1. Roles and responsibilities in psychopharmacology

2. Role of the nurse in administration and safe administration • PRN medication • Legal and ethical aspects of medication administration • Role of the multidisciplinary team

3. Role of the nurse • Skilled mental health nursing includes a sound understanding of psychotropic medications as well as an understanding of the possible issues that may occur for the person taking these medications • Nurses are at the front psychopharmacology • Nurses need to know every part of the process - prescription - action - administration - management

4. Nurses play a pivotal role in working with patients and families who may be grappling with issues around medications • Any interventions must supportive and therapeutic

5. The 6 rights • 1. Right drug • 2. Right individual • 3. Right dose • 4. Right time • 5. Right route • 6. Right indication.

6. Role of the nurse What nurses need to know; • Sound working knowledge of psychotropic medication • Sound working knowledge of neurochemistry • Awareness of the symptoms that particular drugs target • The correct identification of these symptoms • Side effects and management • Polypharmacy

7. Education • Possibly to biggest part of nurses role besides administration. • Every time you administer medication you should be educating the client on; • what it is for? What it does? • The expected benefits and potential risks? • Common side effects and management • Include the family

8. PRN medication • The need to reduce agitation, distress or aggression rapidly often results in the prescription of PRN(as needed) medication. • Generally only needed for short periods • The nurse generally needed to make decisions regarding a range of; • Medications • Doses • How and when to deliver

9. Legal aspect of medication administration • National standards and competencies • Mental health act • Documentation requirements At the end of the day, if you are the last point to stop medication errors. YOU are liable

10. Challenges to medication administration • Pregnancy • Do we take this into consideration ? • Adverse effect vs. Relapse/treatment • Children • Older persons

11. Principles of ethical conduct • Autonomy ‘The person should have the right to make their own decisions provided that these decisions do not other people autonomy’ • Beneficence ‘care must be conducted for the good of the person’ • Non-maleficence ‘do no harm’ ‘duty of care’ ‘consider risks of potential harm’ • Justice ‘Societies expectations of what is fair and right’

12. Ethical considerations • What are the ethical considerations in psychotropic medications? Discussion • Involuntary treatment • IMI medication • Compliance • Side effects • Physical illness • contraception

13. Role of multidisciplinary team • Multidisciplinary teams are considered routine in the provision of mental health care • Disciplines include; • Nurses • Psychiatrists • Psychologists • Social workers • Occupational therapists

14. Role of the multidisciplinary team • The multidisciplinary team honours the complexity of our clients. • This is includes psychopharmacology as it looks to holistically care for the client. • Although not administering medication it is important that all discipline have a working knowledge of psychopharmacology

15. Unique role of the multidisciplinary team in psychopharmacology • Prescribing • Administering • Side effect management • ADL’s • Nutrition • Exercise • Management techniques such as relaxation • Costs of medications • What else??