Help!!!! Psych Meds

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Specializes in Long Term Care.

hi guys, well i have a quick ?. how do/did you remember your psych meds. i remember the names, and am's are usually benzo's, but thats about it:uhoh3:. i always have trouble remembering the drug classification and side effects:o:angryfire. anybody got any techniques they use to help remember the drugs?????

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For me, the repeated looking up of meds eventually gets them to stick in my brain.

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Specializes in psych, home care, Quality Review.

Soon 2B:

Lots of the same classifications have similar side effects (dry mouth, dizziness, fatrigue). Everone's memory retains differently--would making a table/list help? Or drawing a pic of a psychotic person for antipsychotics? Or maybe reading case study examples..just a thought.

BSS

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Specializes in Psychiatric, Med Surg, Onco.

I would recommend making drug cards-index cards with the most important drug facts included re: generic name/trade; dosage; route; use; side effects; and most importantly levels of toxicity if applicable. You can carry these in your scrub pocket.

How exactly would you draw a "psychotic person" ? Would drawing a picture of a person with cancer help you to remember different types of chemo? If you are going to be a nurse, I encourage you to learn how to reduce the stigma of MI, not add to it.

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Specializes in psych, home care, Quality Review.

FYI- everyone learns in a different way and some of us have a mental picture of what certain conditions look like on the outside of the pt. For instance, someone suffering from CHF may have difficulty breathing, be pale, or be sitting in a certain position to help them breathe better. Mentally ill patients also present in often common ways. One who is responding to internal stimuli, such as auditory hallucinations, may often be noted to pause (as if waiting) while speaking, seem to be following directions from an unseen source, etc. Thinking of a psych patient in this manner is no stigmatizing than thinking of the CHF patient in a particular way. The questioner was asking for a personal way to remember info about meds, not asking an opinion on how to write a publicly-read journal article. Recognizing common characteristics of many illnesses makes for an excellent basis for using criticial thinking skills; pretending things are not occuring because of fear of not being "p.c." leaves one looking at things blindly. Many excellent mental health resources are published covering this and other issues, including the Journal of the American Psychiatric Association, and the Harvard Mental Health Newsletter. You might try reading some of them RN2begin.

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Specializes in Psychiatric, Med Surg, Onco.

I have been in the field for over 15 years and I find the idea of "drawing a psychotic person" offensive. People (and they are people first) are not always psychotic. Taking psychiatric medications help people to control the symptoms of their illness and ideally improve their quality of life. Therefore it is inaccurate to reference a psychotic person with any psychiatric medication, as it when an individual does not take them, that they can become psychotic. In addition, how could anyone, who has no experience in the field assume that they could "draw a psychotic person"? Each mental illness, and thus each psychosis, is different for everyone.

You can refer to any elitist, theory based journal of your chosing, I know them all. However, in the real world psychiatric care is individualized and it focuses on the human being. Anyone can learn theory, the true test is the ability to provide supportive, non-judgmental tx to each individual, not to each diagnosis. You can not possibly know how BiPolar disorder impairs someone's functioning unless you venture to know that person.

Imagine someone with a mental illness, obtaining help, coming to terms with the fact that they may need medication for the rest of their life...and then perhaps they find a misplaced student "reminder" card with a picture of how that student sees them? It's called empathy, not theory.

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I have been in the field for over 15 years and I find the idea of "drawing a psychotic person" offensive. People (and they are people first) are not always psychotic. Taking psychiatric medications help people to control the symptoms of their illness and ideally improve their quality of life. Therefore it is inaccurate to reference a psychotic person with any psychiatric medication, as it when an individual does not take them, that they can become psychotic. In addition, how could anyone, who has no experience in the field assume that they could "draw a psychotic person"? Each mental illness, and thus each psychosis, is different for everyone.

You can refer to any elitist, theory based journal of your chosing, I know them all. However, in the real world psychiatric care is individualized and it focuses on the human being. Anyone can learn theory, the true test is the ability to provide supportive, non-judgmental tx to each individual, not to each diagnosis. You can not possibly know how BiPolar disorder impairs someone's functioning unless you venture to know that person.

Imagine someone with a mental illness, obtaining help, coming to terms with the fact that they may need medication for the rest of their life...and then perhaps they find a misplaced student "reminder" card with a picture of how that student sees them? It's called empathy, not theory.

Maybe I took this post the wrong way, but it appears to me to be one of the most sanctimonious, holier than thou posts I've yet to read on this wonderful website. What is wrong with pictures?? It's a mnemonic. Some people memorize things visually, aurally or by writing things over and over. What is the harm in drawing pictures of any illness? Perhaps one should take an educational viewpoint on this issue, instead of playing the "I"m better than you " card.

To the OP, I would do charts, pictures, lists, whatever seems to work for you best to memorize the classes.

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For me, the repeated looking up of meds eventually gets them to stick in my brain.

That works 4 me

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SOON 2B RN is just asking how to remember meds as a student... What's wrong with drawing a picture of a Psychotic person if it's gona help a student remember signs/symptoms or meds for such illness?

It's no different from listing signs/symptoms of one MI word for word.

I don't see how it is Judgemental to draw/list the known symptoms of one illness whether it's mental or physical.

Let's take a chill pill and be happy :D

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.
SOON 2B RN is just asking how to remember meds as a student... What's wrong with drawing a picture of a Psychotic person if it's gona help a student remember signs/symptoms or meds for such illness?

It's no different from listing signs/symptoms of one MI word for word.

I don't see how it is Judgemental to draw/list the known symptoms of one illness whether it's mental or physical.

Let's take a chill pill and be happy :D

Good going, FunGi....a general calling for everyone to "Stop and Think" and "Let's Go Back to the Original Question/Issue".

I agree..I see this as no different than a nursing student drawing a pic of a Depressed person, which lists possible signs and symptoms of Depression to refer back to for future reference.

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I am a student nurse, and the mother of a 27 year old schizophrenic son. Whatever you need to do to remember meds is fine with me! Some of the drugs he has taken are very scary, and I certainly want a psych nurse to know what she is giving him, and what reactions to look for. When he is psychotic, he does look different. I can't draw what he looks like, but I can tell you there is something about his eyes that let you know he isn't far from the edge.:uhoh21: Even when he is doing well, there is still something about his appearance that isn't like it was before the onset of the disease. He suffers from emotional flatness, and his face reflects it. :o He has made several trips to emergency rooms, while psychotic. His complaint was that people were making his heart stop beating by looking at him. This usually gets him a drug test, (which is always negative) and a quick release. Only one doctor made the correct diagnosis and had him involuntarily committed from the ER. I don't like stigmas, but I believe that close observation of appearance is important in recognizing psychosis.

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hey there,

i have been a nurse for two years and remembering meds has always been my worst area... i hate it haha. i find that constant exposure to the medications is the only way. like when you have placement make sure you get to do the med round- it will make you remember and you will also find you will test yourself. and when giving out psych meds its really important to offer psycho-education and promote side effects awareness. to do this you need to know the meds. it takes time though and you are not going to know everything.

i find it easier to remember by symptom profile- i find then i can match side-effects with meds and diagnosis.

and make sure you ask!!!! dont let grouchy old nurses put you down if you don't remember or don't feel comfortable with something. we are always learning and it is so important to be supportive of your colleagues. i cannot stress that enough!!!!

dan

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