Role of the Nurse

Role of the Nurse

• Ethical and legal implications
  • Nurses must understand the ethical and legal implications associated with the administration of psychotropic medications.
  • Most states adhere to the client’s right to refuse treatment, except in emergency situations.

• Assessment
  • A thorough baseline assessment must be conducted before a client is placed on a regimen of psychopharmacological therapy.
• Medication administration and evaluation
  • The nurse is the key healthcare professional in contact with the individual receiving medication. The nurse monitors for side effects and adverse reactions and evaluates the therapeutic effectiveness of the medication.
• Patient education
  • The nurse translates the complex information related to the medication into terms that can be easily understood by the client.
  • Nurses should use the latest informatics resources to provide current and relevant education on medication-related topics.
• It is important for the client (and family/SO to understand-
  • What the expected benefit hopefully will be
  • When the client should expect to see results
  • What are the potential side effects
  • What symptoms to report to provider
  • What things to do or not to do while taking medications