Modern psychopharmacology is largely the story of chemical neurotransmission. One must be fluent in the language and principles of chemical neurotransmission to:

• Understand the actions of drugs on the brain.
• Grasp the impact of diseases upon the central nervous system.
• Interpret the behavioral consequences of psychiatric medicines.

After studying Module 2: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:

• Choose an FDA-approved medication currently used in psychiatry.
• Explain the concept of that drug’s half-life.  
• How long would it take for that drug to reach a steady state?  
• How frequently should the medication be dosed based on the half-life? 
• Use Epocrates.com as a reference for this assignment.

Submission Instructions:

• Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources.  Your initial post is worth 8 points.
• You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth 2 points (1 point per response.) 
• All replies must be constructive and use literature where possible.
• Please post your initial response by 11:59 PM ET Thursday, and comment on the posts of two classmates by 11:59 PM ET Sunday.
• Late work policies, expectations regarding proper citations, acceptable means of responding to peer feedback, and other expectations are at the discretion of the instructor.
• You can expect feedback from the instructor within 48 to 72 hours from the Sunday due date.

 

discuss a very brief description (one paragraph for the group session– do NOT include the actual 12-steps) to include the following

Week 2 Methodology

· Points 75

 This week, you will submit the methodology portion of your project. In this section, you will explain your proposed research design and the foundation for your data collection. While you will not collect data for your study, you will be expected to explain how you would implement your study. 

In your methodology section, include the following: 

Statement of purpose

· What was studied and why? 

· The population studies (if appropriate) and how they will be selected for the study

Description of the methodology

· Is your study qualitative or quantitative and why did you choose this method? 

· If you chose quantitative, is your study:

· Descriptive, correlational, quasi-experimental or experimental and why?

· If you chose qualitative, is your study:

· A case study, grounded theory, phenomenology, ethnography, or historical study and why? 

· What other methods were considered but discarded? 

Data collection

· How will you collect the data that correlates to your research method?

· What are the factors that influence this data collection choice? 

· Identify and explain the data collection instrument and if they are published instruments or created by the researcher. 

· Where will the data be collected and who will collect it? How will it be recorded? 

· How is the data collection connected to the research questions? 

· What is the plan for data analysis? 

Trustworthiness

Describe how you will ensure your study is trustworthy: 

· Qualitative: Explain strategies for credibility, dependability confirmability, and transferability. 

· Quantitative: Explain strategies for internal and external validity, reliability, and objectivity

Your methodology section should be 8–10 pages with cited references and support from your research. 

Review the rubric for grading criteria.

Points Possible: 75

ATTACHED BELOW: Respond to the 4 colleagues post with suggestions of how to help and/or confirmation of similar issues/questions. No references are required.

2

Insomnia
31-year-old Male

 

BACKGROUND

This week, we examine a 31-year-old male who presents to the office with a chief complaint of insomnia.

SUBJECTIVE

Patient is a 31-year-old male. He states that his insomnia has gotten progressively worse over the past 6 months. Per the patient, he has never been a “great sleeper” but is now having difficulty both falling asleep and staying asleep at night. The problem began approximately 6 months ago after the sudden loss of his fiancé. The patient states this is affecting his ability to perform his job, which is a forklift operator at a local chemical company. The patient states he has used diphenhydramine in the past to sleep but does not like the way it makes him feel the morning after. He states he has fallen asleep on the job due to lack of sleep from the night before. The patient's medical record from his previous physician states that he has a history of opiate abuse, which began after he broke his ankle in a skiing accident and was prescribed hydrocodone/apap (acetaminophen) for acute pain management. The patient has not received a prescription for an opiate analgesic in 4 years. The patient states recently he has been using alcohol to help him fall asleep, approximately four beers prior to bed.

MENTAL STATUS EXAM

The patient is alert and oriented to person, place, time, event. He makes good eye contact and is dressed appropriately for time of year. He denies auditory/visual hallucinations. Judgement, insight, and reality contact are all intact. Patient denies suicidal/homicidal ideation, and is future oriented.

Decision Point One

Select what you should do:

Zolpidem: 10 mg daily at bedtime

Trazodone 50 mg po at bedtime

Hydroxyzine: 50 mg daily at bedtime

Examine
 Case Study: Pharmacologic Approaches to the Treatment of Insomnia in a Younger Adult. You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this patient. Be sure to consider factors that might impact the patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes.

At each decision point, you should evaluate all options before selecting your decision and moving throughout the exercise. Before you make your decision, make sure that you have researched each option and that you evaluate the decision that you will select. Be sure to research each option using the primary literature.

Introduction to the case (1 page)

· Briefly explain and summarize the case for this Assignment. Be sure to include the specific patient factors that may impact your decision making when prescribing medication for this patient.

Decision #1 (1 page)

· Which decision did you select?

· Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

· Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

· What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).

· Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

Decision #2 (1 page)

· Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

· Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

· What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).

· Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

Decision #3 (1 page)

· Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

· Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

· What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).

· Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

Conclusion (1 page)

· Summarize your recommendations on the treatment options you selected for this patient. Be sure to justify your recommendations and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.