Assignment task: Please respond to the following questions based upon these course objectives:
- Understand and be able to articulate the fundamentals of neurotransmission as it relates to psychotropic medications; be familiar with major categories of psychotropic drugs, their rationale for use, mechanisms of action, common side effects, and drug interactions.
- Become familiar with clinical assessment tools associated with diagnosing and prescribing for psychiatric disorders and begin to utilize these tools in clinical settings to assist with diagnosis and treatment of chronic mental health conditions.
- Learn the process and techniques of referring a patient for medication evaluation or reevaluation and learn strategies for working collaboratively with other professionals. You will get practice and feedback on your use of these skills through class discussion, and from writing a formal referral for evaluation.
- Be able to research and provide basic education to your client and their family about psychotropic medications, with experience and feedback gained by practicing such education in your class discussions and in your assignments.
- Understand ethical considerations and controversies in current pharmacological treatment of mental health patients. You will discuss such issues routinely together in class, and you will write a short paper exploring one of these issues.
Answer the following questions with supporting examples and full explanations in paper.
1. For each of the learning objectives, provide an analysis of how the course supported each objective.
2. Explain how the material learned in this course, based upon the objectives, will be applicable to the professional application.