The task of prescribing psychiatric drugs implies a huge amount of responsibility and sufficient knowledge. Due to the effects that continuous consumption of psychiatric medications, particularly, the long-term effects causing chemical dependency and difficulty for withdrawal, the use of the latest sources of EBP standards for prescription is required (Lally & MacCabe, 2015). The guidelines issued by the National Institute of Mental Health (2017) (NIMH), as well as the information provided by the American Psychiatric Association (2015) (APA), will have to be revisited to prescribe psychiatric medications correctly. For instance, the information provided for treating schizophrenia in adult patients, particularly, the dosage of medicine and the associated issues, is covered fully in numerous NIMH articles (Remington et al., 2017). Similarly, APA (2015) provides extensive data about the management of schizophrenia and comorbid issues. Therefore, the described organizations should be seen as the main sources of clinical knowledge concerning drug prescription.
The sources listed above assess and define the levels of evidence quite effectively by performing a comprehensive assessment of previous studies. By scrutinizing the evidence obtained from previously conducted research, the American Psychiatric Association and the NIMH create and regularly update a set of standards for prescribing and administering psychiatric drugs to patients with mental health concerns. As a result, the quality of care and the choice of prescriptions rise, as the recent reconsideration of psychiatric drug dosage shows (Remington et al., 2017). The resources mentioned above affect the decision-making of a nurse directly with the detailed clarifications of the effects that the selected drugs will have on patients. Therefore, a nurse can learn from analyzing the prescription options and the impact that different medications and combinations thereof have on patients’ well-being.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2015). The American Psychiatric Association practice guidelines for the psychiatric evaluation of adults (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Lally, J., & MacCabe, J. H. (2015). Antipsychotic medication in schizophrenia: A review. British Medical Bulletin, 114(1), 169-179. doi:10.1093/bmb/ldv017
National Institute of Mental Health. (2017). Schizophrenia. Web.
Remington, G., Addington, D., Honer, W., Ismail, Z., Raedler, T., & Teehan, M. (2017). Guidelines for the pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia in adults. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(9), 604-616. doi:10.1177/0706743717720448