Question

Jason is a 22-year-old college student. He has missed several classes and did not turn in a major paper. When contacted by his professor, Jason admits to feeling so depressed that he has not been able to concentrate on his course work and has not left his apartment for several days. His professor expresses concern and suggests Jason go to the campus health center, which takes walk-ins. Jason agrees to go to the campus health center as a condition of getting an extension on the paper. Once there, he tells the nurse he has no appetite and complains of difficulty falling asleep. Jason says he feels guilty for not getting his assignments done and is not doing well in any of his classes. He states he doesn’t know what is wrong with him, he just can’t seem to get motivated and he doesn’t know why. He looked forward to going to college and was excited to be accepted and move away from home for the first time. Jason did very well last semester, and in the beginning of this semester. He was active in several clubs and was thinking of running for the student senate and joining the track team, but recently things just seemed to fall apart. Although Jason has many acquaintances through his classes and activities, he has no close friends in the area. During the intake interview, the nurse observes that Jason sits hunched forward in his chair with his eyes downcast. He becomes tearful at times and never smiles. Questions: 1. What is the most important issue the nurse should assess? 2. How would you describe Jason’s affect? 3. What are the physical health priorities for Jason at this time? 4. What additional information would the healthcare providers need to determine the most likely cause of Jason’s depressed mood? 5. What are the considerations in contacting Jason’s family regarding his situation? 6. What sociocultural factors or stressors might be contributing to Jason’s distress?

Answer 1

1.The important issues which the nurse has to assess are

• Any potential thought for suicidal activities
• Assess for the social interaction
• Assess for any physiological changes related to the depressed mood.
• Coping mechanism has to be assessed
• Activitiy level

2.Jason is suffering from depression .The chemical alterations happening in the body has led to low mood which has disturbed other sleep pattern ,anorexia ,self isolation, poor academic performance, etc.,

3.The physical health priority at this time arw

• Addressing the loss of appetite because this can lead to several illness and further aggregate the patient condition with lack of energy and nutrition
• Helping him to gain a good sleep pattern

4.The additional information which the healthcare provider can determine to rule out the cause are

• To know the performance in the college because any poor performance ,inability to understand, difficulties to learn ,etc., can be a cause to be ruled out
• Any relationship which has a bad experience or breakage in relationships
• To know any harassment faced because of other students.