Walden NURS 6630 Week 9 Sample Paper (Assessing and Treating Clients With ADHD)

Assessing and Treating Clients with ADHD

Student’s Name:

Institutional Affiliation:

Assessing and Treating Clients with ADHD

ADHD is a condition that makes it difficult for the individual affected to pay attention or control impulsive behavior. Patients suffering from ADHD might appear to be restless and continuously active. ADHD symptoms will begin in childhood among many patients and can continue as the child matures. Adults and children will show different ADHD presentations, while gender will also affect how ADHD progresses (Keilow, Holm, & Fallesen, 2018).  In the treatment of ADHD patients, it will be important to consider the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of different medication therapies. PMHNPs need to perform careful evaluations and assessments to determine the risks and benefits of medication therapies they administer to ADHD patients. This paper reviews and supports the decisions that would be made in the treatment of a young girl with ADHD.

Decision #1

For the first decision, I selected administering Ritalin (methylphenidate) chewable tablets 10 mg to the patient. The patient was to take the medication orally every morning for a month until their next appointment. My decision to administer Ritalin was based on scholarly evidence that supported the effectiveness of the drug in treating ADHD among children while having less adverse side effects. According to Van der Schans, Çiçek, Vardar, et al. (2017). Ritalin will be effective in reducing ADHD among children. It will increase the production of chemicals in the brain that is responsible for increasing concentration, controlling behavior problems, and helping one pay attention.

The other decision of administering Intuniv or Wellbutrin would be less advantageous to the patient because of the adverse effects that the drugs are known to cause on children. According to Patel, Allen, Haque, et al. (2016), Wellbutrin may cause severe mood changes among patients that can drive them to want to hurt themselves. According to Martinez-Raga, Knecht, & de Alvaro (2015), Intuniv may cause severe dizziness and sluggishness in a patient, which may affect their productivity. Therefore, the decision to administer the two drugs would be avoided to avoid the adverse side effects.

By deciding to administer Ritalin to the young ADHD patients, I was hoping to help her improve her concentration in school while nursing the least side effects. What I was hoping to achieve with making the decision was different from the results in that the patient’s concentration in school increased only in the morning sessions. My expectations of side effects were similar to the results in that though the patients had an elevated heartbeat, it was within normal ranges, which was not dangerous for her health.

Decision #2

On the second decision, I choose to increase the dosage of the patient to Ritalin LA 20 mg orally taken daily in the morning. According to Storebø, Pedersen, Ramstad, et al. (2018), increasing the dosage of Ritalin can help a patient with ADHD to remain focused throughout the day if no adverse side effects had been observed previously. By making the decision to change the ADHD patient’s dosage to Ritalin LA 20 mg, I was hoping to improve the patient’s concentration throughout the day. I was also hoping that the patient would stop experiencing an elevated heartbeat. What I expected to achieve by increasing the dosage of Ritalin for the patient was similar to what I achieved in that the patient’s academic performance improved throughout the day while they stopped having an elevated heartbeat. According to Van der Schans et al. (2017), increasing the dosage of Ritalin among patients can help improve their concertation throughout the day. What I expected to achieve in making the decision to increase the dosage of Ritalin to the patient was similar to what I achieved.

Decision #3

For the third decision, I choose to maintain the dosage of Ritalin LA 20 mg to the young girl with ADHD and evaluate the patient’s performance after a month. According to Storebø et al. (2018), it is always advisable to maintain the lowest effective dose of a stimulant, especially among young patients. In making the decision, I was hoping that the concentration of the patient would be present throughout the day and that the patient would experience no side effects. What I expected to achieve in making the decision to maintain a dosage of Ritalin LA 20 mg to the patient was similar to what I achieved in that the patient’s concentration was maintained while they experienced no side effects.

Ethical Considerations

The two ethical considerat