Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies
Walden University Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies-Step-By-Step Guide
This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.
How to Research and Prepare for Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies
Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.
After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.
How to Write the Introduction for Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies
The introduction for the Walden University Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.
How to Write the Body for Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies
After the introduction, move into the main part of the Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.
Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.
How to Write the Conclusion for Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies
After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.
How to Format the References List for Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies
The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.
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Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Psychiatric Emergencies
Psychiatric emergencies are common in mental health care, and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNP) should understand how to administer emergency care and the laws guiding the practice. Due to the complexity of emergencies, PMHNPs should coordinate care effectively, involve law enforcement agencies appropriately, and ensure that family members and other support systems know the process and patient needs. The importance of follow-up care is critical for comprehensive healing. The purpose of this paper is to explore legal and ethical issues surrounding psychiatric emergencies and outline risk assessment tools for suicide and violence.
State Laws for Involuntary Psychiatric Holds
Children and adults can be confined in a psychiatric setting against their wishes. New Jersey permits court-ordered treatment for mental disorders if, upon personal observation, a law enforcement officer is convinced that a person requires involuntary treatment. The other instance is when a mental health practitioner screens the person and establishes the need for involuntary commitment to treatment (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2018). The psychiatric facility can hold up a person for up to 72 hours. During this time, the facility initiates court proceedings and receives a temporary court order for the commitment (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2018). The medical providers can release the patient or request the court to allow further treatment if the patient poses a danger to self or others. Family members, friends, or caregivers can pick up the patient after the hold is released.
Evaluation/Psychiatric Hold, Inpatient Commitment, and Outpatient Commitment
The terms differ in purpose for treatment. An emergency hospitalization for evaluation/psychiatric hold is a crisis response where the patient is admitted to a psychiatric facility for mental evaluation for a short period. Inpatient commitment applies when the patient is mentally ill and poses a risk for self, others, and property (New Jersey Courts, 2023). Outpatient commitment happens when the court establishes that the patient requires continued involuntary commitment.
Capacity and Competency in Mental Health Contexts
Patients should make informed decisions to enhance recovery and not pose any risk to others. According to Libby et al. (2018), capacity represents the functional determination that a patient can or cannot make decisions. The implication is that a capacitated patient can make effective decisions. Competence is primarily about the ability to perform actions to actualize decisions. As a result, capacity precedes competence.
Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Patient Autonomy
Regardless of the setting, health care providers should ensure and empower patients to make correct decisions. Patient autonomy is crucial when treating psychiatric emergencies. Zhang et al. (2021) described autonomy as the patient’s ability to make independent decisions. Ethically, informed consent promotes patient autonomy since it empowers patients to understand and freely agrees to the medication process and alternatives. Legally, patient autonomy is violated when a health care practitioner acts exclusively on behalf of patients or pressurizes them to act in a particular way.
Suicide Risk Assessment
The risk of suicide is high among patients requiring emergency holds. The Columbia Protocol is an effective suicide risk assessment that can be applied across settings for different patients. Also called the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRR), this assessment helps practitioners to analyze the risk of suicide and its severity to determine the support level that a patient needs (Ryan & Oquendo, 2020). Assessment areas include ideation, actions that demonstrate preparation for suicide, and suicide attempts. C-SSRR is simple to administer and uses plain-language questions to assess a patient.
Violence Risk Assessment
Violence assessment can be conducted through the Historical Clinical Risk Management- 20 (HCR-20) tool. As the name suggests, mental health practitioners focus on history, clinical items such as ideation and symptoms of major mental disorders, and risk management. Focus areas include formulating previous violence, estimating risk, and hypothesizing future scenarios (Ramesh et al., 2018; Silva, 2020). The screening outcomes help mental health providers to determine the most appropriate intervention depending on symptoms and severity of risks.
Conclusion
Psychiatric emergencies can be complex to handle, depending on their severity. PMHNPs should understand the ethical and legal implications of every process and ensure it is implemented according to standard guidelines. Family and caregivers should be integrated into the plan as PMHNPs ensure coordination and patient-centeredness as much as possible. For a comprehensive assessment, C-SSRR and HCR-20 can be used to assess suicide and violence risk respectively.
References
Libby, C., Wojahn, A., Nicolini, J. R., & Gillette, G. (2018). Competency and capacity. StatPearls Publishing.
New Jersey Courts. (2023). RULE 4:74-7 – Civil Commitment – Adults. https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/rules-of-court/civil-commitment-adults#:~:text=The%20court%20shall%20enter%20an,patient%20to%20be%20dangerous%20to
Ramesh, T., Igoumenou, A., Vazquez Montes, M., & Fazel, S. (2018). Use of risk assessment instruments to predict violence in forensic psychiatric hospitals: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Psychiatry: the Journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 52, 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.02.007
Ryan, E. P., & Oquendo, M. A. (2020). Suicide risk assessment and prevention: Challenges and opportunities. Focus, 18(2), 88-99. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20200011
Silva, E. (2020). The HCR-20 and violence risk assessment – will a peak of inflated expectations turn to a trough of disillusionment?. BJPsych Bulletin, 44(6), 269–271. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2020.14
Treatment Advocacy Center. (2018). Emergency hospitalization for evaluation. https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/component/content/article/180-fixing-the-system/2275-emergency-hospitalization-for-evaluation
Zhang, H., Zhang, H., Zhang, Z., & Wang, Y. (2021). Patient privacy and autonomy: a comparative analysis of cases of ethical dilemmas in China and the United States. BMC Medical Ethics, 22(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00579-6