignment 1 link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK8Assgn1+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 8 Assignment 1 Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 8 Assignment 1 draft and review the originality report.
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 8
To participate in this Assignment:
Week 8 Assignment 1
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NURS 6630 Week 8: Assignment 1: Short Answer Assessment
Title: NURS 6630 Week 8: Assignment 1: Short Answer Assessment
NURS 6630: Psychopharmalogical Approaches to Treat Psychopathology
- In 3 or 4 sentences, explain the appropriate drug therapy for a patient who presents with MDD and a history of alcohol abuse. Which drugs are contraindicated if any, and why? Be specific. What is the timeframe that the patient should see the resolution of symptoms?
For patients with MDD and a history of alcohol abuse, the use of antidepressant medication like nefazodone in conjunction with psychotherapeutic approaches has been proven to be effective (Thom et al., 2019). Nefazodone is a serotonin modulator that has demonstrated a desirable safety profile, high tolerance, and great effectiveness in managing depression among alcohol-dependent patients. While SSRIs can also be considered, monoamine oxidase inhibitors like bupropion are contraindicated for such patients as alcohol increases the risks of adverse events such as the spiking of the patient’s blood pressure. With the use of nefazodone and multiple psychosocial therapies, the patient is expected to completely manage the MDD symptoms within 6 to 8 weeks.
List 4 predictors of late-onset generalized anxiety disorder.
- Female gender (Park & Zarate, 2019).
- Current phobia
- History of MDD
- Respiratory Disorder
List 4 potential neurobiology causes of psychotic major depression.
- Hypersensitivity to stress (Thom et al., 2019).
- Serotonin dysfunction
- Vulnerability to developing MDD
- Elevated dopamine levels
An episode of major depression is defined as a period lasting at least 2 weeks. List at least 5 symptoms required for the episode to occur. Be specific.
- Reduced energy levels or fatigue (Mullen, 2018).
- Depressed mood
- Anhedonia
- Sleep disturbances
- Feeling of worthlessness
List 3 classes of drugs, with a corresponding example for each class, that precipitate insomnia. Be specific.
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)- Zoloft and Prozac (Mullen, 2018)
- Psychostimulants and amphetamines- Adderall and Benzedrine
- Dopamine agonists- ropinirole and lisuride
References
Mullen, S. (2018). Major depressive disorder in children and adolescents. Mental Health Clinician, 8(6), 275-283. https://doi.org/10.9740/mhc.2018.11.275
Park, L. T., & Zarate Jr, C. A. (2019). Depression in the primary care setting. New England Journal of Medicine, 380(6), 559-568. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMcp1712493
Thom, R., Silbersweig, D. A., & Boland, R. J. (2019). Major depressive disorder in medical illness: a review of assessment, prevalence, and treatment options. Psychosomatic Medicine, 81(3), 246-255. DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000678
A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NURS 6630 Week 8: Assignment 1: Short Answer Assessment
Title: NURS 6630 Week 8: Assignment 1: Short Answer Assessment
Anatomy of the Neuron
Neurons are information messengers with three main parts namely the cell body, axon, and the dendrites (Kringelbach et al., 2020). The cell body is made up of a nucleus and cytoplasm and produces protein required to construct other parts of the neuron. The axon, on the other hand, extends from the cell body and carries signals away from the cell body while the dendrites carry signals toward the cell body and have numerous synapses to receive the signal from nearby neurons. Upon stimulation, neurons transmit an electrical impulse that passes through the dendrite, to the cell body, axon, axon terminal, and finally, the stimulus is passed (Kringelbach et al., 2020). At the axonal terminal, the axon releases neurotransmitters that depolarize neighboring cells through synapses and by binding to the membrane of the dendrite.
Subcortical Structures
Other structures within the brain are subcortical structures that act as information hubs for the nervous system. Their main role is to relay and modulate information circulating in different areas of the brain. They include the basal ganglia, limbic structures, pituitary gland, and the diencephalon (Malinowski, 2019).
The limbic systems play a great role in learning and memory addiction. The systems provide the anatomical substrate for emotions and motivated behaviors, including the circulatory for reward-related events and stress responses. Specifically, the hippocampus is used to mediate a cognitive/spatial form of memory. It controls learning and declarative memory which covers the memory of facts and events (Malinowski, 2019). The dorsal striatum also helps in memory by mediating the stimulus-response habit memory. Addiction on the other hand is linked to the limbic system through the orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus (Malinowski, 2019).
In line with motor control, the nigra striatal region offers two anatomically and functionally distinct portions knowns as the substantia nigra pars compacta and the substantia nigra pars reticulata.
Glial Cells
Other essential components in the central nervous system are the glial cells. They include the astrocytes whose role is to maintain the environment for neuronal signaling by controlling the level of neurotransmitters surrounding the synapses (Hirbec et al., 2020). Equally, oligodendrocytes wrap around the axons forming a protective layer called myelin sheath which enhances neuron signaling. The cells also include microglia, ependymal cells, and radial glial whose roles are clearing dead cells or removing harmful toxins, maintaining homeostasis, and regenerating neurons and other glial cells like astrocytes and oligodendrocytes respectively.
Neuron Communication
Neurons communicate with each other through synaptic transmission. A chemical synapse is registered at the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron and the dendrite of the postsynaptic neuron (Malinowski, 2019). The dendrite picks up signals and passes the signals down to the axon, into the axon terminals, and into the synapses. The role of the chemical synapse is to transform the electrical signal in the presynaptic cell’s axon into a chemical signal and back into an electrical signal in the postsynaptic cell.
Neuroplasticity
Brain plasticity denotes the ability of the brain to reorganize itself and form new neural connections in response to extrinsic or intrinsic stimuli. Through axonal sprouting, the undamaged axons develop new nerve endings and reconnect neurons with severed or injured links (Mateos-Aparicio & Rodríguez-Moreno, 2019). For instance, undamaged brain sites of stroke patients rewire themselves to take over functions of the damaged brain sites. Similarly, the undamaged axons sprout nerve endings that connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neural pathways (Mateos-Aparicio & Rodríguez-Moreno, 2019). For example, exposing the brain to specific grammatical rules helps it process and develop language.
References
Hirbec, H., Déglon, N., Foo, L. C., Goshen, I., Grutzendler, J., Hangen, E., … & Escartin, C. (2020). Emerging technologies to study glial cells. Glia, 68(9), 1692-1728. https://doi.org/10.1002/glia.23780
Kringelbach, M. L., Cruzat, J., Cabral, J., Knudsen, G. M., Carhart-Harris, R., Whybrow, P. C., … & Deco, G. (2020). Dynamic coupling of whole-brain neuronal and neurotransmitter systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(17), 9566-9576. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921475117
Malinowski, M. N. (2019). Anatomy of the brain and brain stem. In Deer’s Treatment of Pain (pp. 49-59). Springer, Cham.
Mateos-Aparicio, P., & Rodríguez-Moreno, A. (2019). The impact of studying brain plasticity. Frontiers in cellular neuroscience, 13, 66. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2019.00066