NURS6635: Week 2 – Discussion

Discussion: The Psychiatric Evaluation and Evidence-Based Rating Scales
Assessment tools have two primary purposes: 1) to measure illness and diagnose clients, and 2) to
measure a client’s response to treatment. Often, you will find that multiple assessment tools are
designed to measure the same condition or response. Not all tools, however, are appropriate for use in
all clinical situations. You must consider the strengths and weaknesses of each tool to select the
appropriate assessment tool for your client. For this Discussion, as you examine the assessment tool
assigned to you by the Course Instructor, consider its use in psychotherapy.

Getting Started With the DSM-5
If you were to give a box of 100 different photographs to 10 people and ask them to sort them into
groups, it is very unlikely that all 10 people would sort them into the exact same groups. However, if you
were to give them a series of questions or a classification system to use, the chances that all 10 people
sort them exactly the same increases depending on the specificity of the system and the knowledge of
those sorting the photographs.

Photo Credit: [Peter Polak]/[iStock / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images

This is not unlike what has occurred in the process of classifying mental disorders. A system that
provides enough specificity to appropriately classify a large variety of mental disorders while also
attempting to include all of the possible symptoms, many of which can change over time, is a daunting
task when used by a variety of specialists, doctors, and other professionals with varied experience,
cultures, expertise, and beliefs. The DSM has undergone many transformations since it was first
published in 1952. Many of these changes occurred because the uses for the DSM changed. However,
the greatest changes began with the use of extensive empirical research to guide the creation of the
classification system and its continued revisions.

In order to assess and diagnose patients, you must learn to use the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, usually abbreviated as the DSM-5, to render a diagnosis. In this
second week of the course, you will examine how DSM-5 is organized and how clinicians use it to render
diagnoses.
Review the Learning Resources this week, with special emphasis on viewing the Diagnostic Criteria
video. This video explains the purpose and organization of the DSM-5 classification system, the purpose
of the ICD-10 coding system, their relationship to one another, and the importance to the PMHNP role.

To Prepare:
 Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide regarding
psychiatric assessment and diagnosis.
 Consider the elements of the psychiatric interview, history, and examination.
 Consider the assessment tool assigned to you by the Course Instructor.

DISCUSSION QUESTION
Students with a last name ending in A-F
PTSD Checklist (PCL)
By Day 3 of Week 2
Post a brief explanation of three important components of the psychiatric interview and why you
consider these elements important. Explain the psychometric properties of the rating scale you
were assigned. Explain when it is appropriate to use this rating scale with clients during the
psychiatric interview and how the scale is helpful to a nurse practitioner’s psychiatric
assessment. Support your approach with evidence-based literature.

VIDEO LINK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRiCntvec5U