Concorde Career College Adam

Peer response to Latresa

The first thing the FNP should do for a patient that is exhibiting signs of depression is to determine first the level of this patient’s depression.

Depression is a serious mood disorder, it can cause severe symptoms that can affect how a person feels, thinks, and how they handle situations that may arise. It is very important to understand how a patient handle stress, and unexpected outcomes that may arise. Because this can cause a patient that deals with depression to go into a stage of depression that may need medical attention immediately (Chand & Arif, 2023).

For the FNP to determine the severity of the patient’s depression. The FNP can use rating scale. One of the scales that can be used in this situation is the 10-item Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). This scale is used on patients that fall under the age of 18 and older. The items are rated on a point scale (Depression Assessment Instruments, 2024).

Once the FNP has determined the patient is safe and not exhibiting any suicidal ideation, they can move forward regarding addressing the barrier of medication cost with this patient. FNP should consider any low-cost generic medications that are available, reach out to the pharmacy to see if there are samples of the medication free of cost to the patient.

Refer the patient to a case manager or social worker that can assist in providing the patient with resources to obtain the medication.

The FNP should educate the patient on the importance of not waiting until you are completely out of medication. It is important to never stop abruptly taking antidepressant medication. This medication should be tapered off slowly (Depression, 2023).